So yesterday I opened my LinkedIn to find out that social media management platform Hootsuite is collaborating with ICE. Yes, that ICE. You know, the one using brutal force to detain and deport immigrants in the US. This collaboration definitely is … a choice.
Back in the day, when there was still such a thing as a free tier on social media management platforms and I was working at Graspop, I was an avid user of Hootsuite. But the platform has become more costly each year, so I haven’t used it in a while. I’m still a consumer of their content and blog though.
So I must say, this move leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Especially for a brand that uses the claim: “Transform social for good”. I do get, from a purely financial point of view, a contract with ICE is interesting for Hootsuite. I mean, landing a multi-year public tender? That’s a major win. Well, disregarding the fact that ICE is a vile instance.
But while it might be interesting financially, in terms of optics, it’s not. My LinkedIn feed for example is filled with posts from thought leaders in the social media space that are outraged by this move and are urging decision makers and B2B influencers to reconsider using the tool. A move that can hurt Hootsuite … yeah, you guessed that right, financially.
It’s a good thing the company has a social listening tool at their disposal to immediately tackle this crisis though. But the question is, how exactly are they going to tackle this crisis? Cause the truth is, Hootsuite has been in the same boat before. You see, back in 2020, they already landed the ICE contract. But they decided to back out of that contract because of employee backlash. And that’s what makes this an extra weird choice. It’s not like ICE’s perception has gotten any better since then.
But there’s a bigger discussion here. We all know Hootsuite isn’t the only company making questionable business choices. With public discourse, activism and brand reputation so deeply intertwined, this begs the question why companies aren’t being more strategic in their decisions. Because consumers are pretty vocal about the brands they do and don’t support and why. And it’s often the marketing team that has to deal with the backlash of those types of decisions. Decisions that were probably made above their heads (and pay grade). So no, it’s not just about the money. Because bad optics can hurt you more than missing out on a contract.
Want more on brands in crises? How about KLM messing up their community management during the recent snowfall chaos?