Using TikTok for Book Marketing
I’ve been on TikTok for a few years now, but only started making videos about a year and half ago. I have learned a lot since then, and have started to try and utilize the app for marketing my books
It’s difficult to figure out the algorithm and use it in your favor, but if you use these 5 tips, eventually, you will find yourself with a winning combination that will send your video viral and give you new sales of your book.
- Use trending sounds — Trending sounds can be found in multiple ways. First, you can search “trending sounds” but that isn’t always up to date. Sometimes the videos are older sounds, so you just have to make sure you are checking when the videos were posted before using the sounds. Second, you can follow someone who posts trending sounds. There are numerous accounts you can follow who post about which sounds are trending, or are on the trajectory towards be popular (getting ahead of the game helps boost your videos). They will also tell you how to use the sounds for your own content, which is super helpful if you aren’t great at applying sounds to your own work — which can be a daunting and time consuming task. Third, you can look under the sounds when you are creating a video and check out TikTok’s list of trending sounds.
The most important thing to note, is that you need to be using commercial sounds only is you are marketing your book. To ensure the sounds you are using are commercial, when you are choosing a sound for your video, you can click where is says “sounds” with a little arrow next to it and choose “commercial sounds”. Then it will only show you sounds you can use.
2. Know what content in trending — This means checking out Booktok (the reader/author side of TikTok, which you can find by searching Booktok). See what videos are trending there and what hashtags are associated with them. Compare your book to other books in the popular genres, and let people know why they are going to like your book. Also, if you are using any of the trending tropes (like enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, fake dating, etc.) make sure you are using those hashtags for your videos!
3. Use eye catching images/imagery — You can use services such as Canva to create videos/picture reels that relate to your book. It’s important to use images that you have rights to, which is why using Canva or other similar image services is the easiest route to take.
Again, knowing what content is trending will help you to know what images will catch people’s eyes. You want people to watch the entire video and then want to know more. If you’re not using your book cover in the video, then just comment on your video saying the name of the book and where people can buy it. Then pin the comment so it stays at the top of the comments. Try to avoid using words like “buy” “link” or anything TikTok is going to suppress because unfortunately, they don’t like to support us small creators.
4. Be consistent — The more you post, the more likely you are to go viral with one of your videos. But, it is important to note, if you post too much, TikTok will suppress your videos. So, find a good balance for yourself and try to stick to a schedule. Posting at the same time everyday, or the same days every week helps to boost your videos. Also, using the same hashtags every time has seemed to help my videos. Anytime I post a video with differing hashtags than normal, they don’t do as well. So select a handful of hashtags that you will use every time.
5. Pray to the TikTok gods! — The rest is up to luck! Send your video into the world and pray to the TikTok algorithm and gods that it will gain traction and go viral! I will say that your video doesn’t need to go viral to get you book sales. So long as it’s reaching the right audience through the hashtags you’re using, you can still sell books this way. So don’t fret if you’re not getting thousands of views on your videos!
If you have any other questions, feel free to comment below! If you want, click here to follow me on TikTok for bookish content and cosplays :)
