TikTok is a social media platform where users create short videos, averaging between 15 and 30 seconds in length. The app is best known for its entertainment videos, ranging from fun dances, to quick comedy skits.

TikTok launched in 2016 but gained significantly more traction after its merger with Musical.ly in 2018. In 2023, there were a reported 834 million active users on the platform. It has become the fastest growing social media app on the market, according to Statistica.

TikTok allows for not only individual influencers to gain traction online, but also different topics, such as reading. The phenomenon of “BookTok” has taken the reading community by storm since its development in 2020.

BookTok is a community where users can directly interact with one another to give book recommendations, reviews, fanart and more. 

Gabrielle King is an active member of the BookTok community and said that she gets her book recommendations through “a mix between social media and then my friends.”

BookTok is not just meant for individual readers. Authors have developed strong footholds on the app as well.

Kalista Neith, a local author, uses social media platforms such as TikTok to promote her books. She is best known for her novel Invoking the Blood. Neith has amassed over 10,000 followers on TikTok and over 5,000 followers on Instagram. A popular theme seen through Neith’s TikTok profile is drawing an audience in by utilizing small lines from her books. 

She explained that different platforms require different methods in order for the content to do well. 

“Tiktok is transitions and tropes. Catchy lip syncing niched to your book. Instagram is more relying on photos and an aesthetic. I do a lot better at book signings and that is where I put the majority of my efforts. At in person signings I lead with my artwork and my vision,” Neith said. 

TikTok and other social media platforms have changed the way in which authors are able to interact with their readers. Authors now have a direct line of interactions with their fanbase, allowing them to share news and do self promotion for their books. 

“Social media has absolutely given me the platform I would not have otherwise. It gave me a place to find my readers. A community to share my wins with. A network of other author wifeys,” she said. 

Social media has provided a fanbase for multiple books and series including, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas, “The Cruel Prince” by Holly Black, “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros, and many others.

Businesses, such as Barnes and Noble, have embraced the concept and use it as a way to promote books like these. Most Barnes and Noble locations have a BookTok table with recommendations based on what is currently popular on the app. Additionally, their website has a section dedicated to “TikTok’s most popular books.” 

Barnes and Noble treats BookTok as a beginners guide to reading. According to their website, “For those who can't decide what to read next, #BookTok is the place to go.”

Phoenix Public Library has also hopped on the BookTok train. They engage more readers through their monthly “BookTok Book Club.” Each month they select a different title that is currently popular on the social media app.

Neith described the convenience of finding content with the presence of social media. 

“Nowadays, there are so many books out there I can go to a readers' group (which can be 100K+ members) and say, 'Hey, I'm looking for a hockey team romance, but the players are werewolves, and if he's also in a motorcycle gang and a single dad that would be great!' and you will get twenty recommendations,” Neith said.

TikTok is widely known for being one of the easier social media apps to go viral on. As a result, there tends to be a hyperfixation on a certain book at a time. 

King said that the overload of content can be overwhelming at times.

“For instance, there is a dark romance and it’s called Haunting Adaline. I saw it was huge on TikTok so I was like I should read this. I read it and it was this horrible book. I hated it and everyone was building it up so crazy online that I was like am I the one who is crazy for not liking it,” King said. 

King went on to say how she feels that a few select influencers have oversaturated the book market with their suggestions. 

“I think it’s more like, oh these three people that are really big on TikTok said to read these books, so I’m not going to go any further than that,” King said.

A study from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Legal Law investigated the impact of influencers on social media platforms. 

According to the study, 16% of TikTok users use the app to keep up with influencers on the app. Additionally, 25% of people on Instagram use the app for influencer content. 

Neith explained the opposing two sides to BookTok.

“It is a great place to find like minded people and chat about the books you love. While most of the community is very kind there are clusters that are very ugly,” Neith said. 

Since BookTok’s creation in 2020, book sales have seen a significant increase. From 2020 to 2021, there was a 10.7% increase in the number of books sold, according to Statistica.

King believes there are drawbacks to the overreliance on social media for book content. 

“I think it’s good that it's getting people interested in reading again, but I think at the same time it’s like they think it's cool to read now, and then they aren’t really doing it for the reading,” King said.

The intense role that social media plays in the book industry sometimes drowns out other authors.

Some believe that there is a lack of diversity in the community when it comes to different authors and the characters they create.

“Sarah J. Maas really does not have any diversity in a lot of her books, which is really disappointing, because she is one of my favorite authors, and lots of other people’s favorite authors,” said Morgan Panlener, a Barnes and Noble employee.

Although social media has its drawbacks, the book market has been permanently altered with its involvement. Making it big on social media can be what pushes you to the top, according to Neith. 

“Getting a viral moment is like trying to catch lightning but when it hits it can be life changing. I think it's a matter of being consistent and even though it can feel like screaming into the void—you only need one moment for your book to spread like wildfire,” said Neith.