History of Social Media for Business
The history of changes made to popular social media platforms to accommodate business use.
Assembled by the team at [MediaFunnel](http://mediafunnel.com). Sign up for a [free trial](http://mediafunnel.com/pricing-plans/) of our social media management system. ;xNLx;;xNLx;;xNLx;Use MediaFunnel to:;xNLx;;xNLx;• Connect multiple users to multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts without sharing credentials. ;xNLx;;xNLx;• Prevent potentially harmful content from being published. ;xNLx;;xNLx;• Spread out your content for maximum exposure. ;xNLx;;xNLx;• Monitor your brand, engage your audience and support your customers.
1994-01-01 09:14:54
blogging
Dave Winer's writes Scripting News, one of the first blogs of all time, paving the way for company blogs of the future.
1994-04-10 14:16:22
online forums
The WIT project from the W3 Consortium creates a web-based forum, the predecessor of the modern online forum often used for customer service.
2004-10-01 05:53:55
yelp
Launched. Businesses have a place to post their location, hours, etc., and publicly receive online reviews from customers.
2006-05-01 03:03:01
facebook
Expands to include work networks. People are now able to register for Facebook with ".com" or ".org" email addresses, not just ".edu" ones. People working within the same companies are now joined on the same network, creating more Facebook visibility for businesses around the world.
2007-02-27 08:46:47
twitter
JetBlue begins to use Twitter for customer service after its highly publicized February 2007 flight delays. This is one of the first instances of a company using Twitter for customer communication.
2007-11-01 07:32:40
facebook
Launches Facebook Ads, allowing companies to create custom ads that appear on Facebook.
2007-12-01 08:18:53
youtube
Launches the YouTube Partner Program, which allows accepted applicants to earn revenue through YouTube.
2008-11-07 22:55:09
facebook
Launches Pages for businesses and organizations. Companies now have a unique profile setup that fans can "like."
2008-11-12 00:24:31
youtube
Promoted Videos launched; it places a company's video advertisements adjacent to relevant searches.
2008-12-01 16:24:28
facebook
Partners with Oodle to launch Marketplace, where users can buy and sell anything from furniture to real estate.
2009-03-26 18:44:14
foursquare
Launched. Users can check-in to businesses, helping to market them.
2009-06-01 03:49:39
gowalla
Launched; it allows users to check-in to businesses, making them more visible across the internet.
2010-03-01 03:13:39
Pinterest
Launched. Businesses can create their own pages to market their products.
2010-04-15 05:56:24
twitter
Launches Promoted Tweets, Twitter's first advertising platform. Promoted Tweets are company tweets that are placed at the top of user Home feeds for more visibility.
2010-06-01 10:24:18
twitter
Launches Promoted Trends. Companies can advertise by having their names at the top of Twitter's Trending Topics.
2010-08-18 02:58:20
facebook
Launches Places, which allows users to check-in to businesses and increase companies' visibility.
2010-10-04 14:52:13
Twitter
Launches Promoted Accounts. Promoted Accounts are company or brand accounts that are suggested to Twitter users who are not yet following them.
2010-11-01 17:03:19
linkedin
Launches Company Pages. LinkedIn users can "follow" Company Pages, and companies can promote their products and services, get recommended, and post updates.
2010-12-01 00:50:50
twitter
Launches Enhanced Profile Pages (brand/company pages). Companies can create their own pages with features that will help them market their products or services.
2011-09-14 06:59:27
facebook
Launches the Subscribe button; users can now get updates about "people brands" that they subscribe to, such as celebrities or political figures.
2011-11-07 16:58:03
google+
Launches Pages for businesses. Businesses now how have their own marketing platform on Google+.