By now you've likely heard of Amy Cooper, the woman caught on video yelling racial epithets at a bird enthusiast who was making his way through Central Park's ramble. After the video made its way across social media, it eventually landed at the front door of Franklin Templeton ($BEN), a normally quiet multinational holding company that happened to be Cooper's employer.

Angry Twitter and Facebook users rushed to the company's social media accounts, demanding the firing of Amy Cooper. Within 24 hours, the firm complied.

But also within 24 hours, Franklin Templeton saw its best day in terms of social media follower pickups. It's impossible to know if the new Twitter and Facebook followers are doing so in good or bad faith, and it's also tough to know if the new followers will stick around. But, for now, Franklin Templeton has a PR opportunity in its hands.

On Twitter, Franklin Templeton's Twitter account picked up more than 2,000 followers in just one day.

Meanwhile, on Facebook, Franklin Templeton's page likes grew from 65,100 to 65,300, the largest jump it's seen in years.

The firm was quick to take action in the matter, which will likely translate to goodwill, especially for those who haven't heard of the investment firm. 

The company has been in a bit of a hiring lull of late, which isn't uncommon across financial firms during the pandemic.

Job listings dropped off in early 2020, from around 150 in February to less than 60 in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the company has been shrinking in terms of workforce size, at least according to the above time series that shows the number of LinkedIn accounts listing Franklin Templeton as their employer.

About the Data:

Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.