BookTok 'creating new bestsellers and driving sales'

The popular BookTok hashtag is shaping the publishing world, creating new bestellers and driving sales, TikTok Germany's content strategist Hasmik Matinyan has said.

Speaking at The Bookseller's Marketing & Publicity conference on 15th June, Matinyan said the hashtag now has 10 billion views, and has built a "thriving, organic community" on the platform. Booksellers such as Barnes & Noble have set up BookTok tables in their stores and pages on their website to display titles that have gone viral.

Publishers and authors are also getting in on the act, with Penguin Random House creating content for its teenage audience with the account @penguin_teen racking up 440,000 followers. This account mainly focuses on entertainment and discusses current developments such as film adaptations of popular book series and book tips.

Matinyan said: "The first publishers are already on the platform and they see the potential to reach audiences that they otherwise would miss out." Authors such as Fiona Lucas and Eli Hinze are also on TikTok, discussing the creative process as well as promoting their books through challenges and book giveaways.

Matinyan said creators are "overwhelmingly" women and girls, with popular accounts such as @aymansbooks clocking up 261,000 followers. She said: "They offer a new approach to books, adding diverse perspectives and demonstrating that the literary critic doesn't have to be an old man with horn-rimmed glasses."

Popular content formats include reading lists, poetry readings, discussing the writing process, roleplay and cos play of popular subcultures such as Harry Potter and trending memes with a bookish twist. Live formats are also used for talks, Q&As with authors and for readings. Emotional books, or titles that touch readers in some way tend to get the most attention on the platform, as well as feminism in literature, queer books, motivation or self-help books, fantasy and romance, she said. Content creators can share brand new titles, but are also known for reviving older books.

Matinyan said TikTok differs from other social media platforms, because it rewards "authenticity, ideas and imagination of everyday people" rather than "celebrities and aspirational artifice". It is therefore "pivotal for brands to be able to connect authentically with the audiences they care about and be part of that culture". This is often described as "positive, supportive and motivating" and has been seen as especially "wholesome" during the global pandemic.

"While some of the content is promotional, most BookTok videos have been posted by book-lovers who just want to share their enthusiasm, their love and appreciation for books and to create a community with shared experiences," said Matinyan.

She added: "It is most importantly driven by an active, awake and positive community. This means TikTok is the perfect place for book advertisers and marketers looking for ways to reach their audiences in authentic, creative and engaging ways."