The Tendency of Bangladeshi Publishers to Use Different Media for Book Publicity

Every year around five thousand titles are published at Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Bangladesh. Publishers use different media to publicise these books. This study is to explore the tendency of Bangladeshi publishers to use different media for book publicity. The study is conducted in mixed method using Uses and Gratification Theory, Media Dependency Theory and Media Richness Theory. Quantitative data was collected through surveys on 150 publishing houses. Through key informant interviews and expert opinion qualitative data was collected from five people from top managements of five renowned publishing houses and three publishing experts accordingly. The research finds that publishers of Bangladesh are using social media, mostly Facebook, for publicising books and believe social media is an alternative to mass media. Almost three-quarters of publishers found social media as a credible media. Among mass media, online news sites are mostly used for book publicity. The study also added insights on book publicizing strategy which will enrich the publishing industry.