The emergence of technology has affected our lives in one way or another. It has provided us with the conveniences that we never thought we’d ever had. Over the past years, innovation has become a constant change that encourages growth and advances in how people connect and do business. And before we go to a deeper level of understanding about social media, let us briefly take a look at where it all started.
A brief history of social media
Social media already existed years before we even know a thing or two about it. The first recognised social media site is called “Six Degrees” which was founded in 1997 by Andrew Weinrich. It runs up to 2001 and had about 1 million members that created profiles and befriend each other.
In 1999, LiveJournal, a blog platform was introduced to kept friends updated with their lives, much like an online diary. In 2002, one of the most famous social media sites, “Friendster” was then launched by Peter Chin, Jonathan Abrams, and Dave Lee.
Friendster was a huge thing by then with over 100 million users. But after some technical problems and a redesign, the site suddenly had a decline in traffic as users jumped to Facebook. Unfortunately, its fame ended in July 2009.
Other social media sites and the year they were launched includes:
- LinkedIn (2003) – was a place to post a resume and link business-minded people together.
- Gmail (2004) – Google created its own email service which later on surpassed the all famous Yahoo mail.
- Facebook (2004) – launched by Mark Zuckerberg along with fellow roommates and was initially limited to Harvard students. Now, it is one of the Big Four technology companies alongside Apple, Amazon, and Google.
- YouTube (2005) – created by former PayPal employees and was bought by Google in 2006.
- Twitter (2006) – a microblogging and social networking service which has reached more than 321 million monthly active users in 2018.
- Tumblr (2007) – founded by David Karp in 2007 that allows users to post multimedia and short-form blogs. As of 2019, Tumblr hosts over 475 million blogs.
- Instagram (2010) – a photo and video-sharing social networking service owned by Facebook Inc. It was initially launched in iOS. After a year and a half later, it was then made available in Android devices.
3 Most important benefits of social media to businesses
Social media is very flexible. We use it in our daily lives as a personal outlet and in our respective careers. According to Hootsuite, if you’re not taking advantage of social media, you’re definitely missing out on a fast, inexpensive, and effective way to reach almost half of the world’s population.
So, if you’re not utilising the use of social media for your business, read below to know why you really have to.
Here are a few benefits of social media for your business:
1. Drives the increase in website traffic
Most businesses today have their own websites. Generally, having a website doesn’t automatically mean reaching the audience that you need. But, properly promoting your website on different social media platforms will drive traffic to your website. This would lead to an increase in visibility, attention from possible clients, and showcasing your business expertise.
2. Quickly generate leads
Your potential customers might just be lurking around social media. It only takes a proper way of reaching out and enticing them with whatever your business is offering. Continuous posting, communicating, and even creating ads on social media makes it easier to generate leads.
3. Boost your sales
No matter what your business is offering, social media can definitely help you sell it. For example, Facebook opened the Facebook Marketplace where people can easily buy and sell products locally or internationally. That alone can reach the global audience using hashtags or keywords for specific searches.
These are only 3 of the most important benefits that social media brings to businesses today. On the flip side, this is why social media marketers are highly in demand. They have the experience, expertise, and skills to achieve the goal.
As a business owner, you should always be updated on the latest social media marketing trends to be one step ahead of your competitors.
Conclusion
The power of social media is expected to ever flourish in the next years to come. So if it is something that you haven’t even thought about yet, think about the opportunities and clients that you might’ve missed!
And if you already wrapped your head around the idea but didn’t know where to ask for help, then you are on the right path. Let DBOS help you find the right talent to aid you with strategic planning for your next step towards growth and get to save up to 70% on your labour costs! For more information, you can contact us today to get a free consultation with our CEO/Founder.