Recently Twitter had their earnings call and the big story coming from the numbers was a slowing in the growth of Twitter's monthly active users (MAU). There was plenty of commentary on the doom approaching for Twitter, as the MAU slow, so does the opportunities for Twitter.
So I was looking at the number of MAU for Twitter. That number has slowed to 288 million users. Let me say that again out loud, 288 million users. These are mind boggling numbers. Twitter made $479 million in revenue, which comes to a paltry $1.66 per MAU. Now this number has doubled revenue, so that number seem to be growing.
MAU is not the problem for Twitter. If Twitter doubles the MAU, which is not going to happen, then revenue is still under $1 billion per quarter. The problem is the $1.66 per MAU. This can also be attributed to Facebook having 7X the engagement over Twitter. Twitters problem is their 288 million users do not spend enough time on the service.
Average time per MAU and revenue per MAU should be the main metrics for Twitter. Twitter makes money on advertising. Many say this is why MAU is the most important metric, I mean look at Facebook, they have 1.39 billion MAU and look at the money they make. Twitter will never have the MAU of Facebook and it shouldn't worry about that number. Twitter needs to have laser focus on making the Twitter experience the most engaging as possible. 288 million users is more than enough to have an amazing business. I think 99.9% of the worlds businesses would kill for 288 million users.
Recently Apple CEO Tim Cook made a comment that really resonated with me and I don't know if Twitter, or most companies for that matter, looks at their business in this way. Tim Cook said "We're not focused on the numbers, we're focused on the things that produce the numbers." Twitter needs to focus on what produces the numbers. The product of Twitter. The more their extremely large base of users engage with the platform, the more money Twitter makes. It sounds so simple, but it isn't. I feel Twitter doesn't spend enough time on making the platform the most engaging it can be.
I don't have the answers on what will make Twitter more engaging. I do believe that all of their focus should be on increasing the time each user spends on Twitter. Make the platform more sticky. If the focus is on the platform, then profits will follow. Change the conversation to investors and make sure the organization is focused on the singular goal.
I love Twitter. I spend most of the time on my phone using Twitter, however I still find it hard to find new things to see. I love using an app called Zite, that learns what I like by simple thumbs up and thumbs down and then shows me articles that I would like to read based on the input. If Twitter could incorporate ease of use like Zite, I believe the platform would be so sticky. Good luck Twitter and stay focused!