TikTok, boundaries and authenticity top concerns ahead of M&P Conference

Maintaining an authentic TikTok presence, setting boundaries on social media and delivering campaigns on squeezed budgets are the paramount issues currently facing marketing and publicity departments, The Bookseller understands. 

Speaking to publicity and marketing teams ahead of the upcoming Marketing & Publicity Conference (27th June), understanding how to harness TikTok emerged as a key theme, with Sarah Jeffcoate, senior marketing executive at Simon & Schuster UK, explaining that “authentic content is key.” She said: “The beauty of TikTok is that it’s effectively supercharging word-of-mouth campaigns in a way we haven’t previously seen at this scale. Authentic content is key, as is consistency and personality, so we’ve found it much more valuable to cultivate relationships with content creators to work as champions for our authors, rather than working to build a company presence on the platform.”

Alice Shortland, Canongate marketing director, agreed, adding that the publisher has just launched on TikTok so is “new to navigating the balance between trend-chasing and authenticity.”

Kat McKenna, who has worked on marketing campaigns for World Book Day, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, and who will moderate two conference panels about TikTok, said there has never been a social media space more “grounded in authenticity and being real”

“We’re starting by keeping our content book-focused, with a side-order of demystifying the publishing process and bringing the faces and voices of members of staff across the company to the fore,” she said. “We’re also very keen to work with, and build relationships with, influencers to build the authenticity out.”

Kat McKenna, who has worked on marketing campaigns for World Book Day, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, and who will moderate two conference panels about TikTok, said there has never been a social media space more “grounded in authenticity and being real”. “It’s packed full of communities dedicated to sharing real opinions, real reviews, real people and real life. This is exactly why young people connect to it so strongly,” she said. “If you want to be part of, and influence, those communities it is critical to be active in the space, using it and learning to understand it prior to getting set up”. Joining McKenna on the panel will be James Stafford, head of partnerships and community at TikTok; Georgia Henry, senior campaign manager at Rocket; and Coco Hagi, content creator and bookseller.

McKenna added that there was a flip side and that “publishing is having a hard time on social media”. “There’s barely a week that passes by without upset or concern from either trade, reader or author,” she said, citing Twitter in particular and the need for clear boundaries. A talk by Ilana Green, strategist at Born Social, entitled Surviving Social: Setting Boundaries and Dealing with Toxic Conversations, is scheduled to take place at the conference. “If it doesn’t feel like a safe space for you or your author, the best thing to do is step away from it,” McKenna said. “That doesn’t mean you can’t be part of the conversation, but it does allow for breathing space, consideration and finding the best way for you to engage in other ways. There has never been a more important time to be an ally, but know that this can happen in real spaces as well as digital ones.” 

Setting a stall

Freelance marketer Caroline Maddison said establishing boundaries when it came to social media was paramount to author care but also something marketing and publicity professionals had to be mindful of themselves. 

“It can easily feel like you need to be constantly ‘on’ with social media. It brings amazing reader connection, awareness, reach and growth for your books, brands and authors, but it can be overwhelming,” she said, adding that supporting authors starts with “having a robust plan in place internally with scenario planning and a clear chain of command and responsibilities if something arises. Should an author need support, it’s about keeping communication clear and regular, both with your author and internally, to explore the approach and action needed.”

Jimena Gorraez, publicist at Daunt Books, said the indie has found it helpful to have statements of support drafted and ready to use. “We found PEN were really supportive, and the talk that Flora [Willis] and Drew [Jerrison] from Profile gave for last year’s Marketing & Publicity conference was a huge help,” she said.

Maggie Supernova, a burnout prevention and recovery coach who will be hosting surgeries and speaking on a panel at the conference, also highlighted that “burnout is rife right now” across the industry, and that “it isn’t something that can be stretched out in a single yoga class or slept off in a long weekend—it’s deep set and it’s chronic, and it can take years to properly heal from.” At the conference, she will be guiding attendees to identify the difference between burnout prevention and burnout recovery.

Budgets are also on people’s minds, with Micallar Walker, c.e.o. and co-founder of Dark Matter Agency, saying that “with the cost of living going through the roof, we have to be realistic and mindful of scaling back budgets.”

“Lower budgets may mean that the production scale is smaller but it certainly doesn’t mean that the level of creativity and the attention to detail should be diminished,” she adds. “It might be useful to deliver smaller amounts of activity but really focus on targeting the audience... this ‘less is more’ strategy is effective across physical and digital activations.” Walker will be chairing a panel discussion, This is What Authentic Connection Looks Like, at this year’s conference.

Gorraez added: “we don’t have anything close to the budgets of big houses” and so most of Daunt Books’ marketing costs go on proofs and mailouts. “Paper costs have of course gone up and posting books overseas has become noticeably more expensive, and as a result, our mailouts have to be much more targeted,” she told The Bookseller. “Every proof has a financial consideration attached, so we need to make sure that the reviewer receiving the book is likely to support it.”

The Bookseller’s Marketing & Publicity Conference will be held on 27th June at County Hall in Waterloo, London. For the first time there will be multiple streams, “Connect” and “Reflect”, from which events attendees can craft their own schedule. Other speakers on topics such as the future of influence and building resilience will be clinical psychologist Sam Akbar and Sarah Penny, content and research director at The Influencer Group.

In-person, virtual and hybrid tickets are available, with special rates for group bookings or freelancers. All tickets have access to conference content on video until the end of the summer. The programme and booking details may be viewed, here www.thebookseller.com/events/the-bookseller-marketing-and-publicity-conference or by contacting Emma.Lowe@thebookseller.com.

M&P Highlights

Why Do We Do This Job? Recovering the Joy of our Work in the Face of Publishing’s Challenges

Polly Osborn, marketing and publicity director at Simon & Schuster, chairs an honest look at the pressures and the challenges of working in publishing today, highlighting where and how we can locate joy and satisfaction, reconnecting us to why we wanted to work in books.

Blurb Your Enthusiasm

Colin Brush’s talk was by far the runaway hit from the 2020 virtual M&P Conference, and the Penguin Random House staffer is back with his colleague and upcoming author Louise Willder to talk about crafting copy that connects with readers.

Guerilla campaign showcase

Teams from HarperFiction, Fitzcarraldo Editions and Daunt Books will discuss how they broke through in their campaigns with minimal budget (and minimal time!)

Guest-curated panels

Four panels have been brought together by partners across the industry and beyond, covering everything from content creation to ambition, and featuring speakers from the Tate, National Theatre, Channel 4, Afridiziak, Bazowie and beyond.

Two TikTok panels 

In response to huge demand from comms teams, two panels will cover content creation, partnerships and publisher-owned platforms on #BookTok and beyond.