The Power of

Telling Stories

In this Business Growth Strategy, I uncovered the pain-points of a local Indie Publisher and Book store Flying Books, and recommended tactical solutions to improve engagement online.

The Insight

Publishers are in the business of telling stories, but they rarely tell their own story online.

Research

  • In the context of Miami Ad School, (March 2023) I was tasked with consulting with a local business on Business Issues. I was to research the industry and business in order to propose some viable solutions to address their pain points

  • “Publishing in Canada is broken” facing oligopolies, and a lack of funding, ever-changing Canadian content policies, as well as technological and supply chain issues, the industry has suffered over the last few years.

  • Statistics and Government reports on the State of Publishing in Canada.

    Google trends

    Social media trend analysis

  • Surveys of book-lovers, culminated into cultural and consumer truths. From general buyer behaviour to how they approach which titles they choose.

    I also had the chance to interview Martha Sharpe, the founder.

Findings

Main Take-Aways

Among readers, 59% of people get their recommendations through friends, yet among avid readers, 62% get their recommendations online.

“BookTok” accounted for a 1’047% increase in book sales from July 2019 to June 2020. Yet, a high amount of Canadian publishers do not have an account.

Staffing is also an issue, so the recommendations will need to realistically be implementable without new hires.

The most viable recommendations would be in regards to promotion, and standing out in a competitive market.

  • Other pain-points faced by Book sellers and publishers could not realistically be addressed without an entire tech team, or advocating to the government. For example, they struggle with:

    Out-dated point-of-sale and Website management systems

    Limited access to specific resources that the USA have (for one-off orders)

    Limited support and barriers to grant access from Provincial and Federal governemt, with less private sector solutions compared to the USA.

Setting Up the Strategy

If avid readers get their recommendations online, and BookTok accounts for a massive proportion of how books get recommended, the natural next step was to analyze how Flying Books used social media, and provide some ideas for expanding their reach and engagement. Excelling on TikTok could prove to be a significant competitive advantage.

The Strategy

I analysed online presence and social media usage among Flying Books and their competitors, to find two key areas of opportunity.

Social Audit

The Recommendations

1. SEO

Simple tactical steps on search engine optimization, to yield better results with no knowledge of coding required (something she had considered, but did not want to have to do.)

2. TikTok (& Reels)

I drew up a social media strategy to bolster Flying Book’s engagement and reach to help with sales.

I also presented some out-of-the box ideas such as event types they could host, and ways to gather some buzz. Showcasing their events more prominently on their socials, for example launching a series of mini interviews with the authors to capture the Avid Readers of BookTok.

Execution

Presentation for the Founder: Post Examples & Strategies

Advertise Events (and initiatives such as the writing school) that are coming up, and show them off once they’ve happened

  • Mini-interview series of writers, guests, etc coming to the events. It could be a fun ice-breaker about books, or something within the realms of Book recommendations e.g. At a ghost story reading, ask guests to tell you a book they found haunting.

  • Anniversary Party and unique events: collaborate with local businesses for food and drink.

Success Comes Down To Community Support

I suggested they leverage events and collaborate with local businesses for mutually beneficial social media moments.

For example, Grape Witches x Flying Books for a wine and poetry night, or Bakery Pompette for a Breakfast Book Club

In June 2024, Flying Books opened a location at Neverland cafe next to Peter Pan Bistro. A match made in bookish heaven! They have been doing an excellent job with reels and social with a new hire.

About a year and a half later…

I had no stake in that, but we love to see it!