old school computer - history of social media

40 Year History of Social Media

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Social media includes all the websites and platforms that allow businesses and individuals to share content and to participate in digital networking. With the rise of technology and Internet usage in the early 2000s, social media platforms and social networks have become game-changers for connecting and engaging with others. Yet, most people are not aware that the history of social media dates back in the late 1960s!

Social Media Has Been with Us for Four Decades

The history of social media is credited mostly to the last decade with social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. While these social sites most definitely propelled it to new heights, the truth is, they don’t represent the original social networking platforms.

Would you believe me if I told you that social media networks started in 1969?

The reality is that email and bulletin board services (BBS) should be credited with the foundation of the social media revolution of the 2000s. Prior to that, we didn’t have the digital culture, aka mindset, of communicating and engaging through online services.

The Path to Social Networking Success

As with any other modern tool, most business professionals initially didn’t see its importance and influence on their future marketing strategies. Organizations were adamant to adapt to the digital age that was coming because most were too focused on “what’s working now”. They were reluctant to invest time and money to deploy marketing strategies toward the use of such networking sites.

Social Media Marketing is a Mindset

When my book Marketing 2.0 launched in 2009, I wrote that the biggest obstacle to successful social media marketing by any business is the mindset shift needed to adopt the social culture.

Three years later we still face the same issue. We’ve made progress, but I argue not that much. It doesn’t matter that we have more social media communication and engagement channels today than we did in 2005 or 2009. Social networking platforms like Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, and Foursquare weren’t here or popular in 2009. But, so what? The social media sites your business uses don’t drive success.

If your business doesn’t have the mindset to use social media marketing to connect, engage, share and build trust with your current and prospective future customers, you’re totally missing the point of social platforms. And, it doesn’t matter if you’re a B2C or B2B.

Social Media Becomes Social Business

In 2011, social media becomes social business. Some may consider this a play on words. But, those enterprises who have truly embraced the social media mindset understand what it means to be a social business.

A social business understands that it is B2H (business to human). Others prefer the phrase H2H (human to human). Whichever phrase works for you, consider the first word in the phrase social business – “social.” Businesses that only use social media sites as broadcasting and advertising platforms are not social. Rather, these businesses are ignoring the “social” aspect and instead just using the “media” part to re-purpose yesterday’s marketing tactics across social media channels.

A true social business understands at the executive level the importance of employee’s participation in engaging with customers, other employees, suppliers, partners, their local community and even competitors through digital channels. A true social business understands the importance of authentic engagement with the community. A true social business understands how to deliver a relevant and pleasant experience that may have no sales call-to-action through digital channels. And, a true social business understands that employees have the potential to build a personal brand that can have a halo effect on the business.

The naysayers argue that only the marketing communications department is responsible for social engagement with customers. But, you can visit the Social Business Index to see how many businesses are being measured on these relatively new criteria.

Social Marketing is a Path to Social Business

I would like to believe that 2012 is the year of the social business. But, I am a realist. It will take a few more years for organizations to get the DNA of social business.

So, I propose that businesses consider a bridge to social business through social marketing. Candidly, it’s somewhat semantics, but for many businesses, it’s a viable bridge. Many businesses are simply not ready to become a social business. By embracing social networks as communication and engagement channels, these businesses can begin to transition toward becoming a social business.

One critical element of social marketing as a bridge to social business is to encourage employee participation through social networking and employee advocacy programs. Every business has the opportunity to leverage the social participation of its employees on relevant and popular social networking sites.

It starts with an invitation. By inviting employees to share relevant content that is engaging to your target community, the business begins to build the mindset of a social business.

Embrace Social Networking

As we learned from above, the progression of social media is going in an upward trend when used to increase brand visibility, credibility, and networking with prospects and clients. Jumping into this trend will do great things for the future success of your business. In fact, today, a staggering 4.8 billion people worldwide actively engage in social media, emphasizing its widespread impact.

Do you have a digital sales strategy that enables sellers to start more sales conversations? Learn why the Vengreso 10 Step Digital Selling Program won the Gold Stevie Award in the Sales Training Product category in 2019.

10 steps to launching a digital sales program graphic

Table of Contents

Copy + Paste is such a waste.

As your personal productivity app, FlyMSG automates the written word by removing the time drain it takes to find, copy, paste or write messages with just a few short keystrokes.
Add FlyMSG to Chrome. It's Free!