Is the love of reading contagious? It evidently is, going by social media trends today. More and more people are opening digital doors to their lives, offering a sneak peek into their personalities on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, the ripple effect of which seems to be creating more avenues for different industries. The world of books is no exception.
Conversations about print books staring at extinction are increasingly becoming a norm in the wake of the digital revolution over the last decade and a half. Turns out, increased online dependency is paradoxically playing a key role in keeping the printed word alive.
Trends like #booktok and #bookstagram have taken social media by storm. As more bibliophiles go online to share their love of reading—their current reads, book recommendations, book covers they like, favourite lines, or just aesthetically composed pictures with books—the digital world has transformed into one big book club. And the publishing industry couldn’t be happier. Hachette India attributes the success of many books in the market, both national and international, to online trends.
“It’s genres like romcom, thrillers and YA fiction that have seen a surge in sales,” says Riti Jagoorie, GM-Product & Marketing, Hachette India. Among their bestsellers over the last year were Colleen Hoover’s Verity and Ali Hazelwood’s Love Hypothesis. “There are many more that have sold on account of their popularity on BookTok but these two stand out,” Jagoorie adds.
The last ‘Nielsen India Book Market Report’ that came out in 2015 had predicted that the country’s then `261 billion book market was expected to touch `739 billion by 2020. While their next report is expected later this year, it would be safe to assume that the pandemic that confined people to the four walls of their homes has driven up the numbers manifold.
“The pandemic changed the way readers interacted online and this is when trends like #booktok emerged worldwide. It has been a delight to witness the reading community engage like never before. Though TikTok is now banned in India the community is actively using other platforms to discuss their favourite books, characters and authors,” says Meenakshi Singh, Head-Marketing & Publicity (Consumer) at Bloomsbury India.
Thanks to these trends, previously published books by Bloomsbury like The Song of Achilles and Circe by Madeline Miller and The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon went viral on #booktok last year and their sales spiked in India as well. Singh adds that they have noticed a steady rise in the popularity and sales in the fantasy genre.
Many publishers are also going the extra mile by not just reaping the benefits of these trends, but also becoming active participants. Like Penguin admits to having positioned the brand as an influencer in the book community. Its social media and digital team curate its online content around trends ––reels, memes, and more––to keep the brand relevant.
Soon after the Jaipur Literature Festival earlier this year, Penguin shared a reel on Instagram of the best moments from the event. Another reel captioned “Fun fact: reading is a form of transportation” shows a reader opening a book, followed by the frame sifting through beautiful travel locations from across the world.
“At Penguin, we are very nimble and adaptive with our approach to keeping up with the trends. Thereby participating like a publisher-influencer in the book community. We creatively orient our content around trends so that they remain relevant but do not get lost in the barrage of content around that trend,” says Penguin’s social media and digital team.