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How BookTok Changed Book of the Month’s Influencer Marketing Strategy


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It is often suggested that I need to get on to TikTok to build my brand and draw more attention to AALBC.

 

This article was shared with me, "How BookTok changed Book of the Month’s influencer marketing strategy"

 

The article featured the following (see Below) BookTok post (what are TickTok posts called anyway, Toks?). 

 

Nothing about this appealed to me -- and I don't think it is my age.  Sure, I can see that this may attract eyeballs (views on TickTok), but will this translate into readers or buyers of the books?

 

Who is on TikTok anyway?  

 

@bumblebeezus So this book is really good.. #booktok #botm #bookrec #bookclub #reader #romancerec #bookworm #fakedating #enemiestolovers #thelovehypothesis ♬ CRAFT - OFEKNIV

 

 

 

 

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On 3/9/2022 at 6:20 PM, Troy said:

Who is on TikTok anyway?  

 

🙋🏽‍♀️  I am ThrvngWrtr.  But I haven't thought of how to use it yet.  Which is why seeing TikTok CEO Shouzi Chew on Bloomberg this morning was wild.  The interviewer, David Rubenstein, asked Chew, how someone Rubenstein's age could benefit from TikTok. Chew answered BookTok, generates 40 billion views (BILLION WITH A B ) for the booktok hashtag. There is also Black BookTok  I found one influencers "Kendra.Reads" https://www.tiktok.com/@kendra.reads?lang=en with more than 100k followers who was featured on CBS news https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kendra-keeter-gray-tiktok-creator-black-characters/

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While I do take what the CEO says with a grain of salt (because of his obvious bias). I don't doubt that plenty of people are looking at BookToK -- including the "tok" I posted above.  I'm just not sure this is translating into buyers and readers.

 

Consider the Tok in your post @Mel Hopkins, which I have embedded below.  I think this is a much better treatment of a book than the one I posted earlier.  I read the CBS News article and it said she gather 60K followers in less than 2 months. 

 

Somehow I don't think I could garner that type of following -- she is a 20-something and I', old enough to be her grandfather.  But you know what, maybe I'll just give it s shot and see for myself.

 

@kendra.reads #duet with @americangirl so happy to share Makena’s story 💗#AmericanGirlPartner #booktok #blackhistorymonth #blackbooktok #blackgirlmagic ♬ original sound - American Girl

 

 

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On 3/13/2022 at 11:20 AM, Troy said:

  I'm just not sure this is translating into buyers and readers.

Reports indicate booktok had an impact on book buying but not necessarily reading. If I remember correctly, Pew Research indicated reading held steady.  I think I mentioned this last month in one of the aalbc discussions. 

"Kristen McLean, executive director and industry analyst at NPD Bookscan, said social media—particularly TikTok users who post about books, known collectively as BookTok—has “definitely been a factor” in surging book sales, along with the pandemic in general, with many of the sales gains coming in Q1 and Q2 before the Covid-19 vaccines were widely available." https://www.forbes.com/sites/annakaplan/2022/01/28/how-tiktok-helped-fuel-the-best-selling-year-for-print-books/?sh=4ac1eb617c3a

 

 

 

On 3/13/2022 at 11:20 AM, Troy said:

 

Somehow I don't think I could garner that type of following -- she is a 20-something and I', old enough to be her grandfather.  But you know what, maybe I'll just give it s shot and see for myself.

 

Also like I mentioned in Readingblack.com - maybe folks our age would better benefit from a relationship with influencers instead of spending the time running an account. 

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5 minutes ago, Mel Hopkins said:

...would better benefit from a relationship with influencers instead of spending the time running an account. 

 

This would comport with my experience.  Any AALBC content that went viral on social does so because of someone else's efforts -- not mime.  In each case I never was able to identify the person who first my content go virial.

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I'm on Tik Tok but have yet to use it. I hear BookTok has had a significant effect on sales, if you happen to be a person the 'BookTokers' choose to highlight. But like everything else when it comes to books, it's somewhat random. Still, you can't when if you don't play, so I plan on posting a few readings just to see what happens. 

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On 3/14/2022 at 12:22 PM, Troy said:

This would comport with my experience.  Any AALBC content that went viral on social does so because of someone else's efforts -- not mime.  In each case I never was able to identify the person who first my content go virial.

I was wrong about the influencer part...

 

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@Milton i don’t think anything on TikTok, or social media in general media, is “Random.” There are sophisticated algorithms wishing to determine what people see and when they see it. 
 

@Mel Hopkins why do you think you were wrong about influencers? 
 

As far as sales are concerned my small anecdotal evidence still gives me cause for skepticism. I’m in book industry and I don’t know any one who uses TikToc (including the folks here) and can tell me they have generated books sales as a direct result. 


I appreciate I’m on my own Black book bubble free of the influence if tic tickkng kids 😉

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