Last week, the American Booksellers Association launched the “Stories to Share” Social Media contest, which invites booksellers to share original social content on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #bookweb to help populate the new “Stories to Share” section [5] on BookWeb.org.

“Stories to Share,” located under BookWeb’s Designs & Downloads menu, houses categorized folders where ABA members can find ready-made tweets, posts, and images for reposting on social media.

By including #bookweb in a post, participating booksellers signal to ABA that the post includes engaging content that would be a good fit for fellow booksellers around the country to share. Content can cover a number of themes, such as Local First, DIY, holidays, causes indie bookstores have in common, bookstore success stories, or anything that is fun, uniting, or emotional.

Booksellers submitting content through December 4 will have the chance to win $50 off their 2017–2018 membership dues as well as a full day of dedicated posts on ABA’s social media accounts. The store that shares the most usable content using the hashtag #bookweb will win.

Participating stores must be current ABA members to be eligible. All posts must include the hashtag #bookweb and must be published on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram between November 9 and December 4 to qualify as entries. Submitted posts should aim for universality, so that many different independent bookstores can benefit from sharing the suggested content on their own social media accounts.

By adding the hashtag #bookweb to a post, stores permit ABA to add the content of the post — text and/or images — to the “Stories to Share” section in a format that other members can use to share on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

In addition to $50 off annual membership dues for 2017–2018, the winner will receive a full day of approved shares, retweets, and regrams on ABA’s social media channels for all of that store’s social posts on a weekday of their choice in December or January. The winning store will also be recognized at Winter Institute 12 [6] in Minneapolis.

Booksellers with questions may contact ABA Social Media Manager Catherine Cusick [7] or ABA Membership and Marketing Officer Meg Smith [8].