Tumblr -- since it's billion dollar sale to Yahoo in May, it's been all over the tech press, yet to many nonprofits, the red hot blogging network remains an inscrutable barrage of fashionable hipsters and wacky cat GIFs. Tumblr has many payoffs for those looking to get the word out about their organization on a small budget, especially those who are already adept at cultivating micro-networks on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. In this session, we'll talk about the myths, misconceptions and powerful opportunities of this growing platform -- with a special focus on transferring strategies you may already use to create an active army of supporters on Tumblr.
Join us and learn:
Inspiring examples of how nonprofits are using Tumblr to create new followers and engage existing ones
What Tumblr strategy shares with that of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and conventional blogging -- and where it diverges.
A framework for a solid start on Tumblr
Injustice - Developers Among Us (SciFiDevCon 2024)
Tumblr: The Marketing Powerhouse Your Nonprofit May Be Overlooking
1. Tumblr: The Marketing Powerhouse Your
Nonprofit May Be Overlooking*
*A presentation and cat GIF celebration by Amanda McCormick
2. A little bit of background on me.
• Working in digital media exclusively since 2007
• Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York City Ballet, Hamptons
Film Festival, World Cinema Foundation, inMotion Inc.
• My specialities: copywriting for the web, social media, web
production, WordPress, email marketing, content marketing.
• Launched 3 client projects in 2013 on Tumblr
3. Like many people,
the way I used to
think about
Tumblr was all
wrong.
“It’s a blogging platform.”
It’s just for “the kids.”
The backend is @#$%!
It’s silly.
It won’t last.
4. But I paid attention to it,anyway.
• There are now 100 million Tumblr blogs
• Users spent 154.1 minutes on average on Tumblr (per user) in
March 2013. (ComScore)
• 19% of Tumbler visitors are Hispanic (two times internet average),
per Quantcast
• 35.2 percent of Tumblr visitors have a household income greater
than $100,000 (ComScore).
http://www.digiday.com/brands/15-stats-brands-should-know-about-tumblr/
5. I realized I that I
not only needed
Tumblr
But there was a lot to love
about it, too.
13. Pinterest
Tumblr shares with Pinterest a “transactional” relationship between
content and users -- repinning = reblogging. (80% of content on
Pinterest is “repinned.”)
14. Twitter
Like Twitter, Tumblr is all about sharing fast-moving bits of content and
news, and it’s governed by a similar strategy as far as finding and following
influential accounts and tracking hashtags
15. Tumblr also helps you “get around” some of
your frustration w/other networks.
22. Tumblr’s not for everyone,therefore.
• Not for press releases.
• Not particularly well-suited to corporate-style marketing-ease
• Takes a little bit of risk and daring to master
23. Tumblr’s also not the world greatest place to
blog
Very disadvantaged in search
25. The #1 Reason Your Nonprofit Should Be On
Tumblr?
You realize that people are already having conversations that
intersect with your mission.
You want to capture that.
26.
27. • LGBT
• Gardening
• Historical photos
• Dance
• AIDS
• Judaica
• Community Development
• Gaming
• Climate change
• Living with chronic disease
• Poverty
• Television and media
• Theater and arts
• Animal welfare (cute puppies and kittens!)
30. Tumblr: The Missing Manual For
Organizations
• Planning
• Figure out your branding
• Set up your blog
• Find content
• Find followers
• Repeat
31. Planning
• Where is the audience?
• What sorts of conversations and issues are they interested in?
• What visual motifs make sense for the organization?
• Does the organization have a unique expertise, perspective or
access to information or assets?
34. • Question is: mirror my website
or find a new angle?
• Simple and unadorned can
make a lot of sense.
• Use customization to pick up
colors or fonts from your
website
Navigating Tumblr
branding
39. Taking a more
“interpretive”
• Does your organization have a
unique asset or expertise?
• What would a purely visual
tumblr look like for your
organization?
43. Tips on navigating branding
• You can have anything you want, from a site that looks exactly like
your website to something completely off-the-wall.
• Start with the simple free themes and experiment until you find
something that feels true to brand and to message.
• If you need help -- ask for it, from a qualified web designer!
46. Set up Your
Tumblr
• Make it a fresh install
• ONLY your primary blog can
follow other blogs.
• Sub-blogs can add users.
47. Dashboard
• Where you create posts
• Where you’ll see the latest
posts of blogs you follow
• Where you can search
• Spend some time here every
day.
• Run through the list of posts
and reblog the ones you find
the most compelling.
48. Doing a Content Audit
• Collect all the visual assets that you’ve used recently on social
networks, especially evergreen ones
• Pull interesting info from your website, even if it isn’t “new to you.”
• Look at archives.
• Consider how content you have planned for other networks could
work on Tumblr.
49. Queueing content
• The Queue feature is a great
asset of Tumblr
• You can set it so a specific
number of posts go out each
day.
• Once you have a content audit
complete, start queueing it up.
50. Reblogging
content
• While original content is where
you build your brand,
reblogging content is where
you show you are part of the
conversation.
• Aim to reblog as much content
as you are able to -- and the
more you can comment on it,
reframe it, make it your own,
the better.
51. Find and follow
• Go to the dashboard and
search for users who are using
the terms important to your
user base.
• Follow as many blogs as you
can that are relevant.
• Follow hashtags.
52. Use hashtags
• When you blog or reblog
content, make sure to use
hashtags so users can find you
in search.
53. Common #fails
• Not participating
• Not thinking about design and
branding
• Not showing up
54. Why Tumblr?
• Because you have limitless
opportunity to align or extend
your branding through Tumblr
design and still cut through the
millions of posts.
• Because people are already
talking about the issues that
matter to your organization,
and it’s up to you to capture
their voices.