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What is Tumblr?
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Tumblr for Business
Zeroing on Your Demographic
Featured Content
Tagging Your Content
Curating Your Followers
Using Tumblr Tools
Getting Started
Tips, Tricks & How-To’s
Conclusion
WHAT IS TUMBLR?
Tumblr can be described as hybrid between Twitter, Facebook
and Wordpress. It combines the swift, habitual nature of Twitter,
the interactivity and variety of Facebook and the blogging aspect of
Wordpress into a unique, social blogging experience.
Since its launch in February 2007, Tumblr has grown to host
about 67 million blogs, and attracts roughly 17 billion page views
monthly. With its increasing popularity and less saturated market,
many businesses view Tumblr as a possibility for their next social
media venture.
Tumblr allows its users to quickly and efficiently post text, pictures,
videos, audio and other people’s posts onto a personalized feed
called a “Tumblelog”- an Internet scrapbook. Essentially, Tumblr is
what blogging should be: a simple, clean way for users to post and
share anything they find interesting.
TUMBLR FOR BUSINESS
“We didn’t build Tumblr for brands, and
about a year and a half in they just started
to show up, particularly in the fashion and
publishing communities. They were giving
us a different perspective on their world.
For the last few years, we’ve really been
looking to them and taking notes, trying to
figure out what it is that people have found
valuable. And when we see things that may
be repeatable, going out and implementing
those patterns.”
-Tumblr CEO David Karp in an interview
with Ad Age
Even though Tumblr was not originally intended for brands, it
can be successfully integrated into a business’ marketing strategy,
just like any other social network. Tumblr can help brands gain
recognition, drive traffic to their website and ultimately create
leads from those visits. Let’s take a look at some ways you can use
Tumblr to enhance your business’ social media campaign.
ZEROING IN ON YOUR
DEMOGRAPHIC
One of the most important parts of marketing is knowing who your
target market is. Unlike the larger social networks, Tumblr has
more of a condensed demographic base. As of last year, 50% of
Tumblr’s visitors were under the age of 25. Teenagers age 12-17
were twice as likely to visit Tumblr than the average Internet user,
and adults age 18-25 were nearly 2.5 times as likely.
Businesses that target a younger audience are more likely to
succeed on Tumblr for the sole fact that Tumblr’s user base is
generally a younger demographic.
FEATURED CONTENT
Photos and videos are exceptionally more engaging than text
when it comes to social media, and on Tumblr, it’s no different.
Photo-based posts generally gain the most reblogs/notes, so try to
make visuals the centerpiece of your Tumblelog. Post images that
are relatable to your business, and worthwhile to your audience.
For product-based businesses, Tumblr is a great medium for
showcasing your finest works. For example: A clothing company
may post images of a new clothing line, or best-sellers. A tattoo
company may display images of some of their more extravagant
tattoos. In these instances, the pictures sell themselves without
being overly invasive.
Businesses also use Tumblr for highlighting deals and promotions
through visualized ads. Tumblr is an excellent place for these,
because it filters out the spamming feel that you would get if you
did the same thing on other social networks.
TAGGING YOUR CONTENT
Tumblr users discover each other through the use of “tags.”
Tags are titles for searchable topics posted on Tumblr. When you
post something, it is essential that you label it with tags relevant to
what you posted. For instance, if you post a picture of a new house,
you might add tags like: #architecture, #house, #exterior, #new
house, #mansion, etc. Look for tags that are popular within your
industry, and use them. Tags are crucial for brand recognition,
because it’s how Tumblr users find what is interesting to them.
CURATING YOUR FOLLOWERS
Just like with any other social network, you need to listen and
interact with your followers. Engaging with and following leaders
in topics related to your business will help you gain recognition.
Take the time like you would with other social networks to “like”
and reply to Tumblr posts from other users. Sharing unique and
interesting posts is a great way to engage with your audience, and
will help them feel more inclined to do the same for your posts.
USING TUMBLR TOOLS
Install the Tumblr “bookmarklet” in your browser to quickly create
posts. Just click the Tumblr button in your toolbar to create a post
about anything you find interesting, without the hassle of logging
in, copying and pasting.
Tumblr is one of the more mobile-friendly social network platforms
out there. It’s a great place to start for businesses that are slow to
adopt a mobile-friendly social media strategy. The mobile app
automatically provides Tumblr as an option for sharing content
you find online, in other apps (such as YouTube) or in your
photo albums.
Tumblr also has Facebook and Twitter integration. By activating
Tumblr’s Facebook app, you have the option of having your Tumblr
posts appear on your Facebook Timeline for efficient, cross-network
posting. By adding a Twitter account to your Tumblr page, you have
the option of sending your posts to your Twitter feed, allowing for
greater visibility. These features are great time-savers for when
efficiency is crucial.
GETTING STARTED
Setting up a Tumblr account is relatively painless compared to
signing up for other social networks.
1. Visit Tumblr’s homepage and click the “Sign Up” button in the
upper-right corner of the site.
2. Next, enter your email address. Try to enter the same email that
you use for Facebook and Twitter, so that you can easily integrate
Tumblr with these accounts.
3. Enter a password and a username. Your username acts as your
Tumblr URL, i.e. http://xxxxxxxx.tumblr.com.
Once you’ve completed these steps, Tumblr will send you an email
confirmation. Confirm your email, and then fill out your profile. You
can then customize your Tumblr blog. Choose “Customize Theme”
on the right-hand side of your dashboard to gain access to a wide
range of Tumblr themes (some are free, but others can range from
$9 to $49).
Once you’ve set up an account, edited your profile and selected
your theme, you are ready to begin posting and blogging.
TIPS, TRICKS & HOW-TO’S
Once you’ve learned your way around the site and have a basic
understanding of how to navigate and manage your Tumblr blog,
you can start to learn more effective ways of using Tumblr.
Quick Reblogging
This useful Tumblr trick doesn’t even require you to install any
add-ons. If you are trying to reblog something of interest, hold
down the ALT key while pressing the reblog button, and the post
will be automatically reblogged for you.
Google Analytics
You have the convenient option of using Google Analytics to track
your stats. Google Analytics is great for finding out how many users
visit your blog, how often users are visiting, which of your posts
are most popular, which search terms visitors used to find you and
where your visitors are coming from.
Using Disqus
Since Tumblr doesn’t include a built-in system for comments,
you will want to insert the Disqus tool into your blog. Register for
Disqus to acquire a “shortname” (username). Then, click on the
“Appearance” tab in Tumblr, and enter your Disqus shortname. By
adding this tool, you allow anyone to comment on your posts,
including those not registered on Tumblr.
Editing Multiple Posts at Once
Tumblr allows you to edit multiple posts at once to save time.
To do this, go to your blog’s name and click on the “Mass Post
Editor.” From there, you have the ability to edit tags, delete
multiple posts and more.
Multiple Blogs
In addition to your primary blog, which is only for you to post to,
Tumblr allows you to create additional blogs that others can
contribute to. Just click on the “List” icon at the top of your
dashboard and select “Create a New Blog” from the pulldown
menu. Invite others to contribute to your blog by opening the
blog and clicking the “Members” button. From there, click
“Invite To This Blog.”
CONCLUSION
As Tumblr continues to grow, you may find it useful to include it in
your business’ social media efforts. The audience and purpose of
Tumblr is a bit different than other social networks. Tumblr favors
visualized content, and is used by a younger audience. To make
Tumblr work for your business, aim to post images and videos that
cater to the youth demographic. Practice good techniques to get
the full Tumblr experience and maximize your social media efforts.
Happy Tumbling!