Sometimes That Mindless Scrolling Can Actually Be A Good Thing
How TikTok Became My Secret Weapon for Book Sales and Building Genuine Connections.
I was resistant to becoming a part of the TikTok community when it first launched because I didn’t need another social media platform to keep up with. I already had Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn (who still uses that platform?), and I already felt consumed by trying to manage so many accounts. Now I understand more clearly why being a social media manager is a full-time job. There really are A LOT of moving parts.
Anyhow, about 4½ years ago, I broke down and caved. I don't know what got into me, but I opened a TikTok account expecting to hate the platform and quit early on.
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I was wrong.
That social media platform has been a massive help to me and my business.
When I first started my account, I was busy posting makeup videos because the business I was with sold makeup and skin care products and solutions. I had some decent views, and a few followers showed up, but I felt like a tiny ant among so many other makeup artists and content creators that I felt invisible.
Around that same time, I was busy promoting and marketing my children's picture book series, The Frizz Girls, where we teach curl confidence to girls and women who want to learn how to care for and love their natural hair texture. I didn't want all my videos and posts to be spammy with things like "Buy my book," "You need this book," or "Buy, buy, buy," like I was a used car salesman. I wanted to sell my books but also create value in a way that allowed people to get to know me.
So, I started posting videos and pictures of myself, my hair, and tips and tricks, and slowly and carefully included my books in the mix.
Anyhow, I eventually qualified to open a business account on the platform and a TikTok Shop. I had to download a separate app for the shop, and after navigating another app, my shop was up and running.
I hoped book orders would come flooding into the shop. They didn't. I haven't sold one book on the platform, but I did get a sale through it on Amazon!
See, just because you post your book online on one platform doesn't mean you will get a sale through it.
You know how I got this sale? By scrolling through TikTok until a video that resonated with me popped up.
Yeah… sometimes that mindless scrolling can actually be a good thing.
Anyhow, I stumbled onto a video that spoke to me and many others who had gone through a similar experience to mine as a child. I posted a selfie holding my book and commented, "That's why I wrote and illustrated my own book!" This person asked if it was available on Amazon (I'm not sure why they didn't want to buy it through the shop), and I said it was. Then she proceeded to buy my book immediately on Amazon!
She never left a review. I don’t know why, nor am I going to let it bother me.
Social media and marketing are constantly changing, and that means my business, and yours, needs to change with them.
I still haven't had a sale in my TikTok Shop…yet, but I'm still posting videos and pictures of myself, my hair, and tips and tricks. Now I've added questions to find out what my audience is frustrated with or struggling with so I can provide a solution, either through a video tip or my book. I'm getting great feedback, which is useful.
When I post a selfie of myself holding my book, I get so many compliments from others that it makes what I'm doing feel really good.
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