In it’s simplest form Tumblr is a microblogging platform that users can set up in minutes & drive incredible interaction via their other social media platforms. But how does it fit into your businesses on-line strategies?
Often considered the poor cousin to many of the better utilised platforms, it might be time to take a closer look. Many brands like Vans, Coca Cola, Sesame Street & Lexus have developed unique & effective campaigns on their Tumblogs.
Here are some simple strategies you can try.
Tumblr is all about images, animated gifs, videos & quotes. You can be a little more creative than a standard blog & you will find your followers will be a lot more interactive on Tumblr than followers to your word press or other blog platforms. The key is to create content that your followers will like to comment on & share. It needs to be fresh, enticing & always very visually appealing.
If you can solve problems, tell stories, make people laugh & inspire them you have the basis of a good content strategy.
Quotes
Quotes are always a great place to start, as you are already creating some great image based quotes for your other networks simply use the same content here on Tumblr 1 good quote per day should be enough.
Behind the scenes look at your business
This is one of my favourites as it is potentially one of the easiest to do. It is a great way to put a human face to your business, with hundreds of options to post every week. You can post images of your team members doing what they do, or your production processes in action.
A restaurant might preview images of weekly special dishes, or patrons enjoying a meal (with their permission of course).
Your followers always love to know what is going on in your world, just like the Instagram strategy of showing behind the scenes images of your team doing what they do or having fun through out their day. Short videos or images you have created for Instagram again will be fine, recycle that great content here too.
If you can create a 10 to 15 second quick “how to” video once a week you have a great strategy option. Each video may be 1 step in a process such as “How to develop a marketing plan in 7 easy steps (Step 1). This gives your followers a reason to want to come back to your Instagram profile every week to get the next step. It also allows you to be a little more specific in each video.
They can be any simple quick tip on any subject aligned with your business, if it is valued information your followers will engage with you regularly & even share your content every week.
The options are endless, & these videos do not need to be exceptionally high quality productions. If you do not have video production equipment you can shoot them on your smart phone, as long as the lighting is adequate & you speak to a script you have practiced well beforehand. There is plenty of free video editing software available to add your logo,s website etc. Just do a search on the term “free video editing software” & take your pick. Again if you are using Instagram reuse the same content you created for Tumblr.
Causes
Does your business support any causes, charities or local events. If so tell the world through Tumblr, apart from giving these great operations a much needed free promotion once or twice per week you have some great content to share. Your followers & customers/clients will always view any support you give with a high degree of respect.
It is highly likely these organisations will already do the hard work for you in content creation, you can simply share the images or links they produce on your profile. A simple message asking to re share this content or letting your followers know what you did to support them recently is all you need to add.
Cause related marketing has many benefits to any business from increased sales, customer loyalty, corporate image & often valuable media coverage. If your business is not supporting any of these organisations you are missing an important opportunity. This does not have to be a huge financial burden, any support you can give will be greatly appreciated. One simple option is to support your team members by offering them a paid day off every 6 months to assist an organisation by donating their time. Or simply contact an organisation you feel personally aligned with & ask them how you can help.
Great offers or promotions
A word of caution! Use this option sparingly, save it for your best offers & never more than 5% of your total social media content. Consider creating an offer that is exclusive to your followers on Tumblr. If you can use a promotion or redemption code that is only revealed on the site is a good way to track the success of these campaigns.
Another good option to create engagement is to reward your followers for sharing your content, it could be as simple as thanking them publicly on-line or giving them a free “something”. If they feel appreciated & heard by your business they will quickly move from just followers to brand advocates.
Have you got a winning strategy for Tumblr? Let us know in the comments.