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networking was utilized through telephone and electronic-mail (e-mail). It was e-mail that
changed how modern society communicated on the computer, allowing one to send someone a
message at any time of the day or night (Morrow, 2014). E-mailing required computers that
have online access and this early form of the “internet” made connecting online possible,
although it was quite expensive for most. ARPANET, an early network of time sharing
computers that formed the basis of the internet, was created in 1969. Over several years,
ARPANET was then developed into the World Wide Web (WWW) which opened the door for
hundreds of viral communities. Along with the WWW, the 1980s introduced The WELL, GENIE,
Listserv, and the IRC (Edosomwan, 2011). Later, instant messaging (IM), which was similar to
e-mail but instead used real time via the Internet, had gained popularity amongst the youth and
became a distraction of many high school students who were IMing instead of studying
(Morrow, 2014).
Many social media sites were established in the 1990s and in the early 2000s, the use of
social media skyrocketed. MySpace (2006), Facebook (2004) and YouTube (2005) have
become the most popular platforms for viral communication and networking globally and have
integrated themselves into people’s everyday lives. Viral communities have created other
communities such as Twitter and Instagram, which are used for leisure activities such as
microblogging and pure entertainment. In recent times, social media has impacted many
aspects of human communication, thereby impacting business (Edosomwan, 2011).
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Since the rise of social media, businesses have taken upon themselves to adapt to
newer marketing strategies, specifically social media marketing, for their benefit. Social media
marketing is an essential component of business in the 21
st
century. Small business leaders are
using this marketing strategy to promote their business to gain visibility, viability, and
sustainability to survive in the current competitive era (Taneja 2014). Social media marketing is