After a great run, the Winning the Internet blog has been retired. However, you can still keep in touch with New Media Mentors here.
Tumblr, another social blogging rocket ship, has more than 60 million accounts worldwide. According to this Mashable post, their users tend to be “highly engaged.” The pros of using this platform are that it’s user friendly and uses tags which are searchable to find fellow travelers and target audiences. The cons: Tumblr lacks analytics and comment capability, and is not good for SEO.
That said, the demographics of this growing social platform are worth a look. Tumblr is:
- 55% female, 45% male
- 74% identify as Caucasian
- 26% between 18 and 24
Tumblr is a visual medium – requiring cool pics and graphics + clever storytelling. Quirky, funny, personal and outrageous posts seem to get the most action. Some of the most popular tags include LOL, fashion, art and vintage.
According to Buzzfeed, some of the best tumblr blogs of last year included Pleated Jeans; Corgi Addict and the Fluffington Post. You get the picture.
So what’s in it for a nonprofit organization? Good question.
It’s slightly head scratching. But, let’s start with the obvious. (And yes, you’ve heard it before.) First identify your goals and be able to answer the question: how will I measure the return on investment? Some possible uses might be: branding your group visually, participating in a new community (yes, it’s social!), finding good content to re-blog and perhaps use on other platforms, driving traffic to your website, creating content that can be used across other assets.
Warning, though: it will take time. A colleague of mine and I estimate between 4 and 8 hours per week. (That’s not scientifically proven.) But I can tell you from experience that by the time you find content to re-blog and like; follow people who make sense for your organization and post often enough to have a presence, it will take some hours every week. Not kidding.
The hard numbers are harder to come by – and it may take some experimenting to figure them out. If you’re considering this social platform, think outcomes, staff and time considerations first. Then mix in a little trial and error- and track and analyze your results over time. Tumblr may or may not be right for your organization – only you and your team can decide.
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