Book merch in the social network TikTok

Abstract

Introduction. The article examines the practices of using the Tiktok social network to promote book merch and popularize books. An analysis of specialized pages offering merch and booktoker channels that cooperate with publishing houses in disseminating information about new products, as well as publishing house pages in tiktok, was carried out. Relevance of research. The source base of the research was the websites of book publishers and pages of booktubers in the Tiktok social network. This made it possible to get an idea of how the social network is used in the book business and how much merch helps to develop reader tastes and preferences, create a better product, attract new users to buy books. It is argued that the topic is almost not developed in the scientific environment, a comprehensive study of the experience of using tiktok in the promotion of book products and merch products has not taken place, and therefore researchers have the opportunity to expand the boundaries of understanding the tools of the platform. Methodology. Traditional methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization, induction and deduction are used. The descriptive method was used to interpret the researched phenomena in the book business. Among the specialized methods, we note the method of continuous sampling of accounts of the largest publishing houses of Ukraine, which have official pages on the platform, as well as accounts of top booktube pages that offer merch products. The results. Unboxing videos of book boxes, which also include book merch, scented candle sets, bookmarks and art cards featuring the book’s main characters, bracelets and pendants, have proven to be the most popular online. Among the problematic issues, the fact that the vast majority of tiktokers pay attention to bright packaging, almost not focusing on the content of books, due to which the value of the book, its social significance, its educational and cognitive functions is lost. Instead, it promotes aesthetic pleasure and entertainment, which are embedded in the original design of the platform itself. Conclusions. So, the scientific community has yet to evaluate the benefits or harms of the platform, but it already provides an opportunity to expand the circle of book and reading lovers, even at the expense of bright videos and attractive merch products.