BookTok – A trendsetter backed by GenZ
Every app, regardless of when it was launched and how it was developed, has several layers. But that sounds complicated, so we’ll call them: bubbles.
Imagine you’re in one of those typical teen movies, where the main character gets “inducted” into the internal high school system. The scene takes place in the cafeteria and comes in the form of introducing each existing group and placing them in the room. The groups are diverse: from the type of teens and their interests, to the designated tables for each. There is also a well-defined flow within each group, like a loose set of rules that keeps things running smoothly internally and interacting between members and with outsiders.
That’s pretty much how apps work. And if you already know how the algorithm operates, the selection process will go much faster and will definitely work in your favour.
BookTok – TikTok’s main pillar
Recently, I briefly told you about BookTok and how big this community has become in just a few years. The phenomenon is much broader, let me show you what life is like among bookdragons and the new generation of GenZ readers.
Three years ago BookTok boomed in popularity online. Although it already existed in the app’s underpinnings, it emerged from the obscurity of the highly niche bubble propelling itself straight to the top.
The current figures for the books category on TikTok are a bit huge. Right now BookTok is one of the biggest bubbles in the app, launching trends from sounds, to transitions, to challenges. GenZ has developed it so much, giving birth to its own subcategories based on literary genre, format you read, authors, titles themselves, and more.
Can we dare to risk saying that young people with a passion for reading are conquering the world step by step?
Yes, absolutely.
And that’s not just us, the millions of users on BookTok, but Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok. At the congressional hearing he mentioned the reader bubble and why it is so beneficial to society.
BookTok Influencing Global Marketing
We GenZ readers like to tackle the idea of go big or go home. I mean, we’re fighting dragons and planning interconnected plots, how hard can it be to conquer Marketing too?
The creativity of this community has created an economic chain reaction. Basically, if it’s popular on BookTok it becomes a trend. Then the trend spreads to other communities, going viral worldwide. People want to be represented, so small businesses spring up. New books based on the main idea of the trend appear or existing ones explode in sales. The publishing industry realises the potential and adopts BookTok Corner, a section dedicated to TikTok recommendations. The image of a reading corner is becoming so enticing that you start finding it in cafés, restaurants and even in your own home. Avid readers everywhere are starting to invest in bookish merch of all kinds to create it in their own homes.
So it’s not just online, it’s everywhere. From publishers, to bookshops, to retailers selling any product that can be associated with a book, they all now have a BookTok Corner that boosts their profits. Because we’re GenZ and we have so much faith in the community we’ve built. We know that at least one product there is worth its money.
BookTok reinvents online promotion
Trends have become increasingly creative, promoting reading and certain books that used to be hidden away in dark corners. The latest book phenomenon comes from the Fantasy genre and has just been translated by a Romanian publisher thanks to its popularity online. In case it wasn’t already obvious, the trend is called BookTok Recommendations.
The popularity of audiobooks has grown as well, because GenZ is known for its affinity for certain voices. So many previously unknown users have found themselves with millions of views overnight because of their vocal timbre. BookTok has become their main “image agent”.
Perhaps the most creative way to promote your TBR is to do transitions, cosplay or a masked review. Marketing comes with a variety of spaces in which it can be applied, and BookTok has the ability to fold into each of them. What exactly does that mean? GenZ and “Story Time” are practically synonymous at this point. Add into the equation the fact that regular ads don’t fascinate us at all, and you’ve got the so-called masked review. Listening to pros and cons for five minutes is pure torture for us, but story time about strangers on the internet? Let me just grab my popcorn!
BookTok generates influencer campaigns
When you say influencers you think of every possible niche except books. BookTokers and Bookstagrammers are also influencers, they just fall into an atypical and under-explored genre for marketers.
There are, however, a few daredevils who have ventured to approach this strategy in their campaigns. And the first brand to get off the ground was the very “mother ship”, the global brand TikTok.
The initiative started from the source, spreading to the local account, the Romanian one. It encouraged it to use its own BookTok community in the campaign. GenZ of course responded positively to the initiative through Mara Calli, 4fără15, Mary Books and Booksstopia. They are some of the largest Romanian BookTok accounts.
In addition to the regular BookTokers, countless other heavyweight names from various industries get involved on BookTok. Reese Witherspoon created the famous book club that led to the film Where the Crowdads Sing, which she directed. After reading the book in the club, she decided it was worth showing it to the world. And Taylor Swift, whose songs have generated dozens of BookTok sounds, is on the movie’s soundtrack.
BookTok reaches out to different business areas and industries. From medicine, to cooking, to Formula 1, to sport in general, you name it – GenZ will find a character to associate with a real person. Why do you think F1 has become so popular all of a sudden? It`s called fan casting, my dearests, and BookTok does it for a living.
As a conclusion and for those who may not be so attracted to fiction, worry not. As big as this community is, it’s as open to acceptance as it is. It doesn’t matter your preferred genre, just be passionate about books in general and have respect for BookTok and what it stands for.
And because you stayed until the end, here are some special recommendations.
