Sharing messages started with Samuel Morse with his Morse code through Telegraph. On 24th May 1844, he sent his first morse message, and Telegraph became the quickest form of sending coded messages.
Since then, all humanity has wanted is quicker forms to share everything with the world. So hail the beginning of social media, and it’s a very interesting evolution throughout the years.
How Social Media Started
We all know social media prodigy Mark Zuckerberg, but he is not the commencer of social media. However, he did take the concept to newer heights, no doubt.
The concept of social media, in layman’s terms, is a common space where you can chat and share. With that definition, the first ‘social media’ was MySpace, which was the first site to ever reach the one million active users a month milestone.
MySpace was a social media platform before social media was even a thing. However, it took a while before it skyrocketed because the concept was new then.
The social media platform which the world came to know is Youtube, although it changed to be more of an entertainment platform with the craze of likes and followers. There was a time when youtube was just a platform to upload videos, and now clout defines this space.
When it commenced, the number of users was less than 2 million. Now, a mildly famous YouTuber will simply have that many subscribers. After that, we have Facebook, which created worldwide chaos and paved the way for all the social media platforms we have now.
Starting from Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok.
Marketing & Social Media
Social media was just a mode of communication between friends and solace over long distances. You didn’t have to have huge phone bills because of the text messages and calls. A stable internet connection and a device are all you need to talk to someone.
So, how did this interpersonal communication space become the marketing hotspot it is now?
Marketing in social media commenced with the advent of Facebook, but opinions were also shared over MySpace. For example, Jeffree Star, the makeup and business mogul whose MySpace gained quite the attention in the platform for his opinion on unique appearance, is now one of the biggest beauty gurus and makeup influencers in the world.
So, the concept of influencers and how they affect mass thinking was still a thing; it was just not that defined.
The first Facebook advertisement done by a high-profile company was the Coca-Cola advertisement. The Facebook Ad created quite a stir in creating personalized virtual coke cans. This inadvertently paved the way to separate sections, which we now understand as Facebook ads.
Other Platforms
Now, you have other platforms in the picture, like advertisements through Instagram or Youtube shots which are small videos. So influencer marketing is skyrocketing now and has contributed much to social media evolution.
At the time of MySpace, no one thought that something other than Hollywood could make someone world famous. But, you would look at someone like Pewdipie and beg to differ.
Since social media is directly connected to the audience, it is able to cater to more customers and convert more leads than any form of advertisement ever did. To understand more about social media and how it can help to yield customers, follow RSLOnline.
What The Future Holds
Now, coming to the concluding segment of the excerpt, here are some of the new features of the future of social media evolution.
Metaverse: In his latest Facebook gathering, the creator of Facebook discussed the concept of Meta. The age-old Facebook became Meta, and it ventures into the world of virtual reality.
Influencers Gaining Attention: The influencers will be gaining more attention and high-profile campaigns. As a result, even companies who have once rejected the idea will be getting on board.
More youth will be taking Influencer as a serious career path, which will give it more sophistication.
New Platforms Emerging: Yes, we have not seen the end of social media platforms. More will be coming up in the near future to the point that our entire lives will be online.
