With 20 billion posts and 50 million blogs, Tumblr is making its mark in the blogosphere. But a Tumblr blog is a different animal than, say, its WordPress or Blogger cousin. Instead of content chunks sprinkled with an image or two, the Tumblr blog consists mostly of links, images and video. In other words, the regular blogging rules do not apply to Tumblr (at least entirely), so you will need to study up on this platform to leverage it for your brand.
This how-to guide for Tumblr will tell you everything you need to know to get started using Tumblr to market your business. From there, it will be up to you to keep calm and tumble on.
Generating Content
The first consideration when launching a new Tumblr presence is sourcing your content. Where will you get content to make your Tumblr blog effective?
If your company already creates media, through a blog or YouTube channel, you should have plenty of content just waiting to be repurposed. Take advantage of the content streams you have already, but be sure to break each post down to its simplest form. Tumblr posts are short and sweet, so save the in-depth posts for your regular blog.
You can also curate and aggregate content from around the Web, including from other Tumblr users. Just be sure to source everything appropriately.
The most successful Tumblrs make images the focus of their content. A few engaging images with links and concise copy sprinkled in will work nicely for this medium.
Planning for Success
Just like any other marketing tactic, you will need to make a plan for your Tumblr activities. Start by asking yourself who you’re trying to reach through Tumblr. Then, plan out exactly how this medium will help you accomplish that.
Your Tumblr goals may be more short-term or singularly focused than on your company’s main blog. For example, you may consider creating a Tumblr blog for a particular campaign, event or product launch. Decide how Tumblr can work for your own business’s needs.
It’s also a good idea to create an editorial schedule specifically for Tumblr so you can be sure to produce a good mix of content and keep yourself organized. Keep in mind that Tumblr is a place to promote a lifestyle, and not a place for shameless promotion. Your strategy should be to promote links, videos and images that will interest your audience.
Measuring Your Efforts
Unlike other media, there is no widely accepted set of benchmarks for establishing success on Tumblr right now. So, you’ll want to create a mix of qualitative and quantitative goals to meet.
Keeping track of metrics such as number of followers and re-blogs is a good start. You can also measure more subjective things like quality interactions with individual audience members. Your main goal is to become a valuable asset to the Tumblr community, which will take some time to accomplish.
Using Highlighted Posts
Tumblr’s monetization plan is still unclear, but the company recently unveiled highlighted posts at $1 each. These posts can help your company stand out on the Tumblr dashboard at a very reasonable price.
Maybe you’ll want to share a new product upgrade, promote an upcoming event, raise awareness for a cause, or simply share a great photo. Just don’t overdo it because, as with other social media platforms, you don’t want to come across as too sales-y.
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Is your company on Tumblr? Share the innovative ways you are using this platform in the comments section below.
Image courtesy of knowyourmeme.com
Google+
In the social media world, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn reign supreme. Tumblr often gets overlooked, but it might be worth a second look. Here’s why:
