If you’ve been following the news concerning the zero tolerance policy on illegal immigration the US has implemented – resulting in children being separated from their families – you’ll know it’s a sad situation for everyone involved. A New York Times report released in April 2018 concluded “more than 700 children have been taken from adults claiming to be their parents since October, including more than 100 children under the age of four.”

You can imagine then, that when the daughter of the person responsible for this policy (which has been the feature of many news reports lately) posted a photo on social media of her lovingly holding one of her children, it caused a few stirs.

Many called on her to imagine what it would be like to have her child taken from her. Others demanded she ‘do something’ about the President’s policy.

Regardless of where you stand on this particular incident, it serves as a reminder to anyone managing a social media account that it’s important to be aware of what you’re publishing and how it fits in with the social climate on that particular day.

Tools like Hootsuite or Later can be great for busy social media managers. They allow you to schedule multiple posts at once ahead of time – so you can ‘set it and forget it’ and focus on other areas of your business or marketing strategy. But it’s crucial to keep in mind what is happening around the globe, and to always be aware of the post and message you are sending out next (whether it was previously scheduled or you’re sharing on the fly), and to make changes if necessary before things go out onto the World Wide Web.

In an era where customers look to businesses to ‘do the right thing’ and devote their brand loyalty (AKA their hard earned dollars) to companies that share their values, not paying attention to the social landscape when publishing content can be damaging to your online reputation.

For example, no business today would dare post a joke that even comes close to making light of workplace harassment, given the #metoo movement and the media attention it’s received, though a couple years ago the same joke may have slid under the radar.

If it feels even a little bit wrong, best to err on the side of caution. Save the post for another time, or scrape it altogether. Is it really worth it?

If you have questions about your online content marketing strategy or finding your brand voice, let’s chat!