BookTok: 3 ways TikTok is fostering community for lovers of BookTok

Curated by Megan Collins, Cultural Anthropologist, Generational Expert and contributor to the MTD blog

By now you’ve probably heard about #BookTok, or maybe you’ve seen a display at your local Barnes & Noble. 

BookTok is a phenomenon online, referring to the collective community of book lovers, reviewers, sharers, and ‘tabbers’ specifically on TikTok. Particularly popular among younger generations, women, and romance readers, this corner of the app is where they come to engage in the discourse about their favorite reads, get recommendations, and even share their own writing process. This platform’s dynamic creation tools provide a space for the exchange of book recommendations, reviews, and literary analysis.

What distinguishes BookTok is its remarkable influence. The hashtag #BookTok has over 176.8B views. While there are a handful of creators who are among the most popular, the power lies within the collective and no one individual. When a book gains traction on this platform, it can snowball and experience a surge in popularity translating to real world sales and, sometimes, a bestseller. Many publishers and authors have recognized the immense marketing potential of BookTok and actively engage with the community.

Authors like Colleen Hoover, Rebecca Yarros, and many more owe their massive commercial success to the app that lends itself incredibly well to discovery. Overall, BookTok serves as a powerful testament to the enduring appeal of the “book club” in the digital age. It provides access to an on demand network of readers, curated specifically for you to discover new reads, engage in meaningful discussions about literature, and broaden their literary horizons in an accessible and engaging way. This is not a space to enter without STRATEGY, as this is a particular media literate crowd but, when does strategically can lead to immense payoff. 

BookTube & BookStagram (Bookish creator communities on YouTube and Instagram respectively) predate not only BookTok but the TikTok app entirely. But the accessibility of short form video and Book arcs removes the usual gatekeepers in influencer marketing turning it to a well-networked community of people eager to offer their opinions for books that peak their interest. This low barrier to entry, along with TikTok’s concerted efforts to be the go-to hub for this community have brought the possibilities to a whole new level. 

The TikTok Brand’s investments in the BookTok Community:

  1. Hashtag Awareness & Management: Whether or not you are on BookTok you have likely heard about BookTok. Either from one of the myriad of “creator dramas” that are prone to going viral outside of the community or from one of the many reporters breathlessly covering it’s impact:

  2. BookTok Awards: Last month the platform announced the winners of their BookToks awards in the UK & Ireland. There were expected categories like “BookTok Creator of The Year” (@edenvicttorria), Book (Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola) & Author (Holly Jackson). There were also a few unique to the BookTok/reader community like Best BookTok Revival (Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen) and Best Book to End A Reading Slump (Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton). 

  3. Publishing: Most recently, Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandra Alter at The New York Times reported that ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company has purchased a publisher who has been cutting deals with self-published romance writers that with terms that “weren’t generous.” This coming as the app is heavily pushing it’s new “TikTok shop” feature seems like it’s only a matter of time before TikTok is discovering authors, signing them, and promoting them. 

Whether or not they’re going to like the book.. well that’s a separate post.

Need To KnowEmma MarshallHome-sect3Comment