How To Promote Your Book On TikTok

So, you just finished writing your first book and want to promote it on social media. First of all, you should know that finishing writing a book is a monumental accomplishment. Secondly, don’t forget about TikTok when introducing your work to online audiences.

Even though Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have long been the most utilized social media platforms for book promotion, TikTok offers a unique opportunity for authors to engage with a younger and, more importantly, tech-savvy audience.

TikTok’s Appeal

TikTok appeals to the young and old because it boasts a broad stream of video-based entertainment that encourages engagement. It also boasts an algorithm-driven content discovery system, which continues to present new and relevant content to TikTok users.

However, before you create videos detailing your book-writing process and revealing the cover, you must understand the user demographics on TikTok. The platform attracts a younger audience, meaning you should consider crafting content that appeals to this demographic. This doesn’t mean that your book needs to necessarily cater exclusively to those users between the ages of 16 and 24, but that you should promote it in such a way that your TikTok videos appeal to them.

You can achieve this goal by exploring current trends, challenges, and hashtags within the TikTok community.

Creating Engaging Content

Now that you know what kind of TikTok audience your content should appeal to, you can start planning your promotional posts. You should be a bit more creative with your posts if you want your book to stand out on TikTok. The best way to do this is to consider sharing the following:

• Book Teasers

  Create a bit of suspense on your TikTok feed by sharing short snippets or teasers from your book. This strategy works well with all types of books but tends to be more successful with novels. Use visually striking backgrounds and add quotes with a text overlay. Pair these with clever captions and relevant hashtags, and you will easily reach a wider audience.

• Behind-The-Scenes Glimpses

  You most likely spent several days writing late into the night or woke up early to complete your book. The creation process is always fascinating for online audiences, so grab their attention by providing glimpses into your writing rituals or sharing funny anecdotes about your book-creating process.

  Doing this allows your audience, of which many may be aspiring authors, to connect with you on a personal level. You can even share ideas about setting up a writing space or advise about challenges others may face during their writing journey.

• Collaborate With Fellow Authors

  At some point during your marketing process, you may want to consider teaming up with fellow authors on TikTok. You can collaborate with those who write in your chosen genre or writers who prefer another genre entirely.

  Consider creating joint content, shout-outs, or even guest appearances in each other’s TikTok videos to reach both fan bases. Collaborative videos provide an excellent way to promote books to previously undiscovered audiences.

• Create Recommendation Videos

  All your TikTok posts don’t have to be about your own book. Take a break from promoting your book and post a review about a recent novel you read or recommend a non-fiction book you found interesting. This approach will help encourage comments and discussions on your profile, elevating engagement.

Use TikTok Features

TikTok makes it easy to create compelling content by offering a range of features that spotlight good content. Make the most of these features by:

• Creating Hashtag Challenges

  Hashtag challenges often go viral on TikTok, and this is what you want for your book-related content. Create your own challenge based on your book, or take part in existing challenges relevant to your book’s genre or theme.

  Furthermore, you should engage with users that participate in your unique challenge and ask them to share their favorite excerpts from your book or to post a review. This way, you encourage engagement and user-generated content, which helps promote your book.

• Duets and Stitching

  When you start seeing reviews and excerpts on your feed, you can use TikTok duet and stitching features to respond to their videos. For example, you can create a duet video in response to a book recommendation or spark a conversation by stitching a follower’s video with your own.

• Hosting Q&A Sessions and Livestreams

  You should also consider hosting question-and-answer sessions and live streams to converse directly with your audience. Allow followers to ask questions about your book, writing process, genre, or any other related topic. Be ready to indulge in conversations and provide valuable insights into what life is like as an author.

  This type of interaction will help you build a dedicated community on TikTok, which all but guarantees support for your future books.

Building a Community

Building a loyal community on TikTok is the key to maximizing your book’s exposure on the platform. If you can get into BookTok, even better. In addition to hosting Q&A sessions and live streams, the best way to establish your community is to:

• Respond to All Comments

  Don’t make the mistake of only responding to positive comments. Aside from trolls, whom you should ignore, always respond to the slightly less-than-enthusiastic comments. Doing this shows that you care about your audience’s opinion, even if they don’t love everything about your book.

  Also, show genuine interest in responding to your followers – don’t just use one-word answers or emojis unless appropriate to the conversation.

• Cross-Promote on Other Platforms

  Finally, circle back to the other trusted social media platforms, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. To expand your social media presence and promote your book to the fullest extent, you should cross-promote on all these platforms. While you’re at it, encourage your followers on these platforms to join you on TikTok. Doing this will help drive traffic back to your TikTok feed.

TikTok Is An Author’s Paradise

In 2024, running a campaign on TikTok is one of the best things you can do to get your book in front of people. With a well-executed strategy, your book is bound to become the next best-selling sensation and will captivate people from all corners of the globe.