International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

The Evolution of Social Media Marketing and Its Impact on Startup Retention Tactics

Over the last twenty years, social media has gone from being just a way to connect with people to becoming a key part of how businesses plan and grow. Especially for new companies, social media marketing has been used to connect with customers, create a strong brand image, and support steady growth. This paper looks at how social media marketing has changed over time, showing the move from simple posting to strategies that use data to connect better with people. It also looks at how these changes have affected how startups keep their customers, focusing on loyalty, building a community, and offering personalized marketing. The study uses information from existing reports, industry data, and recent research from 2010 to 2024 to spot new trends like working with influencers, using AI for better analysis, and combining different online platforms. The results show that social media marketing helps companies get new customers quickly and also helps keep them around through instant communication, custom content, and smart prediction tools. The paper ends with suggestions for startups to improve customer retention by matching new digital trends with flexible and responsive business plans.