Appendix
External Analysis

1. PESTEL Analysis

1.1. Political

1.1.1.Global leaders use of social media impacts the political landscape and is able to influence operations. (C-142)

1.1.2. Several high-profile world leaders utilize social media platforms to address their followers, the most notable being U.S. President Donald Trump who tweets regularly to announce global interactions with other political leaders. They also have high interactions and reach with the global community: U.S President Donald Trump had 30.13 million twitter followers as at May 2017 and former U.S. President Barack Obama had 103 million followers as at June 2018 (C-142)

1.1.3. Depending on the political climate in various countries, governments may censor content and access to social media platforms.

1.2. Economics

1.2.1. Generated revenues through advertising, data licensing and other products. products. In 2017, total revenue generated was $2,443, 299, 000 (C-142)

1.2.2. Fluctuating exchange rates and inflation rates can affect overall profit-margins. (C-147)

1.3. Social

1.3.1. The expectation of the population is that they are able to post whatever they please on social media platforms. That explains why Twitter uses the bird mascot, which is a symbol of freedom (C-147)

1.3.2. The need to express feelings and experiences without a character constraint. The popularity of internet and social media devices has allowed social media companies to ensure that their platform is optimized for mobile devices. Encouraging real-time interactions. (C-141)

1.3.3. Global celebrities like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Jimmy Fallon, and Taylor Swift use Twitter to communicate with their fans, build their public image and spread news (C-141)

1.4. Technological

1.4.1. In 2017, Twitter raised character counts to 280 from 140 in order to encourage freedom of expression and make it more comprehensive and relevant. (C-141)

1.4.2. Verification badge placed on accounts that are at risk of impersonification to indicate legitimacy. (C-141)

1.4.3. Social media platforms have implemented features such as broadcasting live videos, photo attachments to increase engagement. (C-141)

1.4.4. As internet access is becoming readily available, the use of social media is also growing especially in countries like India and Indonesia. It is estimated that India has 270 million Facebook users while Indonesia has 140 million (C-143)

1.5. Ecological

1.5.1. Data centres require electricity and total energy use is increasing. (C-142)

1.5.2. In order to access social media, mobile phones and laptops are often used. These devices have their own carbon footprint.

1.6. Legal

1.6.1. Freedom of speech is suppressed in Jared Taylor case. Users believe that platforms like Twitter are a great way to express their views freely without any ramifications. Jared filed a lawsuit against Twitter and claimed that his account was suspended because of his racial views. Twitter's policy of suspending accounts with or without reason raises issues of unethical behaviour. Users also believe it contradicts the platform that is supposedly focused on free speech. (C-147)

1.6.2. Data sharing partnerships and licensing generates revenue for social media companies. For instance, Facebook has data sharing partnership with four Chinese companies. Given this fact, Senator Mark Warner of the Intelligence Committee asked Twitter to disclose any data sharing agreements they have with Chinese companies (C-148)

1.6.3. Risks associated with impersonation, offensive, malicious posts/users. (C-141 & C-147)

1.7 Conclusions

Political: U.S. President Donald Trump has help boost Twitter popularity.

Economic: Twitter is a global brand. The blue bird alone communicate twitter worldwide.

Social: Twitter accounts that are at risk of impersonification have a verification badge.

Technological: Internet access is readily available in most parts of the world. So, the number of social media users will increase in future.

Legal: Senator Mark Warner has asked Twitter to disclose any data sharing partnership they have entered into with Chinese companies and the outcome of a lawsuit filed by Jared Taylor would have significant impact on Twitter.

2. Dominant Economic Features

2.1. Number of Rivals

· The social media industry is one that is interrelated and also has a lot of competition within the compact industry. It is an industry where the users tend to be on many platforms sending the same message at once. Twitter main rivals include Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Instagram. In 2018, Facebook average monthly users was 1.7 billion and only 17 percent of total users were from United States (C-144). In early 2018, WhatsApp active monthly users was 1.5 billion (C-145). In January, 2018, Snapchat had 300 million users of which 187 million were daily users (C-146). Instagram had 1 billion active monthly users as of June, 2018 (C-146). LinkedIn total users was 562 million as of July 2018 (C-147). The total actively monthly users would equal more than half of the worlds population if considered all different individuals, which would be false to assume, therefore it is an industry where individuals choose to use a variety of the platforms with in the same social media industry

· The Industry itself is growing as more and more people have access to the internet and are able to use the free services. Twitter had increased 23 million active monthly users, Facebook 461 million, and Instagram 400 million (C-138). Of that majority of revenue growth seen in the industry comes from international revenue. With that being said the growth is being seen from acquiring new users as the new users now have the ability to access the internet thus to access social media services

· The industry has become such that the only way to have an upper hand over its competitors is to acquire one another. In this case, Facebook that already has the highest monthly users, now owns WhatsApp, and Instagram (C-144, C-146)

2.2. Channels of Distribution of Content

· The industry is one that allows people to communicate with family friends and also to the public. One statement on either platform is able to be seen by thousands of millions of users (C147). The users have the ability to find content that associates with them without restriction (C-141). The users are able to customize their usage of social media that relates to them. This also allows entities to target...…in technology because more than 85% of its total revenue is from advertising services (C-143).

· Twitter is looking to improve their technological infrastructure because advertisers are looking for new and better ways of conveying their message to the public.

· Twitter programming structure allows for app development and customized user experience.

3.4 Research and Development

· In 2017, research and development accounted for 22.5% of total costs and expenses (C-139).

· Twitter is investing in the development of new apps and products to maintain and grow its user base and attract new advertisers. For example, Periscope was launched in 2015. This mobile app allows users to broadcast and watch live videos with others (C – 142).

3.5 Conclusion

· Technological development and inbound logistics are Twitter's main sources of differentiation advantage. So, they should strengthen their global platform by investing more in research and development.

· Twitter should also differentiate themselves from other platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp because it is crucial for growth and helps in attracting new users and advertisers

2. SWOT Analysis

2.1. Strengths

· Strong brand image - people are able to associate logo (blue bird) without a name (C-141)

· Global high profile - political leaders around the world and famous celebrities of similar high-profiles use the platform (C-142)

· Platform allows businesses and content creators to extend reach and have the potential of billions of online impressions of tweets (C-141)

· Immediate data generator, every time a tweet is published, data is created(C-142)

2.2. Weaknesses

· Financial weaknesses - unable to generate profit until 2018, in deficit of over $2.6 billion, marginal revenue increases, unreliable profitability (C-138)

· Slow growth - competitors are growing at a much faster rate (C-138)

· High operational expenses - spending on technology infrastructure, sales, marketing and research and development (C-147)

2.3. Opportunities

· Collection and use of data to turn into solid revenue stream (C-142)

· Leverage platform as a massive marketing tool for B2B, B2C businesses (C-142)

2.4. Threats

· Legality issues - to what extent does freedom of expression apply, if Twitter restricts accounts or enforces rules on what can/cannot be published, they may face legal action (C-147)

· Fluctuation of stock price in comparison to competitors, investors may not think it is worthwhile to invest (C-143)

· Competitors are providing services similar to Twitter, which may make the platform less unique (C-143, C-146)

2.5. Conclusion

· Businesses and content creators can use reach and ability of impressions to leverage platform as a marketing tool

· Since it is an immediate data generator, Twitter can use the data collected to generate a revenue stream, by either selling the information, providing other services, or catering to specific niches. Can also sell itself as a marketing service and earn revenue through that

· As Twitter is facing a slow growth, financial weaknesses and news of high operational expenses, the stock prices will see a decline

3. Front-burner Strategic Issue













…