Tweet Tweet Bang Bang – Why Twitter?

The Power of Positive Connection

According to a recent post on The Bookseller’s Blog by chief blogger Samantha Missingham, Twitter usage is erupting in the European publishing community and adoptions of the social and professional media tool are growing fast (at least, amongst those in the know )

I agree with Sam, the movement is gaining speed as more and more influential thinkers and actors in our sector embrace the connective power of Twitter. But there are still road blocks slowing adoption progress at a time when everyone who is a stakeholder in the book publishing industry would benefit from being connected and learning from one another about good ideas, trends, initiatives and change they can lead. So why the road blocks and, more importantly, why is Twitter important to the publishing industry?

Lots of people say it’s a waste of time. I would say NOT TRUE. Yes, spending time in the twitterstream on Tweetdeck or another browser platform takes time but the Return On Time Invested (ROTI) is significant. So, what is the real ROTI?

Ideas, ideas, and more ideas, After all what drives industry and individual business growth faster than ideas and the sharing of those ideas?

Tweeting gives you a voice, which in today’s world, provides you with a channel for expression and a means of building an audience or tribe and for engaging with like minded people which  equates with media coverage and a feed to bloggers and journalists as well as potential enthusiasts and customers. Reed the tweets of those thinkers and actors in your community and you will soon benefit from rich leads to information and knowledge that will help you transform your business and its culture to be in line with current thinking. Ignore Twitter at your peril.

So Twitter helps you build relationships with influencers fast in your industry. These individuals will, in turn, follow you and share your Twitter updates as retweets.

Assuming you say something worth sharing, Tweeting will enhance your relationships with individuals who are blog subscribers by nourishing them content they can read on the got on their mobile devices.

I think Norman Vincent Peale author and progenitor of The Power of Positive Thinking, summed up the benefits of Twitter when he said “Change your thoughts and you change your world” – that is the power Twitter  - go make it happen.