Twitter, the microblogging site, which redefined the way social media is used for information sharing and took text based messaging to Internet is still struggling to rule the mobile and internet world.

Contrary to the biggest social network Facebook which is 10 times larger in worth, Twitter is cited frequently in news, brands use this platform to generate conversations, engage and listen to their target audience. Yet the monthly active users on Twitter are way too less. In fact, a report in November stated that Facebook owned Instagram has out beaten Twitter in terms of monthly active users.

Q2 reports for Twitter have exceeded the analysts’ projections in terms of revenue, but the user growth still lags behind. Twitter’s Founder and Interim CEO Jack Dorsey also accepted this in his recent statement

“Our Q2 results show good progress in monetization, but we are not satisfied with our growth in audience”

“In order to realize Twitter’s full potential, we must improve in three key areas: ensure more disciplined execution, simplify our service to deliver Twitter’s value faster, and better communicate that value.”

Industry experts and analysts feel that Twitter is a startup which is still in its growth phase and will have to revamp its design and restructure into user friendly platform. This is a serious jolt and a disappointment for the investor fraternity cause businesses across the globe rely on the efficacy of this medium to grow and evolve, and the medium itself is going through a period of stagnation.

Based on the report, here is how Facebook is cannibalizing Twitter–

Platforms with Larger audience base

Although Periscope and Meerkat, the two new apps of Twitter are doing well in engaging its audience,   Facebook owns platforms which have a huge potential to add to the overall revenues of the organization. For instance, WhatsApp, the mobile messaging app with 800 million users, Instagram, the instant photo sharing app, with 300 million users and Messenger, instant messenger with 700 million users, generates ample and more traction on the platform resulting the rise in the sales.

Bigger Advertising Sales

Up from $2.7 billion a year before, Facebook has made a 41% jump in its advertising revenue ($3.8 billion).   The microblogging site, broughtto table some unexpected numbers in revenue. Thanks to twitter cards, the    ad sales took a high jump from $277 million last year to $452 million. Numbers do sound good, but Twitter  has a long way to compete with its rivals.

Monthly Active Users

As mentioned in its reports, Facebook has nearly 1.5 billion monthly active users globally. However, Twitter  lags as compared to itsreputation and popularity. Last week the company announced that it has 304 million  monthly active users. Sadly, this number records only 0.7% growth from the previous quarter.

Design

We all have seen Twitter evolve in bits and pieces in terms of design, but one cannot deny the fact that its     design has flaws which needs urgent attention for their survival. To attract the mass audience, the major       changes promised might not be enough. The platform has less active users on it, and the ones it attracts       finds it difficult to catch up. On contrary Facebook has evolved in its design keeping in mind the mass           audience and the ease to use it.  Guess the audience on this platform is a niche bunch of intelligent people   sharing their viewpoint, thus most of the potential customers does not know how or why to use this           platform, where as Facebook aims to entertain and engage mass audience.

Ease in media sharing

The famous ‘Twitter Timeline’ where you find tweets in reverse chronology from everyone you follow is not  accomplishing the goal anymore. To capture the mass market, the company introduced an “Instant  Timeline” to give new users immediate access to a customized experience, and for the same reason later  this year they will launch “Project Lightning,” a timeline that groups tweets, photos, and videos around  experiences rather than individuals. The overdose of information needs to be disseminated in an optimized  fashion for users to stay hooked to the platform, which Facebook has mastered undoubtedly.

Agreed to the fact that putting User growth ahead of anything else can amplify Twitter’s prospect and make it more interesting. On priority, Twitter should take action to overcome the mismatch between the fame and usage. The how and why to use Twitter should be addressed and articulated uniformly. The company may have to revamp and reposition the platform to make it an integral part of everyone’s life.