Think TikTok and Instagram are only for sharing trending dances and carefully curated photos of your family, pets, and food experiments? Think again.

These two platforms have transformed the way books are being promoted and the tactics authors are using to reach new readers. Since its release in 2016, TikTok has become one of the world’s fastest growing brands. Through its short-form video model, TikTok has created a new way of creating and absorbing content online—one that instills a desire for real-time, reaction-based topics and genuine authenticity. This trend has spread to other platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, and has ultimately shifted what does “well” online when looking at growth and performance data.

Within TikTok and Instagram, niche communities have formed. These groups provide a direct way to communicate and engage with other people around the world who love the same topics, activities, or hobbies. One of the most popular communities on both platforms is BookTok/Bookstagram. As of writing this article, the hashtag #booktok has 165 billion hits on TikTok, and the hashtag #bookstagram has 93.5 million hits on Instagram. To say these are thriving and engaged communities would be an understatement. Avid users of these two hashtags are readers, writers, and publishers all bonded by a love of books. They provide a range of content—book reviews, lists of favorite books, shopping hauls of books one has purchased, writing tips, advice for how to get into reading, and more. BookTok and Bookstagram have become famous for inadvertently getting people back into reading, which is excellent news for authors.

Now you may be wondering, “Why should I consider jumping onto TikTok/Instagram? What’s the benefit?” Both are valid questions that can be answered with one word: connection. Both platforms provide a direct and immediate line to your readers (and potential readers). You can start to form real connections with readers and engage with them in a way that traditional outreach (i.e., email, blogs, advertising) simply cannot compete with. Imagine having a real and positive conversation with a fan/reader in person about your work—now imagine that amplified times one hundred, one thousand, or even one million. This is what these platforms offer an author. These days, just having a great book isn’t enough. You need to meet your readers where they are. If you don’t, it makes it extremely difficult to compete with other authors and leaders who are on social media and engaging directly with their audience.

In February of 2023, self-published author Lloyd Devereux Richards was really struggling with book promotion and sales for a novel he worked on for over a decade. His daughter decided to create a TikTok for him and created a video showing him working on and promoting the book. She used trending audio and simply asked for people to check out the book. Overnight, it had millions of views and thousands of shares. As of today, that video has 57 million views. His novel, Stone Maidens, also became the number one best seller on Amazon in a matter of days, despite having been released 10 years prior. This one example depicts a best case scenario, but it shows the power of creating authentic, passionate, personal videos within BookTok and how it can change an author’s viewership (and book sales).

If you want to get started on one or both platforms but you’re feeling nervous about creating content, start simple. As a first step, create your accounts and explore. Become comfortable with TikTok and Instagram’s interfaces and how to use the apps. Start looking up content and people that interest you, as well as those related to your book or area of expertise. Don’t feel like you must start creating loads of content right from the beginning. It’s okay to dip your toe in.

Many authors wonder if they need a presence on both channels. The answer depends on your goals. Having a profile on both means optimal visibility (there are people who prefer one app over the other); however, Instagram has made it possible to create TikTok-like short-form videos through their Reels feature, which also do extremely well. For fiction authors, being part of both Bookstagram and BookTok will extend your reach better than any other type of promotion. For nonfiction authors, a presence on both is also important. Even though BookTok is heavily filled with fiction content, you would be remiss to forget the abundance of other communities and industries thriving on TikTok. There are thought leaders, lawyers, doctors, business leaders, consultants, and many more people for you to connect with. The BookTok community isn’t the only option—it’s one of many.

When engaging on social media, just remember the following: Be patient, be consistent, always be authentic, and have fun! It might take one video, or it might take a hundred, but putting yourself out there will help to boost your brand, your business, and your book. Most importantly, it instantly connects you to a community that’s excited to do more of what they love: read good books.