2022 is the year of Tiktok, which means as an author, it’s time to put together your TikTok marketing strategy.
That’s why I’m here, coming at you with this blog post: To help you develop an affordable organic marketing strategy that will help you grow your brand awareness and sell your books.
Would you have ever guessed that TikTok is an excellent and FREE way to market your books and your brand as an author? Well, it is.
About the Platform:
TikTok, as I’m sure you know, is a video-sharing platform that has taken the online world by storm. It first launched in 2017, and since then, has secured 1 billion users… which makes it the fastest growing platform by far. And that means YOU need to get on it ASAP.
TikTok has the reputation of being a silly and simple platform, but if you utilize it correctly, you can harness its powers and really give your books and brand the push they need to reach your target readers.
However, it takes time, energy, and the most important: frequency.
Here’s what we’re going to talk about in this blog post:
- When to Post
- What to Post
- How to Post
- Before You Post
- After You Post
- Your TikTok Book Launch Social Media Strategy
Now, let’s dive into it how to incorporate it into your daily or weekly social media strategy as an author.
When to Post
Like all social media platforms, when you need to post depends on your audience. It revolves around where your audience is and when they are active. However, when first starting out on TikTok, you won’t have any insights. That’s why it can be helpful to get a general idea when the majority of people are active on TikTok.
Here’s what I’ve gathered after reading through various marketing blogs.
- Monday – 6am to 10am
- Tuesday – 4am to 9am
- Wednesday – 7am to 8am
- Thursday – 12pm & 7pm to 12am
- Friday – 5am & 1-2pm
- Saturday – 11am & 7-8pm
- Sunday – 7am to 8am
Once you’ve been on TikTok for a bit and have a Pro account, you will be able to access the analytics that will give you more specific days and times to post.
However, posting at a specific time does nothing if you don’t do the proper pre-posting and post-posting engagement to ensure your post and account get seen by the right people.
What to Post
The great thing about TikTok is that it’s all about keeping things real and fun. It can take anywhere from 5-30 minutes to put together a quality TikTok. And that’s one of the things I love about it.
A lot of the time, I don’t plan my TikTok content. All I do is keep track of current trends and save songs that inspire ideas. It’s a great way for me to practice and use my creativity.
However, if you’re struggling to come up with ideas to show off your book and your brand as an author, here are a few ideas for you.
- Use 3 buzzwords to describe your book
- “Do you want…Forbidden Romance…Vampires…and Witches? Read The Vampire Diaries now!”
- Recommend your book(s) based off popular reads in the same genre
- Highlight a quote from your book and use a trending song
- Put together some pics and video clips that represent your book
- If you have multiple books, recommend them to your favourite TV/movie characters
- Show the BTS of your writing process
My biggest tip for figuring out what to post on TikTok is to keep up with what other authors and readers are posting, and either follow those trends or use them as a starting out point for your ideas.
TikTok trends are so much fun, and you can easily adapt them and use them as a way to talk about your book and show off your personality.
How to Post
In this section, I’m going to talk about how to successfully post on TikTok. That means discussing how often to post, what to do before and after posting, but also reiterating my biggest tip that we just talked about…
Create TikToks related to your books and the genre you write in that utilize current trends and trending songs.
How often should I post?
TikTok requires consistent and frequent posting. I recommend posting 3x a week every day for at least 2 weeks. If you have time to post more and for a longer period of time, do it.
By doing this, you’re giving your account a push in the algorithm. During this time, also make sure to engage with others.
After 2 weeks or so, if you want to just stay active on your account, I recommend posting once a day every day. If you want to see your account grow quickly, post at least 3x a day every day. Once again, if you have more time, post more.
Currently, I post 3x a day every day. I’ve only been on TikTok for a couple months but I’ve noticed the difference between when I was posting only a few times a week to posting multiple times a day. My videos get more views in a short span of time and my older videos are rapidly getting seen more and more.
Here are some tips for posting and ensuring your videos get seen.
- Use 5-8 hashtags
- Use no more than 2 popular hashtags and the others should be niche to author-related and reader-related topics
- Create shorter reels that are between 5-15 seconds long
- Share your TikToks on Instagram Reels
- Post your TikTok to Stories after posting
Before You Post
Before you post a TikTok, do these 3 things to maximize your reach on the platform and get your videos seen:
- Follow 10 new accounts (and like their latest TikTok)
- Spend 15-30 minutes engaging on your FYP and Your Following
- Scroll through and save any trends and songs you keep seeing
After You Post
After you post a TikTok, do these 4 things to maximize your reach on the platform and get your videos seen:
- Follow 10 new accounts (and like their latest TikTok)
- Spend 15-30 minutes engaging on your FYP and Your Following
- Post new TikTok to Stories
- Post TikTok to Instagram Stories & link your TikTok account
Your TikTok Book Launch Social Media Strategy
Do you have a book launch in the next several months (hopefully you started, or will start, marketing your book 6-9 months before the book launch!)?
If so, here’s a simple and affordable TikTok strategy you can implement to market your book and get it seen by your target audience.
4-6 Months Before Launch
GOAL: To generate brand awareness for your book and let readers get to know YOU
- Post once a day every day
- 70-75% should be videos and the rest should be static or carousel posts
- Only 20% of content should be about book launch
- Post to Stories at least once a day every day (only 20% of Stories should be related to book)
- Engage for 10 minutes every day
- Follow 15-20 ideal readers a week
- Start batch creating contnt about your book for the future
- Research hashtags that your ideal readers use and look under
Post Ideas:
| Goal of Post | Title of Content |
| To grow awareness for the book | Cover reveal and launch date reveal |
| To create relatability with readers | “My Most Anticipated Insert Genre Releases of 2022″ |
| To create hype for your book | Share a gripping quote from your book |
| To let readers get to know you | “The 5 Books That Shaped My Writing” |
| To let readers get to know you through relatability & humour | “My Biggest Flaws as a Reader” |
| To let readers get to know you | Share a selfie with a common Q&A about you in the caption |
| To engage with your readers | Share a favourite book quote of yours |
2-3 Months Before Launch
GOAL: To generate pre-orders and hype for your book
- Post 2-3x a day every day
- 70-75% should be videos and the rest should be static or carousel posts
- Only 20% of content should be about book launch
- Post to Stories at least twice a day every day (only 20% of Stories should be related to book)
- Engage for 15 minutes every day
- Follow 15-20 ideal readers a week
- Start batch creating contnt about your book for the future
- Research hashtags that your ideal readers use and look under
Post Ideas:
| Goal of Post | Title of Content |
| To generate pre-orders | Share your book cover, tagline & where ppl can pre-order it |
| To let your readers get to know you & create relatability | Share what you’re currently reading |
| To generate hype for your book | Show images that represent your book & then where readers can pre-order it |
| To engage with your readers | Ask a reader-related question |
| To generate pre-orders | Share a gripping quote from your book |
| To create relatability | Utilize a funny trend on TikTok and relate it to reading or your writing process |
| To engage with your readers | Share a favourite book quote of yours |
1 Month – Launch Date
GOAL: To make sure everyone is aware of your book and its release day, and give your book a final marketing push
- Post 3-5x a day every day
- 70-75% should be videos and the rest should be static or carousel posts
- Only 20% of content should be about book launch
- Post to Stories at least twice a day every day (only 20% of Stories should be related to book)
- Engage for 15 minutes every day
- Follow 15-20 ideal readers a week
- Start batch creating contnt about your book for the future
- Research hashtags that your ideal readers use and look under
Post Ideas:
| Goal of Post | Title of Content |
| To generate hype for your book & pre-orders | Share the synopsis of your book |
| To engage with your readers | Ask a reader-related question |
| To generate hype for your book | “If You Like ‘Insert Popular Book or Show’, You’ll Love ‘Insert Your Book Title‘” (Add a CTA too!) |
| To generate relatability | Talk about your favourite childhood books |
| To generate hype for your book | Answer questions readers have about your book |
| To generate hype for your books | Show a collection of pics that represent your book & shares where your readers can pre-order it |
Post-Book Launch
GOAL: To maintain hype and orders for your book
- Post 2-3x a day every day
- 70-75% should be videos and the rest should be static or carousel posts
- Only 20% of content should be about book launch
- Post to Stories at least twice a day every day (only 20% of Stories should be related to book)
- Engage for 15 minutes every day
- Follow 15-20 ideal readers a week
- Start batch creating contnt about your book for the future
- Research hashtags that your ideal readers use and look under
Post Ideas:
| Goal of Post | Title of Content |
| To remind readers about your book | Share your book cover + tagline |
| To create reliability | Show off any reviews you’ve received |
| To engage with your readers | Ask a reader-related question |
| To generate interest for your book | Show popular books that are similar to your book and share that if readers like those books, they’ll love yours |
| To show appreciation | Do a giveaway for your book |
| To generate interest for your book | Share an engaging quote from your book |
TikTok is an interesting platform because it revolves around trends, something that we are still new to in the social media world.
And first off, trends don’t always mean dancing. I haven’t danced once in a TikTok because there are so many unique and creative trends that don’t include dancing for you to try out.
Like I mentioned earlier, have fun and get creative with your TikToks. Figure out new and innovative ways to promote your book and brand because those are the videos that will do well.
Also, if your videos don’t blow up, don’t worry! It takes time to grow on TikTok, and I am still working on growing myself. I’m in no way an expert, but I’m reporting on the things I’ve done that have worked for some of my TikToks, as well as research I’ve gathered.
Even if your TikTok doesn’t do great, don’t delete it! The algorithm allows your TikTok to still be seen by people next week, or even a month later. Just because your TikTok only has 50 views now, doesn’t mean it won’t get 1,000 in the next few days. Be patient and keep testing out different video styles and trends.
So, if you are ready to take your TikTok game to the next level, follow these tips now! Or, if you aren’t even on TikTok yet and you’re reading this, download it now and get started. TikTok is taking over social media marketing, so it’s time to get your foot in the door.
Make sure to follow my Instagram and TikTok for more author marketing tips:
Check out my last blog post: How to Run a Successful Free Book Promotion to Reignite Book Sales
Need help growing your brand awareness and selling your books on social media? Check out my Social Media Management services HERE.
Zoe Mathers Creative 