There is no way you have never seen the famous Twitter icon. No matter where you’re from, Twitter has reached you once in your lifetime in one way or another. The famous micro-blogging site is one of the most used apps, with a vast customer base, robust UI, and huge market share. In this decade, the company has faced new lows in many sectors, which we will learn from this Twitter SWOT analysis.
Twitter: Company Overview
Company | Twitter, Inc. |
Industry | Internet, Social Media |
Founded | 21 March, 2006 |
Founder | Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, Evan Williams |
CEO | Elon Musk |
Headquarter | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
No. of Employees | 2,300+ |
Annual Revenue | $5.1 billion (FY 2021) |
Website | twitter.com |
With the idea of starting a micro-blogging and social media platform, Twitter started its journey in 2006 with four co-founders, Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Noah Glass, and Biz Stone. Since then, the company has gone big in the past two decades.
The company is known for its iconic logo, a bird called Larry. More than 35K tweets are posted worldwide, with more than 360 million users. Even though the company has been facing some problems since Elon took over, we will see what the future holds for the company.
Product & Services of Twitter
Social Networking Platform
Twitter Competitors
Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | MySpace | Tumblr | Pinterest | Snapchat
Did You Know?
In 2010, the Library of Congress started archiving all the tweets that had even been posted. Even though they limited and eventually stopped doing that in 2017.
Strengths – Twitter SWOT Analysis
Global Recognition: No matter where you’re from, even the remote areas, Twitter is available in every country on earth where the internet reaches. Even if someone doesn’t use the app or the site, they will instantly recognize the color, brand image, and mascot within a few seconds because of its high brand value, news source, and marketing.
First-World Country Market Share: Even though Facebook has the top social media market share in the world, when we discuss first-world countries’ social media market share, Twitter ranks top. And the market share increased by 55% in 2022 because of its authentic news source and reliable communication media.
Passive Celebrity Endorsement: One of the primary reasons for Twitter’s popularity is because of how much celebrity activities are in this media and its overall presence. And in the past five years, it has become one of the most influential mediums. As a result, the relevancy and celebrity presence made it possible for them to make a loyal customer base.
Great UI and App Features: Because of Twitter’s smooth usability, customers’ engagement rate is comparably high. And with its new and innovative features, it’s staying relevant in the market. Besides, hashtags, recent, trendy updates, and continuous listening to customers’ demands have given them an excellent app experience.
Strong Finance: The primary source of revenue for Twitter is advertising, and there are other sectors, such as data licensing. Even though 2022 wasn’t the top-performing year in terms of revenue, the continuous growth was impressive, with $4.4 B at the end of the year. And, as the customer base is rising, so is the revenue in the coming years.
Weaknesses – Twitter SWOT Analysis
Undiversified Revenue Model: As mentioned before, the primary revenue source is ads, and in 2022, the revenue amount was $4.4 B, which is 88% of the total. Only around 7 to 9% of the revenue comes from data licensing, which is comparability very low.
US Market Dependency: Twitter is the most used social media platform in first-tier countries, so most revenue comes from these countries. Specifically, the US holds the most significant chunk of the pie in the revenue figure by region at 25% in the US. Any inconvenience or influence could tank this part of the overall revenue for the company.
Lack of Security: There are many reports against Twitter because of its misuse, cybercrime, information leak, and other security issues. As a result, it made a destructive impact on the brand image as people are now highly sensitive to security issues. Even in 2022, hackers leaked 200M users’ data.
Fake Accounts: Fake users have been a problem, specifically for social media companies and advertisers. Statistics show that around 5% of the entire user base is filled with fake accounts, but the number is much higher. Even though the percentage might be lower, it’s a big chunk of the 45 M user base.
Low Innovations: The growth relies on the innovation a company can do in their core products, in this case, making the platform better. But not just that people can’t edit the post, but also the overall algorithm is not appropriately utilized, hampering the customer experience. Besides, Twitter is very slow to bring new and trendy in terms of market demand.
Opportunities – Twitter SWOT Analysis
Better Mobile Usability: If we look at the data, it shows that most social media users browse through mobiles, and for Twitter, the number is more than 80%. Other social media platforms have utilized this opportunity by serving more better experience via mobile apps and when they see ads via mobile. Twitter should get to work on this to make the feature better.
Personalized Features: Whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, or any other social media, they all have one thing in common: Personalized features for the consumers. It boosts the customer’s overall engagement rate and helps them stay connected. Twitter has the perfect opportunity to grab by giving consumers a better and more personalized experience.
Introduce Video Streaming: Media and streaming platforms are rising, reaching almost $60 B in 2022. Most social and traditional social media platforms have introduced their own platforms to grab this market. Twitter can introduce its version as they already have a loyal base and great UI.
Diversified Market: To stay and survive in the market, the continuous market expansion is part of the process. Whether it’s expansion by region or in the revenue market, the perfect way to do it is to expose the core services to the new markets. As a result, they can bring more advertisers from different regions, which will help Twitter to diversify its revenue.
Innovative Features: As a social media platform, staying relevant and continuously bringing new features is the way to keep users engaged, get more income, and grow the user base. In 2023, we might get introduced to new UI and features on Twitter, as Elon Musk said. It will boost the overall engagement rate and help diversify to new markets.
Threats – Twitter SWOT Analysis
Downward Profit: Even with an increasing user base and revenue, the profit amount is decreasing, which is a considerable concern. And in January 2023, the company faced a new low drop of 40%, and more than 500 advertisers ultimately stopped spending and even left.
High Competition: Social media has become the ultimate companion of everybody’s life, and every day hundreds of businesses try to build something from these platforms. And the companies try to grab these opportunities and conceive who gets to spend the money on which platform the competition is massive.
Legal Boundaries: With the rise of social media platforms, many countries tried to limit the purpose of the media and freedom of speech. As a part of it, China has banned Twitter completely, and even a few weeks ago, government officials blocked reporters on Twitter. And EU has set legal boundaries for these social media platforms.
Unbalanced Power Struggle: Since the company went public, the management and investor board have influenced companies decision and how it is to do work. As a result, the media platform has lost its core purpose of serving people with news. Even they forced founder Jack Dorsey to step down from the management board in 2022.
Additional Tax: European Union is going through tax reforms, and tech companies are part of it. As a result, Twitter now has to pay other taxes in European countries. It will hamper the company’s overall financial position and decrease the profit even more.
[Bonus Infographic] SWOT Analysis of Twitter
Recommendations for Twitter
Twitter has become one of the freemium sources of authentic news and other information and is trusted by millions of people. But, in terms of business, every company needs to change and pivot from the core product or service. Here are some recommendations for the company for the upcoming days;
- Expanding the company to new markets might help in the long run and help build customer bases in those countries.
- Besides, introducing new revenue models for the creators will help make it more profitable.
- Intoridung personalized and customized features will increase the engagement rate.
- Building new UI and introducing new features will increase the overall usability and better mobile experience.
- Tackling management hierarchy, security issues, and other legal boundaries as diplomatically as possible will help reach those countries’ user base.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Twitter a Good Company?
Yes, employees from Twitter have rated positively and said it is an excellent company to work for.
Is Twitter Public Or Private Company?
Twitter is a public company that went public ten years ago in 2013.
Final Words on Twitter SWOT Analysis
When it comes to microblogging, Twitter holds a place in our minds. In the social media industry, Twitter has dominated the market for a long time and still holds the top position in top-tier countries. With its solid yet limited finance, loyal customer base, great app, and UI, it is thriving in the market. Even though it’s facing new world problems, as history repeats, it will continue to survive for a long time in the market.
References
- Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Twitter, Inc.. Wikipedia.
- Twitter’s market share rockets 55% in 2022, Facebook slides 12%. (2022, December 22). AIBC.
- Long-form tweets, bookmark button & swipe tool: Elon Musk announces new Twitter features rolling out in January. (2023, January 9). The Economic Times.
- Dixon, S. (2023, January 25). Twitter’s revenue from 1st quarter 2011 to 2nd quarter 2022. Statista.
- Newman, L. H. (2023, January 6). What Twitter’s 200 Million-User Email Leak Actually Means. WIRED.
- Miller, H. (2022, May 16). What’s a Bot? Why Musk and Twitter’s CEO Are Fighting Over Fake Accounts. Washington Post.
- Perrigo, B. (2023, February 1). Why Your Twitter Feed Is Suddenly Full of People You Don’t Follow. Time.
- Video Streaming Market Is Expected To Reach around USD 59.14 Billion By 2022, Grow at a CAGR Of 21.3% during Forecast Period 2023 To 2030 | Data By Contrive Datum Insights Pvt Ltd. (2023, January 24). GlobeNewswire.
- Romero, J. (2023, January 9). Elon Musk announces upcoming UI overhaul and new Twitter features. Phone Arena.
- Over 500 advertisers have paused spending on Twitter- The Information. (2023, January 18). Reuters.
- Tan, J. (2023, February 2). Government officials blocked reporters on Twitter, freedom of expression before the Federal Courts. Canadian Lawyer.
- Hatmaker, T. (2022, May 26). Jack Dorsey steps down from Twitter’s board. Tech Crunch.
- Abdel-Sadek, A. (2021, August). Big Tech and Digital Taxation reforms in the EU and MENA. EuroMeSCo.