literature
TikTok publishes its own bestseller list for books
Tobias Henning from TikTok Germany speaks on the ‘#BookTok’ panel at the Leipzig Book Fair. photo
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
Young people no longer reach for books? That doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. How TikTok is helping the book trade.
The video platform TikTok, in cooperation with the market research company Media Control, wants to publish its own bestseller list for books every month. Among other things, TikTok inspires young people to pick up books again, said Tobias Henning, General Manager TikTok Germany and Central East Europe, on Friday. Posts on the topic would have a high number of clicks. With the new “BookTok” bestseller list, the aim is to show the positive influence of the platform on the book trade.
Everything about books is shared via TikTok under the hashtag “BookTok”. This includes book recommendations or book reviews, but also instructions for the perfectly organized bookshelf. The hashtag has more than 300 million hits a month in Germany alone, said Henning. The TikTok phenomenon has a proven positive impact on the book trade and sales figures.
This is also confirmed by Ulrike Altig, managing director of the market research company Media Control. She has often experienced spikes in book sales through social media, she said, “but this extreme phenomenon that happened in a very short time with “BookTok” simply didn’t exist yet.”
Each month, the “BookTok” list is designed to present the 20 most successful book titles that are hotly debated in the “BookTok” community and is based on surveys by Media Control and analysis by TikTok. The first “BookTok” bestseller list was presented on Friday at the Leipzig Book Fair. At number one was “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig.