Why You and Your Brand Should Stay Away from Social Media Platforms like Parler
Parler… Huh?
If you’re thinking “What is Parler?” it’s okay, you’re not alone. The social media network launched in 2018 has gained immense popularity this year, especially during and after this recent presidential election, and its claim to fame isn’t exactly the best.
The platform’s name derives from the French verb parler, which when translated means “to speak”. This imparts itself in the company’s claims about its platform and services:
“Speak freely and express yourself openly, without fear of being “deplatformed” for your views. Engage with real people, not bots. Parler is people and privacy-focused, and gives you the tools you need to curate your Parler experience.”
At its core, it operates like any modern social media platform we’ve become so accustomed to. Users can join for free, follow one another, as well as share posts with links and images to a feed similar to that of Twitter or Facebook. The difference lies within the content being blasted across the feeds of its 5 million or so active users.
From the jump, Parler was politicized, not by its users but rather by the platform itself. Its stance on free speech was made to combat online bias, namely political censorship of right-wing extremism and hate speech on Twitter and Facebook.
With many QAnon groups and leaders being banned from those platforms, Parler positioned itself to be the safe haven for these voices and even touts itself as, “a non-biased, free speech social media focused on protecting user’s rights.” This is backed by a robust user agreement and community guidelines that enforce an all but specific set of rules meant to keep users from rash behavior.
As it stands, the platform is dominated by right-wing and conservative figures like Sen. Ted Cruz and Fox News host Sean Hannity, with posts ranging from decrying the result of the 2020 election to point blank hate speech and Nazi imagery. Some users even, all of them outspoken democrats, have been getting banned from the platform entirely, despite the empty claims of “free speech”:
So, why should you and your brand stay away from Parler?
Why am I telling you all this? Well, as we know, 2020 has been a year for social media. In fact, nearly half the world’s population is present on some form of social media. It’s the perfect outlet for organic growth and reaching your target audience. Yet sometimes, it’s too good to be true. Plenty of platforms have come and gone, startups have failed, and some have seen unprecedented growth, like the new kid on the block: TikTok.
Social media is a hard thing to get right and jumping on new platforms to stay ahead of the trend can lead to lost time, effort, and possibly even resources for you or your brand. Of course, It’s important to follow the user, and more important to follow your audience. However, that doesn’t mean you should follow them anywhere. The famous saying goes, “if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?” And while you may roll your eyes, there’s solid advice weaved in. Just because some of your audience may move to a new, exciting platform, there are plenty of unforeseen consequences around that corner if something goes wrong.
These consequences may be even more concerning with a platform like Parler. Sure, you could squander time and effort investing into a new platform that doesn’t pan out but bringing your brand to Parler is immediately politicizing and polarizing for many people. Finding a line between the “stay out of politics” crowd and the “you’re not doing enough” crowd on matured social media platforms is already difficult as it stands. Even for brands such as Starbucks, the animosity on social media seem to have taken their toll:
Bringing your presence to a platform such as Parler may not even be a possibility in the near future. With a platform ripe with controversies and hate speech bringing the criticism of figures such as Bill Gates, it’s not built to last. They’ve already begun censoring users and not tolerating their hate speech they’ve so desperately set themselves up to welcome. As tension from the election wanes, I fully believe Parler will as well. MSNBC’s Marc Ambinder said,
“But Parler may turn out to be, in the end, a false refuge… The point is, Parler does not actually face what it has set itself up to welcome — furious, beleaguered, anxious conservatives who want to find an online community that grants them some esteem and will fill a narrative void in their life.”
I’m not here to say all social media is bad, because it isn’t. Social media can be an incredible opportunity to grow your brand and engage your audience. However, it can also take a turn for the worst. We’ve seen examples of past social media crises and brands leave platforms altogether. That’s why a careful, thoughtout strategy is a must before joining any social media platform, especially one like Parler.
