The Rise of Active Users

A lot can happen in 14 years. The Sydney Opera House was built within that timeframe. Over 75 social media platforms have been developed, some going viral and others disappearing throughout that time.

Let’s time travel through the evolution of social media.

The 90’s blogging boom opened endless opportunities for the social media world, starting with Myspace in the early 00’s. Real-time connectivity quickly evolved, enabling social users located anywhere globally to communicate at any hour. Facebook and YouTube were the first platforms to remove the communication barriers of time and location, making social media channels much more appealing to use on a personal, marketing and business level.

As demand increased, more social media channels have been created including platforms such as Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine and TikTok most recently launching.

The real question is how can businesses utilise the power of social media in modern society?

Be meaningful. Be impactful. Be relevant.

The era of the cheesy sales pitch is well and truly over. In today’s world businesses need to add value to a consumer’s life and connect on an emotional level.

How can your product or service make their life ‘better’?

The opportunity to influence consumer purchasing behaviour is endless. However, consumers today have access to endless product options from all around the globe. This is where strategic social media planning and implementation separate the market leaders from the market mediocres.

Currently, the top three platforms you need to create and facilitate regular content to elevate your brand in market:

#1 Facebook 2.85 billion monthly active users.

#2 YouTube 2 billion monthly active users.

#3 Instagram 1.074 billion monthly active users.

Timeline of Social Media

February, 2004

Facebook was launched, active monthly users in 2021- 2.85 billion

February, 2005

YouTube started, active monthly users in 2021- 2 billion

March, 2006

Twitter launched March 2006, San Francisco California

October, 2010

Instagram launched, active monthly users in 2021 – 1.074 billion

8 July, 2011

Snapchat launched

2012

Vine launched – died as fast as it lived. Discontinued in 2016 by Twitter.

2015

Social on the go

September, 2016

TikTok launched, active monthly users in 2021 - 689 million

Now, let’s explore a brand that has consistently captivated the world through experiences – the one and only Airbnb. Airbnb have reached over 16 million followers on Facebook, 253,000 YouTube subscribers and 734.9K Twitter followers.

In just five years, Airbnb has accumulated an impressive 4.9 million followers on Instagram through simply sharing experiences. Their audience demographics range from luxury to the best cheap deals and family hot spots – Airbnb offers relatable and appealing content to everyone.

In true Airbnb style, they continue to embrace and innovate, creating relevant content for new social media channels. This follows onto the most recent trending platform, TikTok. The account is set up, verified, and already followed by 5431 users without any content… this is certainly a watch this space moment.

Social media channels have shown the world time and time again just how powerful they can be when used as marketing tools for business. The key is to stay relevant, upload quality content and be authentic.

It prompts us to think – what will be next BIG social media channel to flood our feed?

Sources

1. Social Media Marketing: Evolution and Change Shweta Sharma and H. V. Verma S. Sharma (*) NITI Ayog, New Delhi, India H. V. Verma University of Delhi, New Delhi, India © The Author(s) 2018 19 G. Heggde, G. Shainesh (eds.), Social Media Marketing
2. All active monthly users data - https://www.omnicoreagency.com/
3. The rise of social media. Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban. (2019) https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media
4. https://www.tiktok.com/@airbnb
5. https://www.instagram.com/airbnb/
6. https://www.facebook.com/AirbnbAustralia/
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE0gJ7uaiR0&t=56s
8. Social Media Highlight: Airbnb. Hogan, Megan (2018) https://www.stunningstrategy.com/social-media-highlight-airbnb/
9. How Airbnb experiences campaign took over Instagram. Ogweng, Sylvia. (2018) https://www.business2community.com/instagram/how-airbnbs-experiences-campaign-took-over-instagram-02131974
10. Complete history of social media: then and now. Hendricks, Drew (2021) https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/the-complete-history-of-social-media-infographic.html

Share to Social