Continuing from my last blog (How TikTok Changed the Publishing Industry), it’s no surprise my love for books and reading has continued to grow. Because of this love, I have seen firsthand how the publishing industry has changed over the last few years. With this industry change, it has been really fascinating to see the simultaneous evolution of marketing strategy during this growth in the publishing industry
The publishing industry, like others, is being pushed to produce a more digitally focused product. From online bookstores to the growing popularity of e-readers, the publishing industry is slowly embracing the shift to the average consumer’s digital desire. However, the resistance to a digital age accommodation may be for good reason.
Given when the printing press was invented, the publishing industry is arguably one of the oldest industries around. However, in my opinion, the book and publishing industry will never fully “go digital”. I might be a little biased, but I like to think that I can attest to the fact that there is nothing like having and reading a physical book, especially in comparison to its digital counterpart. While I am in favor of both, there are always going to be people who prefer physical books. Plus, what if your e-reader dies? Assuming you aren’t murdering your books as you read them, your physical books will always be there and ready to read.
As this ‘print-vs-digital’ debate wages on, a need for a different marketing strategy has been created. Over the last few years, as the book publishing industry has grown, small independent bookstores have been thriving due to their ability to provide a sense of community that large book retailers can’t offer. We have also seen a shift to include book-related influencers and micro-influencers. Influencers have been seen across varying different industries but have only recently grown in popularity among book communities. Arguably, micro-influencers have been more favored by creating a more close-knit sense of community among followers that gives an added trust factor.
In short, I don’t think we’ll be seeing the book industry going fully digital anytime soon, if at all, but that also lends itself to some industry-specific marketing tactics that continue to grow in an effort to find a balance between the physical and digital literary world.