With the rapid evolution of technology, the early 1970s saw the conceptualization of social media platforms. Platforms familiar to us began appearing two decades later, in the late 1990s, and it was only a matter of time before social media transformed into a powerful tool in the world of business and marketing. Let’s explore the Evolution of Social Media Platforms and its Business Impact over the years.
The Origin of Social Media
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, computers were becoming increasingly common in people’s homes, and technology was advancing rapidly. The first known social media platform, Six Degrees, was introduced by Andrew Weinreich in 1997. This platform introduced social networking by allowing users to upload profile pictures and befriend other users. Around the same time, several blogging sites like Open Diary started gaining popularity, marking the beginning of an online phenomenon that people know and love today.
A Brief History of Social Media Marketing
Social media began to be used as a marketing tool shortly after it gathered a large audience. Marketers quickly recognized its potential, and in a short time, social media evolved from a platform for sharing information and building online communities to a significant retail platform and critical marketing tool.
Before Facebook became widely popular, there were several key social media platforms. Friendster, launched in 2002, was an early social network but faced growth issues. MySpace, introduced in 2003, was known for its customizable profiles and music-sharing features. Orkut, created by Google in 2004, was popular in Brazil and India but was shut down in 2014.
The platform that would become Facebook started as “The Facebook,” created by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. It quickly gained popularity among university students, and that same year, PayPal founder Peter Thiel invested $500,000 in it. By 2006, Facebook expanded its access to everyone, not just university students, reaching 50 million users by October. Facebook also introduced Facebook Ads a month later.
In 2006, Mark Zuckerberg noted that advertising online was undergoing a significant transformation. For the past century, the media has been pushed out to people. Now, marketers would engage in the conversation and leverage social connections just like users did.
Twitter, launched in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams, allowed users to share real-time updates. While Twitter haven’t reached the same scale as Facebook at the time, it transformed the social media landscape by enabling interactions with millions of people worldwide through posts of fewer than 140 characters. It also facilitated more effective interactions between users and brands or celebrities. Twitter introduced promoted tweets in 2010.
Two other noteworthy social media platforms that emerged during this era were LinkedIn and Instagram. LinkedIn, created by Reid Hoffman in 2002, was designed for professional networking and began offering sponsored content in 2013. Instagram, started by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in 2010, focused on photo sharing. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 and it began offering sponsored posts in 2015.
Businesses worldwide started realizing the positive effects of having an active presence on social media, and began creating brand pages to engage with their customers. Where previously they relied on advertising spaces in newspapers and television for brand promotion, social media quickly became their oyster.
As social media platforms emerged and evolved, it became a passion for marketers and one of the top careers to pursue. Businesses increasingly use collected customer data and performance metrics to inform their marketing strategies.
Social Media in Business
With high-speed wireless internet and smartphones, people could carry their online communities with them wherever they went. This mobility made it easier for businesses to offer new and simpler ways to buy products and interact with customers.
The End-User
In the beginning, social media enabled end users to connect digitally with people they might not have met in real life to that person. It was easy to grow and become members of online communities from the comfort of their homes. With the invention of the smartphone, these services started doing well in the mobile app environment.
Today’s technological improvements, like powerful in-phone cameras, shifted the focus of mobile apps to video and images. End users are now able to broadcast in real-time, allowing for sharing moments like never before.
The Business Experience
With the rapid growth of user bases into the hundreds of millions, the business applications of social media platforms began to take shape. Because users nowadays share almost everything on social media, it makes it easier for marketers to target specific consumers. It is no surprise that social media companies have access to some of the richest trackable user data.
Social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and others started monetizing their services through sponsored advertising in various forms. At the same time, businesses discovered the huge potential that came with an active, engaged social media presence. Creating and sharing informative or entertaining content on social platforms has helped brands to grow an audience without paying for it directly.
Organic social media marketing can be used to:
- Increase brand awareness
- Build strong customer relationships
- Generate leads
- Increase conversions
- Conduct competitive research
This combination of paid and organic social media efforts evolved into what we now know as social media marketing.
The Current Social Media Marketing Ecosystem
As social media evolved, measurement tools gave marketers the ability to understand consumers’ buying habits, demographics, and gain access to other valuable and actionable information. Marketers now use social media to reach existing audiences more effectively than traditional media. This has led to the rise of influencer marketing.
Brands pay social media influencers to talk about their new products and share them with their large number of followers. These influencers are seen as experts in their area and have a loyal group of followers. This helps brands get noticed by reaching potential buyers who follow these influencers.
Social media tools give businesses detailed information about different groups of people, so they can target their ads more effectively. These insights help businesses find potential long-term customers and get new leads.
The Modern Ecosystem
Today, social media platforms are growing and changing, with new features and tools making them better for users and businesses. High-speed internet and smartphones have made social media accessible anytime, anywhere, further integrating it into daily life. Businesses now use social media for more than just marketing. They also use it for customer service, market research, and building communities.
In Conclusion, The growth of social media platforms has fundamentally changed business practices, driving digital transformation and creating new opportunities for engagement and growth. From increasing brand awareness to leveraging data-driven insights and influencer partnerships, social media has become a crucial tool in modern marketing strategies. As platforms continue to evolve, businesses must adapt and innovate to stay connected with their audiences and maintain a competitive edge in the digital age.