27+ Content Ideas for Bookstore Social Media

Social media can be so much fun for indie bookstores, but it takes creativity and time to bring all your exciting ideas to life. We can help with both, but today, we want to share a big list of content ideas just for your niche that will hopefully bring some inspiration your way.

A quick note: Many of these ideas work as both video content (reels or TikToks) or posts (Facebook or Instagram carousels), and it’s important to do a healthy mix of both since, at least on Instagram, those two formats serve different algorithms, and you want to be growing in both.

You are likely already posting about New Release Tuesday. It’s important for that to become routine so your audience expects it from you, but not rote or boring. Be sure to mix up the format of this content (posts, stories, reels, etc.) and share a wide range of new releases (genre, hardback, paperback, special editions).

Explain how the bestseller lists work and how readers can best support their favorite authors.

Showcase local authors, not just when they have a new release.

Of course, staff picks. We recommend featuring each of your booksellers at least twice a year.

Choose a genre each month and share the best classics, new releases or popular books from that genre all month long. You might even do a feature on, say, horror books for newbies or romance featuring non-binary love, or unexpectedly funny nonfiction to try.

Feature your own book clubs, but also other book clubs that have an open invitation. Particularly if your store doesn’t have one that caters to a specific reader.

Have your staff act out dramatic readings of their favorite books when it’s slow in the store. This kind of cheesy humor can be so much fun!

Show collections of book covers that match an aesthetic, art style, color, vibe, theme, holiday, etc.

You can have followers guess what book it is by only displaying the cover, a blurb, the description, comparison books, the first line, or the last line. Any time we’re inviting followers to engage with our content is great! (On Instagram, saves and shares are the most important engagement metrics, but likes and comments are still great.)

Ask questions in your content. This can be in stories with the engagement widget, or simply in the caption or graphic of a post or reel. Here are some ideas:

• What are you reading?
• What was your last 5-star book?
• What has been on your TBR the longest?
• What book are you intimidated by?
• What book have you reread the most?
• Have you ever liked a movie/TV adaptation better than the book?
• How do you like to read? (Bed, couch, chair, floor; morning midday or evening; quiet or with music or background noise like at a coffee shop?)
• Do you annotate your books?
• Do you break spines?
• Favorite book snacks?
• Do you loan your books?
• Bookmarks, dog ear or chaos?
• Do you take physical books with you when you are out and about or just ebooks/audiobooks?
• Do you own any bookstore merch?
• Do you own any book merch?
• Do you prefer PG13 or R/X rated?
• What’s the one book you recommend to almost everyone?
• What book would you recommend to your mom/bestie/partner/coworker?
• What was the first book you ever remember?
• What book was your favorite as a kid/teen/20s?
• What is your most anticipated new release right now?
• Is there anything you’ve ever tried because of a book (food, pick up line, habit)?
• Have you ever thought about writing a book?

Of course, keep track of trending audio and concepts happening on Tiktok and Instagram so you can brainstorm ways you can participate in them. There is a time and place for businesses to participate in these, so it’s fun to do every once in a while when you really nail it, but this shouldn’t be a daily content pillar for you.

Visual ASMR is popular, so a time-lapse of you straightening your shelves would be great.

A video where someone asks for a recommendation, but only gives one detail at a time until you get it correct.

Show a photo or video of the children’s section (be sure to only show backs of heads if there are kids in your shop to maintain their privacy.

Share the process of creating books: drafting, editing, agents, selling, buying, design, pricing/profit, including timeline.

Do a video of a tour of the store.

Create a video of accessibility offerings, like the ramp to get in your door, wide aisles, your staff helping reach something on a high shelf, etc.

“Blind Date With A Book” programs are super popular, so be sure to post about it. You could post the description and have folks on social media guess what book is hidden behind the wrapper. Then once it’s sold, reveal the answer.

An easy content idea is: “If you like this book, try this book series.” You could also convert this into a “The case for…” idea, where you feature unpopular or stigmatized genres like nonfiction/self-help/romance for men. There is so much depth and breadth in these genres, so it would be great to help expand their audience.

Remind folks that you can order a book for them, pre-order or otherwise, and that they can even order it for themselves on your website from home. You can do in-store pick up or ship it directly to them.

Share the owner’s why for owning a bookstore, then share your staff’s why for they love working in one.

Hopefully you’re getting as many five-star reviews as the books you sell, so share those on social media as well.

You’re probably already doing something special for Indie Bookstore Day but have you considered a way to get more folks out in off-months like April? Perhaps coordinate a bookstore crawl with your fellow local bookstores. Collaboration is better than competition!

You should also remember to celebrate other bookish holidays as well.

Remind folks that all reading is reading (audiobooks, manga and comics, being read to, etc.)

Of course, sales and promotions as you have them.

And finally, your best customers will care deeply about your success, so giving them a peek behind the scenes by sharing your goals and progress toward them can help you reach that next milestone a little bit faster.

Predicting the future of what books will be popular, managing slim margins, inventory, payroll, events, and making time for actually reading amidst all of the business management isn’t easy work. So if you love these ideas but are feeling overwhelmed with actually making it happen for your shop, we’d love to help.