Is TikTok a Waste of Time for Authors?

Social media is a much-used marketing tool for new and established authors. In today’s world, it seems ludicrous to attempt to release any product into the world--including a new book--without it. But is social media actually effective as a marketing tool? 
 
Social media can be a great tool for interacting and engaging with your followers. You can use it to start conversations and show your personality. However, unless you have a very large following, it can be difficult to get your posts seen, even by your own followers! 
 
This is because of the business model of the established platforms. For many years now, major platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have been operating a hyper-commercialised, advertisment-centric economic structure. The aim of these platforms is to make you pay to be seen. So, in actual fact, the very structure of the system is working against you, hiding your attempts to market your book by making you pay for visibility.  
 

• So, what’s the answer to this problem?  

 
While established social media platforms are great for engagement and showing your personality, they are making it increasingly challenging for new authors to market their books and grow their followings.  
 
This is where TikTok comes in. TikTok was launched in 2016 and exploded into popularity in 2020 when the pandemic struck. Between 2020 and 2022 it has continued to grow exponentially with over 8.9 million active users in the US in January this year. That’s huge! 
 
TikTok is still very much in it’s early-growing phase, unlike the established platforms like Instagam and Facebook. So rather than focusing on advertising which supresses visibility to make you pay for exposure, TikTok has a different tactic. 
 
TikTok’s priority is to get new users and keep them with engaging content. They do this by making lots of content creators visible to showcase the vast range of talent and creativity which is available to users on the app. 
 

• What does this mean for you? 

 
For authors this is great news. It means that the platform is working in your favour to make you visible to new users, allowing you to easily grow your audience. TikTok wants to make exciting content easily accessible for new users to keep them on the platform.  
 
As an author your TikTok content will become part of the fast-growing BookTok community. With #BookTok having received over 39.6 million views as of February 2022 it’s a great place to showcase your books. The algorithms which create a personalised feed for each user can work in your favour to bring your videos to exactly the right audience.  
 
Social media is a tricky place for new authors to navigate. Between fighting for visibility and trying to make your books stand out it can feel like a losing battle from the beginning. That’s why TikTok presents such an amazing opportunity. The current user-centric focus means that now is the time to get involved. The sooner you get involved the better--while the platform is still working to make your videos seen! 
 
If you would like any help navigating social media marketing check out our marketing and aftercare package or get in contact with us, we’d love to help you out! ​