FACEBOOK AND TWITTER: A PERFECT COMBINATION?

Most analysts consider Facebook and Twitter a perfect combination in social media. Let us find out why.

Facebook, Inc. posted a 2014 revenue of $12.47 billion, up 58% year-over-year. It also has 936 million daily active users (as of March 2015) and trades at about $81 a share. On the other hand, Twitter, Inc.’s 2014 revenue was $1.403 million, up 11% year-over-year, and has 302 million active users. It trades at around $37 a share.

Are these figures sufficient to make them a "happy couple"? Let’s dig deeper. A linkup could be the resolution to some of the challenges they face today. Twitter has slow traffic growth and dwindling share price, while Facebook has experienced difficulty in rolling out new, traffic-generating services. However, many believed their services and revenue streams can compliment each other.

Facebook’s advertising revenue reached $3.59 billion, 53% higher from the 1st quarter last year. Its mobile advertising revenue represented around 69% of advertising revenue. Twitter’s advertising revenue hit $432 million, 97% higher year-over-year. Its mobile advertising was 88% of advertising revenue.

Setting aside the numbers, both social networking giants have exerted huge amounts of money and considerable amount of time in order to emulate each other. Facebook spent approximately $25 billion on 14 companies, including WhatsApp and Instagram. Conversely, Twitter introduced Vine and acquired Periscope, among other acquisitions.

But both Facebook and Twitter face numerous challenges. Twitter has been attempting to get into services like Snapchat in order to expand beyond 140-character messages. Also, several individuals find the process of tweeting and retweeting confusing. There are times the traffic-generating app has eluded Facebook. Its certain high profile new features toppled, including Graph Search and Android Cover Feed.

More reasons for Facebook-Twitter partnership? Twitter feeds could give a robust platform to Facebook users for staying updated about the latest news. Likewise, Facebook could make Twitter more user-friendly as its features are user-friendly even to the least tech-savvy users.

Having said that, amidst their strengths and weaknesses, Facebook and Twitter can be a perfect combination. Facebook’s deep pockets and diverse business can complement Twitter’s plunging shares and slow traffic growth.