The Rise Of Social Media

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The first social media platform, SixDegrees, was launched in 1997. It enabled its users to list family and friends and had profiles, bulletin boards, and school affiliations. It lasted five years before it was shut down in 2001.

LinkedIn was founded not long after in 2003, before Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter! Facebook kicked off in 2004 but took a few years before it reached popularity; originally, it was overshadowed by MySpace. However, due to Facebook’s willingness to innovate and enhance its UX, it has become the giant of social media.

Since then, we’ve seen Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and others come into the mainstream and social media has become a staple of everyday life.

What is social media day?

Social Media Day was founded by Mashable in 2010 to celebrate how social media has revolutionised communications and to recognise the impact social media has had on our lives.

In offering a way for people to instantly connect and stay in touch easily despite distance, social media has promoted global interconnectivity. It also provides entertainment, news, and shopping.

During lockdowns, social media helped people fight loneliness and continue to speak with their friends and family. When it wasn’t possible to physically be with people, these platforms helped bridge the gaps in distance. For all people of all ages, social media has become something we now can’t imagine being without.

How you can celebrate Social Media Day

Social media marketing is about conversations – so get chatting to your followers! You can do this by:

Creating a social media day post
Starting a poll
Commenting and engaging with other content
Hosting a live stream event
Sharing content created by a guest blogger
Launching a new competition
Sharing content
Taking and sharing a selfie
Sharing a quote
Following, liking, and engaging with other social media channels.

Think of this day as an opportunity to celebrate all the aspects of social media and use it as an opportunity to engage with your customers and those who inspire you.

Build new connections and celebrate the ones you’ve made already.

Key social media usage statistics

Do you wonder how popular social media has become since 1997? We’ve got some key facts for you to highlight how much we all engage with these platforms:

People use social media for an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes per day,
2 billion people use social media – that’s more than half of the planet’s total population,
90% of people with internet access use social media.

Social media usage is often under scrutiny due to fake news circulation and its impact on mental health. These are valid and important conversations; however, June 30th is for focusing on the positives. Use National Social Media Day to celebrate how social media has impacted our lives for the better.

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