Promoting via BookTok

I am intrigued and excited to discuss a major trend in book promotion: BookTok (aka TikTok). I already started building my TikTok platform. I recently read how BookTok is rapidly becoming a viable book promotion platform.

According to the article “Publishing Trends: Predictions for the Book Industry in 2022” by Kaelyn Barron, “BookTok appears to be here to stay, with all trends indicating that even more authors will join the platform to market their books in 2022. So far, the hashtag #BookTok has garnered over 34.7 billion views on the platform.

We’ve seen the impact of BookTok firsthand with one of our own authors, Maclen Stanley, who has accumulated over 424,000 followers and 6 million likes in just a few months since his book The Law Says What? debuted in July. Many reviewers on Amazon have commented that they bought the book specifically because they enjoyed his related TikTok videos.

Book reviewers have also taken to the platform to share their thoughts on new books in short, easily-shared video clips, making them am influential force that authors and publishers cannot afford to ignore in 2022.”

I recently discussed how I am building my TikTok platform. To start, I’ve been focused on mainstream topics to attract general followers. As my following increases, I will begin not only promoting my own books and projects, but also my authors’ books. If you’re shy and don’t feel comfortable promoting your books via short video clips, you can use different filters and techniques to either stay off camera or improve your (a-hem) appearance.

You don’t even have to use your real voice. You can apply various techniques to create a kind of narrative. For example, you can use “bubble” messages. One cute way is to point at written words that pop up on screen to punctuate your points. You can use their “Siri-like” voices to narrate. You can combine pictures and videos. You can do live discussions. It’s honestly fun to play with it and uncover all of the features.

TikTok is also educational. I’ve learned a lot about some important subjects. I like it since you’re hearing from real people with hands-on expertise and experiences they share. It creates a wonderful, supportive community. And, you don’t have to create videos to participate in the community.

I pivot between Facebook and TikTok. I use Linked-In but not as often as I use the other two. If you’re not using this new social media platform, it’s time. The statistic clearly show it’s the new social outlet to promote books. So, go BookTok!

Until next week… “write” on!