It’s common knowledge that history repeats itself. Whether it be wars, the economy, and even social media, lessons from history help us understand and predict the future. But what if we didn’t have to look any further than our own past?

Marketing styles have changed dramatically over the decades. From wartime propaganda in the 1940s through lifestyle marketing in the 1960s, each decade has brought new and different influences to how companies market their products and services.

The social media industry is no exception. From first site launches to major acquisitions, let’s take a closer look back at social media history and see what can be learned from it.

Emotion drives decisions

What causes a person to act? Emotion. Whether it is excited, impulsive, scared, curious, anxious — emotions drive our decisions.

In the 1940s, many brands capitalized on this concept to sell their products. With emotions running high during World War II, advertisers created campaigns that spoke to the national pride and troop support overseas. This created emotions of pride and honor with consumers, feeling good that they were supporting the troops.

Buyers today have a wide range of feelings, and tomorrow’s worries are critical for businesses to understand. When it comes to social media, anticipating how your consumers are feeling often will help you relate to them and satisfy their personal needs, catering to their emotional decision-making. You’ll be ahead of the curve for your brand by monitoring world events and social impacts on your customers.

Change requires conflict

Conflict is the key driver for changing behaviors, laws, and the overall status quo of a society. If there’s no tension, why is any need for change? This theory has guided change generation by generation, from labor to technology, social beliefs, and beyond.

What does this have to do with social media? If you look closely, you’ll notice a pattern of tension happening today online: increased anxiety and depression. While there are many benefits to social media, like connecting with family and friends, it comes at the expense of exposure to content that has a negative impact on users’ mental health.

Anticipate the repercussions of conflict. With social media, this could mean a decrease in social media usage in the future, or at least a limited use with greater intention. This means now is the time for brands to build communities with their consumers that are authentic and loyalty-building to ensure their brand stays in their audience’s “inner circle”. Trust us, it’s not going to get easier.

Nothing lasts forever

All good things come to an end, right? From advertisements on VCR movies to telegrams, technology and innovation will always continue to evolve. The social media networks that you know today won’t be around forever, no matter how badly Facebook wants to be.

But they can evolve with the times. VCR becomes DVD, which becomes Blue Ray, which becomes Netflix. The habit of consuming entertaining content and movies didn’t go away. The way of doing it evolved with the times.

The need for connection isn’t going to go away either, but the way of doing it will evolve. It’s important for brands to keep a pulse on the market to see which platforms their audiences are frequenting, how they’re using those platforms, and how they want to be engaged on those networks. Don’t be afraid to evolve your strategy for your brand to keep up with the market. That’s the only way you’ll stay ahead of the competition and continue building community with your consumers.

Want to learn more about what’s in store for your brand on social media? Schedule a discovery call with Social HQ, and we’ll whip out our crystal ball for your brand’s future.