TikTok is often associated with viral dances, seductive cooking videos and travel vlogs, but it’s also quickly become the go-to destination for all things books.
Dubbed BookTok, the online community has revived people’s interest across a range of genres, and led to a book-buying renaissance.
It’s the largest community on TikTok, with over 243bn views under #booktok as users share their excitement for their favourite novels.
GlobalData associate analyst Jamel Boughedda explains that BookTok has “reignited many people’s passion for reading who may have not read for a while due to other commitments, especially among younger consumers who engage with TikTok the most”.
What makes BookTok special?
“It really comes down to the fact that BookTok does genuinely have something for everybody on the platform,” explains TikTok head of communities Jo Burford.
There are more than 32m posts and counting under #booktok on TikTok, with creators uploading everything from book reviews and hauls to live readings and mood boards based on their recent read.
Romance is the biggest genre online, which Burford explains also spins out into sub-genres such as mafia, hockey and fantasy romances.
Mystery, thrillers and classics are also a hit on the platform, she says, pointing out that Greek mythology has become “very popular”.
“The creators that get involved are very expansive,” says Burford. “You have your English Lit students sharing their reading lists but then it goes all the way up to much older creators that we’re seeing getting involved and falling back in love with reading as well.”
She notes that BookTok started to gain traction during the pandemic “as communities came together to find connection and have conversations around the books they loved, when so many were unable to do so in person”.
The way TikTok’s algorithm works, by not solely showing accounts the user follows, means that the BookTok community is wider and content discovery is much easier.
It’s not just TikTok that has a flourishing book community. Rival Instagram also has its own equivelant with #Bookstagram – although it operates at a much smaller scale with over 104 million posts.
Translating into book sales
The social media book hype has made its way offline, with bookshops now abuzz with a much wider demographic and bestseller lists boasting a more expansive genre range.
Waterstones said it has benefited from the “increased popularity of both reading and physical bookshops, supported notably by social media”, which contributed to a 13% surge in sales last year.
Meanwhile, last year The Works credited BookTok bestseller Colleen Hoover on helping it offset profit decline and grow its book market share in terms of value by 0.7% to 3.9% and volume by 1.3% to 10.3%.
“It’s fair to say that BookTok has upended a lot of how books are published and sold,” says WHSmith buyer John Webb.
“The books people decide to read aren’t always new releases. Years-old titles become popular again, new authors break out from nowhere and genres like Romantasy suddenly become hot sellers.”
One example is Colleen Hoover, who sold 2.1m books in the UK last year compared to just 6k copies in 2019 after users discovered her back catalogue of romance books. The #colleenhoover has over 5.1bn views on TikTok worldwide.
Her novel It Ends With Us was the eighth most purchased book on Amazon UK in 2023 despite it being published back in 2016. Similarly, Verity – published in 2018 – was the eleventh most sold book.
“The audience on TikTok almost completely reject curation and edits in favour of organic recommendations from other platform users and influencers,” says Webb.
“It’s a genuinely exciting time to be in bookselling as the new BookTok-driven authors are up there in sales terms with all the literary giants you’d usually expect to dominate.”
GlobalData’s Boughedda says well-known retailers like Waterstones and WHSmith are likely to be the main beneficiaries of the social media trend as they are the “first that come to mind”.
However, he points out that small independent players will also benefit “as the trend brings people back to high streets and browsing at book stores”.
Capitalising on the trend
Walking into a bookshop, it’s clear to see the TikTok effect in action.
Waterstones has dedicated tables to ‘BookTok’s Best!’ and ‘BookTok made me buy it…’, while WHSmith has ‘TikTok made me buy it’ signage on end of aisle displays.
The Works also has separate shelves and displays in stores for popular and trending BookTok titles after pivoting its book strategy to “cater for those customers looking to source the most in demand titles at excellent value”.
“The emergence of this trend complimented the work we were already doing to sell more front-list titles – new books sold on release day – which together has proven to be popular with customers,” a spokesperson for the retailer said.
Webb explains that WHSmith has introduced “dedicated and popular BookTok-focussed displays, with a round-up of trending titles”.
“We expanded that range recently due to demand. We’re seeing Manga, Romance and Romantasy regularly among our top sellers.”
The retailer has gone one step further and launched its own TikTok shop, allowing users to purchase books and bundles directly through the platform at a discounted price.
Webb adds the retailer’s website houses “an even broader range of titles than its stores, including some signed and exclusive versions”.
WHSmith has also thought of capitalising on the post-read experience by introducing a BookCycle scheme, so people can turn their pre-loved books into money off their next read. The valuations are calculated on the quality, popularity of the title and its demand in the market.
Becoming BookTok influencers
The likes of The Works, WHSmith and Waterstones have all jumped on the social media platform and joined the community, with all brandishing a main account as well as branching into local store accounts.
“As an entry point, BookTok really is an open community for everyone,” TikTok’s Burford says.
“The barrier to entry from content creation is actually very low, you don’t need to do much more than a selfie and just express yourself or you could advance and start doing more aesthetic things.”
Waterstones, which has 174.3k followers and 4.1m likes, mixes up its TikTok content with interview clips with authors alongside jumping on trends to fuel book-obsessed users.
The Works, which has 62.7k followers and 1.5m likes, has taken a more localised approach, using its staff and stores to create trending content and occasionally, recreate trending audio.
A spokesperson for the retailer said: “BookTok is a fantastic way for a value retailer like us to engage with our customers, to inspire more people to read and for customers to recommend their favourite books to one another.”
Boughedda notes that retailers utilising the social media platform to showcase their shops, their favourite books or what they have in store can grow a strong following, capture a younger audience and encourage users to engage with trends and visit their stores.
“Books have always been popular, and combining it with social media and trends will only enhance their popularity,” says Boughedda.
“Using store staff as the face of the retailer makes it feel more authentic and will resonate well with consumers,” he adds.
It’s not just The Works’ own TikTok account that’s thriving on the platform, its stores have also become a hit among the BookTok community with #theworksbooks earning nearly 50 million views as users head into its shops to boast about the retailer’s selection and “3 for £6” promotional offer.
Burford points out that #bookshopping is growing in popularity at 675.4m views.
She says ‘come with me to’ posts of creators sharing videos of them going to book stores to pick their new reads are increasingly popular.
“We’re also noticing groups of people coming together – maybe they’ve got an online book club – and they’re all going to a destination,” Burford adds.
The Foyles’ Charing Cross Road flagship, Daunt Books’ Marylebone branch and many Waterstones’ stores are listed in ‘the prettiest book stores’ edits and are featured heavily in posts that invite viewers along to shop with the creator.
The BookTok community shows no signs of abating, Burford explains.
“It’s a chosen lifestyle to say ‘I am a BookToker’, and BookTok is such a strong global identity – what that looks like in your lifestyle and aesthetic – that we’re seeing it move into other areas. I think the offline and the identity part of it is only going to get bigger.”
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