Book Marketing in Nigeria: Appraising the Role of Digital and Social Media Innovations

Abstract

Nigeria’s huge population assures a ready market for books, setting the stage for a virile book publishing industry. However, the book industry has been characterized by some anomalies, including the shortage of tertiary level textbooks and the non-availability of books in professional fields like medicine, engineering and technology. Although the situation has improved considerably over the years, the emergence of digital technologies has set the tone for competition in consumer media markets, with book publishers struggling to gain competitive advantage through digital media adoption. Past studies record various approaches to repositioning the Nigerian book publishing industry for growth and development through the adoption of various forms of digital publishing innovations. However, there is a knowledge gap on the role of social media innovations in the prevailing business-to-consumer (b2c) book market environment in Nigeria. A review of extant literature reveals that the book market in Nigeria has been greatly influenced by the demand for educational materials, especially textbooks for primary and secondary level education. It is established that to expand and grow a virile book publishing industry, Nigerian publishers need to open up new book markets and deploy digital and social media innovations to attract new customers, develop relationships, and increase awareness.