By Charlotte Brook
With the hugely growing popularity of the UK bookfluencer landscape across social media, Bookers Italia have seen an opening to launch their agency internationally. So, if you’re a Bookstagrammer, Book-Toker, Book-Tuber, active on Book Twitter or thinking about starting and growing your own account, then Bookers Agency could help you create content and work with publishers!
Dedicated to the world of books, Bookers Agency is the idea of Gianluca Dalusio and Federico Fabiano; young experts in the influencer marketing scene in Italy, it is their hope that they can have the same success here in the UK. The agency works with authors, publishers and creators to establish and build relationships between each other, which can benefit everyone, both giving creators more opportunities, recognition and guaranteeing results for authors and publishers from their social media campaigns.
So how exactly do Bookers Agency work with creators? We asked UK manager, Giulia Maggiori, a few questions to get more of an insight.
In addition to enabling authors to increase the visibilities of their books on social media, how does Bookers work with and benefit book influencers?
“We make sure that influencers are paid for the time they spend creating content (that is something the industry is still a bit reluctant to accept). Having an agent, the influencers will have more negotiation power (and we will take care of the awkward conversations regarding money).”
Do the influencers you work with need to have an already established following?
“Yes, in general we work with influencers have at least 10,000 followers. The reason why we do so is because if we are asking our client to pay the creators, we have to guarantee certain results. We really hope we will be able to start welcoming – as part of the team – more micro-influencers as well, as we recognise the amazing work they do and how important they are in the book community. Hopefully, the more ‘normal’ it will be for book influencers to get paid, the more talents we will be able to welcome on board.”
How do you think Bookers Agency can change marketing in the book world?
“We all know that when it comes to books, people are expected to do things for free because they love reading. That’s exactly what we want to change. We want to make publishers and authors understand that the influencers can be a great resource for them to use, but the influencers will be able to use their full potential if they are able to dedicate more time to the creation of content and to their social media challenge. How is that going to be manageable when influencers are also working full time jobs?”
What would you say is the most up and coming platform for book influencing in the UK?
“TikTok has had a huge impact on the book industry in the last year, and it is becoming the leading social media platform. If a book can become viral on TikTok, it will be a bestseller in a couple of days. However, it is also the most unpredictable one. We believe that a good social media campaign needs to be carried across different platforms to ensure maximum results.”
What can publishers and authors hope to gain from using Bookers Agency and the wider UK book influencer landscape?
“By deciding to work with us, publishers and authors will get the valuable support that an influencer marketing agency can offer. We don’t only offer collaborations with individual talents, but we can also offer them packages that will help them reach a certain number of unique users. We will select the influencers whose audience better reflect the demographic they are willing to reach and provide a final report that will summarise the campaign.”
What is one tip you would give to a book influencer wanting to grow their page?
“Be authentic. Don’t try to copy what others are doing because your audience will notice. Think of the reasons why you follow the accounts you like on social media, that will help you understand which direction your account will take. And don’t forget to have fun! People can genuinely tell when you are doing it for the likes and when you are doing it when you enjoy it.”
The passion and drive of Bookers Agency is clear, as is their belief about the impact the bookfluencer scene can have on the UK’s literary landscape, especially when creators are able to give more time to their content with the support of the agency. Already collaborating with UK book influencers, Amy Buckle (@AmysBookshelf on Instagram) and Desiree Worrall-Belanger (@RainyDaysLibrary on TikTok), Booker’s expertise and dedication is evident. We can’t wait to see what more is to come!