Firms' dilemma: to speak up or stay silent on social issues?

To post or not to post?

That's the question many business owners on Long Island and elsewhere are asking themselves, as consumers increasingly look to what messages companies are sharing on social media regarding the Black Lives Matter movement.

Amid ongoing, widespread protests across the region and the nation ignited by the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white Minnesota police officer, many LI companies have posted in support of the protesters. Some have posted messages against the marchers, and many more have remained silent.

Businesses on both sides of the issue have encountered backlash.

Raymond Smith, a co-owner of Long Beach coffee shop and bakery Blacksmith's Breads, shared this message on the shop's Instagram account: "If you can't stomach the truth of our country's injustices and how the system has been set up to keep people of color down, then let me make this clear ... your money is not wanted nor is it needed here. Keep it."

Smith, 36, who is biracial, has marched in several area protests and posted about his participation on Blacksmith's Instagram.

He said comments have been mostly positive, but he has received pushback, adding that he spent quite a while deleting "nasty comments."

"Am I worried that someone might throw a brick through the shop's window because they don't agree with my views? Sure," he said. "But I can't morally stay silent. If we lose business, so be it. That's not business we'll really miss anyway."

In Farmingdale, Flux Coffee owner Arsalan Pourmand, 35, an Iranian immigrant, has also used his shop's Instagram account to voice his solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

He posted a black square with the hashtag #blackouttuesday, in support of Black Out Tuesday, the day promoted by activists to observe, mourn and propel policy change in the aftermath of Floyd's death, and closed his shop four hours early one day so employees could attend a protest.

Historically companies have shied away from taking stands on controversial issues, but today, some marketing experts say that for firms active on social media, silence can be viewed as complicity.

But before rushing to press “post,” it’s important for business owners “to acknowledge that once [a message is] shared, there will be consequences to that messaging," Donyshia Boston-Hill, CEO of Valley Stream marketing agency Keeper of the Brand, said.

On the Island, several white business owners have recently found themselves in hot water over posts criticizing protesters.

Luigi Petrone, co-owner of Italian restaurant Tutto Pazzo in Huntington, in a Facebook Live video referred to protesters as “savages.”  The next morning about 100 people gathered in front of his establishment calling for its boycott.

Similarly in Freeport, restaurant owners Ivan Sayles and Jon Bracco came under fire for separately criticizing protesters on social media, sparking a string of protests and a petition demanding the boycott of their Nautical Mile eateries, Rachel’s Waterside Grill and Bracco’s.

A local business's future can hinge on community support, and there are few ways to alienate a wide swath of customers and potential customers more quickly than through a social media post on an issue people feel strongly about.

And there lies the challenge, said Ingrid Vega, owner of ILB Communications, a Miami public relations firm specializing in brand consulting.  

Business owners must realize, “you can’t be all things to all people,” she said.

The solution she proposes is to look “at your values, look at the soul of your company and ask yourself, 'How can I be true to those values and honor what I want my company to stand for?'”

“Answering those questions will help you define your message...Who is your base? and what do you want to say to your target audience?”

The next step, Vega said, is to go beyond social media.

The next generation of consumers is hyper aware not only of what businesses and brands are posting but of what companies are doing "in real life" that aligns with that messaging.

More than two-thirds of Americans say the way CEOs react to topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement, racism and racial inequality could permanently impact their decision to buy from a brand, according to a recent poll of more than 11,000  by data intelligence firm Morning Consult.

Consumers are making note of whether companies are hiring people of color, or donating to groups fighting for racial justice, Vega said. "If you're not... well, today's consumer is not afraid to speak with their wallets."

They’re also quick to judge brand posts they classify as hollow "performances" of concern or "wokeness," experts said.  

Both Amazon and the NFL were quickly mocked on social media after posting statements in support of Black Lives Matter, with commenters highlighting Amazon's history of allegedly mistreating warehouse employees and its commercial partnerships with law enforcement, which involve facial recognition software that critics have said "targets communities of color."  

The NFL was derided on Twitter and Facebook for issuing fines to players who knelt during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality, and for purportedly blacklisting former San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his activism.

The bottom line: Business owners unsure about whether to share their views on a hot topic on social media, shouldn’t.  

If you’re angry and emotional about an incident or issue and wanting to post “in the heat of the moment,” don’t, experts said.

“Like with everything else in business, it‘s not to be taken lightly. It should be well-thought-out,” Keeper of the Brand’s Boston-Hill said.