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Tumblr In To Social Media Marketing – How to Use Tumblr for Your Business

Social media marketing is finally at the top of your to-do list.  You’ve got your Facebook Page set, your Twitter handle up and running, and even your Google+ page activated. Your social media campaign is underway, and you’re even seeing some results start to show.

But there is something more that you can do, another step you can take to make a completely fleshed out social media presence.

According to comScore, Tumblr is one of the most consistently growing social networks, boasting 15.9 million users in December of 2011. But Tumblr has more to boast about than that. It’s the amount of time that users spend on the site.

Tumblr is second to Facebook with an average of around 2.4 hours a month. (Facebook users are at around 6.6 hours.) With that kind of activity and user adoption, Tumblr is a viable candidate for your next social media marketing move. 

Sounds like Shoes in a Dryer, Works like Social Media Marketing Magic

Tumblr is a social media marketing and micro-blogging platform and is made for posting photos, charts, quotes and videos. Your page is completely customizable with HTML or pre-made themes. Most pages have a top-to-bottom scrolling format, but you can also have your pictures and post in a collage format.

There is a certain humor element to Tumblr, people like to post funny pictures and ‘memes’. It attracts the under-30 crowd, but even if that’s just a segment of your target audience, Tumblr can be effective. This social network tends to draw creative and artistic types. So anything to do with fashion, photography or just finding a way to link those types of subjects to your content will be effective. The content just needs to be visual, and quick to consume. There are big name brands like IBM, Laughing Squid, LIFE and Spotify that use Tumblr.

Social Media Marketing – How to Post to Tumblr, and How to Be Seen

When it comes to your social media marketing, the best type of content for Tumblr is short posts, photos, videos and quotes. On your ‘Dashboard’ you’ll have the option for all of these all you have to do is click which one you want, and the interface will pop up. This content doesn’t always have to be original to your or your site, but it should be relevant to your brand and its interests. This post will link back to the original content.

You can also ‘reblog’ other Tumblr content. With just a click of a button, that content will show on your page and your followers feeds on their own Dashboard. Many brands use Tumblr in conjunction with an traditional blog. Newsweek, for example, will post their own content, but then grab content and share it from other news sources.

Remember that social media marketing is all about giving before receiving.

So how do you get visibility? The same way as any other social network: reblogging, liking and commenting.

Reblogging is just the process of sharing content from other Tumblr users. Under every piece of content, there is a list of users who liked and reblogged it. When you reblog, your name will join the list under the original post and link back to your account. If you reblog and comment on the content, then you’ll get more space on the original Tumblr’s post. Keep in mind, this is not about self-promotion, it’s about pointing people to helpful content.  Stay focused on providing value with your social media marketing campaigns.

Another trick it to link content back to yourself. This way, no matter how many times content is reblogged, it will always drive traffic back to you and will spread your brand and business name around the Tumblr environment.

Tumblr has a search feature, so tagging your posts is another way to gain visibility and followers. Make sure the keywords are relevant and tightly focused on what you are posting. If you don’t, you can turn users away and even get flagged as spam.

Tumblr may not, on the surface, look like it’s right for your social media strategy, but it is a useful tool. This social network has a younger audience, so it’s the perfect place for the lighter side of your content. Facebook is the obvious leader in the social scene, but Tumblr is becoming a fierce competitor. Before you start using Tumblr, analyze your audience. If there’s just a portion of your targeted customers that could be found on Tumblr, it will not be a waste of your time.