Most social media platforms started with a simple purpose. Facebook started as a way for college students to communicate with one another. Snapchat began as a way to communicate through pictures that would disappear.  Twitter started off as a site for users to share brief status updates with others. Instagram was for users to share pictures in an online photo album for friends to view. Over the years each of these social media sites have evolved. Today, the evolution of social media continues and businesses struggle to keep up.

http://www.firstversions.com/2015/04/facebook.html

https://www.merkleinc.com/blog/fmc-facebook-ad-changes-and-timeline-business-pages

As Society Evolves, So Does Social Media

This week Twitter announced their new goal: to become the world’s fastest and most efficient news source. Facebook is no longer a site for college students. Facebook is now a place to share opinions, media, news and more. In fact, last week CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his plan to turn Facebook into a new “social infrastructure”. Facebook hopes to address social problems like false news, lack of political engagement and climate change.

Furthermore, Snapchat recently shared its plan to rebrand itself as a camera company. It plans to give users the ability to share stories through a personal view. In addition, the newly added feature of Snapchat news allows users to receive quick updates from news outlets.

A Newfound Purpose

The evolution of social media sites also provides business opportunities for companies. It didn’t take long for companies to see how they could use the mass networks to their advantage. Each social media site has different ways for companies to boost profit. Some allow companies to build relationships with users. While some provide companies with feedback from users. Others provide a way to mass advertise. As social media sites evolve, companies find ways to utilize the new features to promote business.

Take Facebook’s new added feature of going live. Users ability to live stream events gives the social media site a whole new purpose. As a result, Facebook has become a place for users to get updated with events rapidly. It even allows users to watch events live as they happen. Businesses go live on Facebook to get their customers to feel involved and included. Companies test out products live and allow customers to give immediate feedback. This benefits both the company and the users.

Looking Forward

Most social media sites began with the simple goal of connecting users. However, today they are powerful shapers of culture and ideas. Social media sites’ ability to mass communicate allows the spread information to happen pronto. Consequently, the evolution of social media has changed our culture. Today social media sites don’t only benefit the user, they benefit society. Most of all, they have changed the way users interact with each other and interact with the world. As social media sites continue to evolve, businesses must evolve with them.