Publishers Favor (for Now) Instagram and Twitter for Book Promotion

While TikTok dominates publishing conversations about book marketing and promotion right now, it turns out that most day-to-day work is still heavily driven by two social media mainstays of the last decade: Instagram and Twitter. BookNet Canada recently convened a panel of Canada-based marketing and publicity professionals to discuss their current strategies and what’s working for them. And while some have dipped a toe into the TikTok stream, such efforts remain in their early, emergent stages.

Twitter serves well when sharing breaking news or press coverage about a book—plus it’s quick and easy to execute. “Twitter is very immediate—more immediate than Instagram,” said Kaiya Cade Smith Blackburn, marketing assistant at Drawn & Quarterly. She will both retweet the coverage and post about it separately. Curtis Samuel, the publicist and social media coordinator for TouchWood Editions, said you get “a lot of bang for your buck” on Twitter because you don’t have to focus as much on the beauty of the post. You can just post a quick blurb with a three-dimensional cover and get attention, whereas the same thing would not engage people on Instagram. “If people are looking for one place to focus on, that would be mine. It really is a great community of readers, and you can still share images, but it’s not the main focus,” Samuel said.

Instagram involves more of a time commitment but often delivers higher engagement. Instagram is where publishers are most likely to offer previews of advance copies, create videos that showcase new books, and generate early buzz. Blackburn said their Instagram success is built on posting videos that showcase a new book’s interior (which works well for illustrated books) and posting about new releases very early—about three months before the book comes out. Behind-the-scenes posts, such as showing an image or video of a book’s InDesign file while it’s being laid out, also perform well. When posting still images, Blackburn makes sure the image is shot during the day and near a light source and offers good symmetry. “These things really entice human eyes. Keep it nice and clean,” she advised.

All publishers amplify their authors’ voices no matter the platform (by retweeting or sharing), but they also pay attention to where and how reader engagement happens. Kate Patrick, social media and communications specialist at Orca Book Publishers, has found that most of her authors are active Twitter users. But Instagram is where most of her book reviewers are, and every season she sends them upcoming titles. “They’ve done amazing things for us in terms of engagement” and have increased Orca’s following, whereas reviews on Twitter don’t garner as much of a response. Sam Devotta, senior associate of marketing and publicity at Tundra Book Group (a division of Penguin Random House Canada), said that most of her YA readers are on Instagram, and that’s where she focuses more of her time and energy. Over time, readers have come to learn who Devotta is, and they know that when they message the account, they are messaging her specifically.

Most panelists mentioned a drop-off in Instagram engagement due to the algorithms favoring video content over images. Instagram, in order to compete against TikTok, has been making a forceful push for users to post video rather than images. Unfortunately, video typically takes more time to create, and some teams are looking to hire people who will focus more on developing such content, whether it ends up on Instagram, TikTok, or elsewhere. (One tip that arose for TikTok: It’s more playful and silly. People on TikTok appreciate a look at the people behind the account—it’s not just about the books getting published.)

Other tips shared during the panel:

• Blackburn schedules the bulk of her activity between Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30 AM to 2 PM. “Most people use social media at work. It’s how they distract themselves from their work,” she said. It’s important to post regularly, since the platforms reward consistent, active use—you have to show the algorithms you are there.
• Samuel said he’s always looking for a way to start a conversation or tell a story when he posts about any book, rather than make a direct product post (e.g., “buy this book that just released”).
• Contests and giveaways are great for engagement no matter the platform. You can be successful with them on either Twitter or Instagram.
• Avoid using Hootsuite or other social media schedulers to post rich media or to post on Instagram, because the algorithms typically penalize you. The post will not get as much engagement or visibility as when you post it directly to the platform.
• Look for your perennial bestsellers, then create regular content around them. For example, Blackburn instituted Moomin Mondays, since Drawn & Quarterly is one of the publishers of Tove Jansson’s work. Every Monday, they see a sales spike as a result.
• For new releases, Blackburn runs Instagram Live events with the author on publication day. The author shows off their studio and maybe reveals some process work. They also host Drawn & Quarterly events on Instagram Live that feature a conversation between two authors.
• Devotta recommends reposting and sharing other people’s posts that celebrate your authors or books. For her, that means a regular post every Wednesday, which also helps decrease her workload. “It’s a way to spread the love,” she said, and a nice way to get the community involved—to make them feel like they are part of something bigger and not just a follower of a faceless publisher.

Bottom line: As with so much book marketing and promotion advice, sometimes the panelists’ answers to questions boiled down to “It depends.” They’re always experimenting with new approaches and seeing what gets more engagement. Over time, especially with video, it helps when publishers and authors can establish a consistent voice to bolster community engagement. Samuel said, “Marketing talk doesn’t translate well into community social media.” Instead, the goal is to be as natural as possible and act as a spark for more and better conversations about books.