In July 2020, Twitter Inc. announced that it was developing a subscription service that could give the social-media company a new revenue source at a time when it is under pressure to boost earnings. Twitter has been enjoying strong user growth at the start of 2020 as people flocked to the platform during the pandemic. It reported 166 million average daily users in the first quarter, its strongest user growth yet as a public company.

However, the company has struggled to translate that popularity into financial gains. In Q1 2020, Twitter swung to a loss for the first time in two years as advertisers tightened their budgets in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, the company has been looking for ways to move beyond its basic messaging service. Three years ago, the company branched into streaming video content and in June 2020, the company launched a voice feature, allowing users to record 140 seconds of audio and send it as a tweet.

In early 2020, Twitter announced a plan to improve the technical performance of its platforms, which would continue to see costs climb. It also said it would add 20 percent more staff in 2020, however, the company was forced to scale back that ambition since the pandemic broke out. As Twitter relies heavily on advertising revenue, particularly around events and product launches, many of these events have been postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic, hurting its bottom line.

Critically evaluate the internal and external context that Twitter is facing.

Recommend three strategies (i.e., competitive, corporate, business, functional) that can help Twitter boost its earnings during this uncertain pandemic period and justify the relevance and pros and cons of each strategy.