If you already use Instagram and Pinterest for your business, you might be hard-pressed to see how Tumblr – another form of visual-based social media – can be helpful to your brand, too. But it can be a powerful weapon in your arsenal, a way to hook a niche audience that might not be on Instagram or Pinterest while also entertaining current followers.
When you create a Tumblr profile, you’re creating a blog. Where this platform differs from traditional blogs is literally in the size of its content: the file sizes are small and nature of the content is in snippets. If you were David Mitchell, for example, Tumblr would not be the place to publish Cloud Atlas. If you love to create animated gifs, however, Tumblr can be your best friend.
How is any of this useful for a business? Think of Tumblr as an extension of the brand’s personality or a way to showcase another side of the business. Behind the scenes stories, perhaps, or images and text that inspire the owner and employees. Posts don’t have to be product-driven but there are options for that, of course. With nearly 80 million daily posts and 13 billion (yes, billion) monthly page views, Tumblr could be just the missing element in your company’s social media strategy.
Read on for tips on how to get started and how to use Tumblr effectively.
1) Create the blog
Creating a profile lets you create a blog and links it into Tumblr’s app and website, where all the socializing happens. With just a few clicks and some savvy planning, you reap twice the benefits instead of creating a blog alone. There are several basic areas of the Tumblr profile to imprint the brand: blog title, avatar (and depending on the theme you choose, you can add a header image), description, color and font choice. Customizable options are available too, in the form of CSS pages, HTML and even using a custom domain instead of “yourname.tumblr.com.” With all the options available, make sure the elements work well with each other and fit in with the brand’s personae, as the page should be considered one of the facets of the brand.
2) Use Tumblr tools so you can post from anywhere
Tumblr has a “bookmarklet” tool that you can drag to a web browser’s toolbar. If you’re on a site and want to share image or text, just click on the button and it’ll post the content automatically. Install the apps on both your smartphone and tablet for easy posting, too.
3) Use tags and trends
Tagging is key way to get attention and see what’s getting attention. When creating a post, start typing in a tag and Tumblr will suggest what’s most popular. You can also track a tag’s popularity and see what’s currently trending on the dashboard, where trending blogs and searches are displayed on the right-hand side.
4) Create additional Tumblr blogs
Creating additional blogs is a great way to focus on specific products or events related to the company. Not only can it help build anticipation and generate attention for the product’s launch or event, but it can also serve as an online record – or it can be easily deleted once the event has passed.
5) Engage
Tumblr has three ways to show interest: reblogging and/or liking a post and following. To gain attention, you must first give attention, so start by finding followers with interests and topics related to the company and follow them. Reblog and like when it’s appropriate and slowly, but surely, the favors will be returned.
6) Post actively
Users tend to complain about, and even unfollow, companies that post on social media more than once a day, but Tumblr seems to be a loophole: users have posted 10 to 15 times per day without complaint.
7) Consider the Ad products
Tumblr has three advertising products: Sponsored Posts, Sponsored Video Posts and Sponsored Posts + Yahoo. With its purchase by Yahoo in 2013, a Sponsored Post + Yahoo could reach up to 800 million people monthly. Furthermore, all three types of ads can target a demographic based on gender, geography and interests.
Sources:
How To Build The Perfect Tumblr Profile For Business – Marketingthink.com