Two weeks ago I went on CNN to discuss my views on Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook's (FB) earnings.  I explained that my agency only publishes social content on platforms that work for our clients.  Right now the holy trinity is Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.  If wall street analysts are watching the car race from home (viewing who is in the lead, and seeing the crowd's reaction) - than we're driving the car with our clients riding shot gun.  We feel the bumps on the road, see the potholes ahead and can hear the dings in the engine.

This is why we've been bullish on Facebook & Twitter since they went public.  

Let me break it down:

FACEBOOK: 

It’s all about Instagram, Mobile, and video 

Facebook: 

• Ad Revenue is great
• Q1 traditionally weak for advertising
• 50% of the US are on Facebook every day (over 1.4billion users) 
• Revenue is UP
• New Users are UP

Mobile

They are dominating Mobile – THIS IS WHERE THE GROWTH IS  

• Half of revenue is overseas – underdeveloped countries have leapfrogged from having nothing to having powerful mobile accessibility – they never had desktops– this is VERY important for Facebook.  Everything our agency produces must be digestible via mobile devises.

Instagram: 

• Instagram's 300 million monthly active users spend an average of 20 minutes on the app daily.
• Instagram just announced the ability to search people places and hashtags
• We see the fastest adoption of new brands who engage via social on Instagram (Saturday Night Live The Exhibition) 

EXAMPLE: – Saturday Night Live The Exhibition 

A short hyperlapse video native to the site – easy to ingest, tells a marketing/advertising story to an engaged audience. Originally posted on Instagram, and then reposted on Facebook. Video auto plays in the news feed and simply articulates that the exhibition is a fully immersive experience.  Better than any banner ad.  

TWITTER:

Twitter will find success at the corner of Periscope & Vine. The combo are as compelling for Twitter as Instagram is for Facebook. 

Engagement, Context AND PERISCOPE:  I’m bullish. You should be too. Bet on the 312 million users who use the platform religiously. Real time worldwide & breaking news.  No other competitor on social in sight.  Live streaming with Periscope is changing the media landscape.  The ability to connect live - events, concerts etc. All live as they happen. HUGE revenue opportunity. The moment they open up the ability for publishers to monetize live streaming - it could be a game changer.  

When we engage social media influencers activation on behalf of brands - they all have enormous Vine followings.  This is a potential gold mine if they can monetize properly. 

 Potential negatives: 

• They need to announce a new CEO ASAP
• They could be an acquisition target for Google/Alphabet (think keywords)
• They are smaller thank FB – but it’s not apples to apples.  They are a more niche play – deep dive. 

Even though there was a small user increase 3.5% last quarter, the Ad Rev opportunities are there with Vine & Periscope. 

EXAMPLE: Cohen’s Fashion Optical targets local college students tweeting about eyeglasses. The ability to have a live customer service conversation with customers in real time while they’re in the Cohen’s Store via Twitter is tremendously impactful!  No other platform like that in social media.  The ability to parachute into a conversation that feels very intimate because people are sending the tweets from mobile devices. No replacement in sight. 

Now it's your turn. What do you think? Am I out of my mind?  Is Twitter on it's last leg? I'd love to hear from you.