Tumblr is a great tool for businesses. When used correctly, it can help spread the word about your start-up quickly and help you build a following with what feels like no effort. There are tons of social media platforms you can take advantage of to reach out to a variety of different audiences and attract the attention your business 
needs.
Young people are perhaps one of the more important crowds to draw into your business, and you can do so by using the same social media sites that they do. Plenty of companies have tapped into Facebook and Twitter, making easy-to-share posts that can spread like wildfire. More recently, some business have tried their hand at Tumblr, in an effort to reach out to a different audience than the Facebook and Twitter crew.
Tumblr is finicky, though. Because of the nature of how the site works, it’s easy to scroll right by posts and you run the risk of going unnoticed on the dashboards of your followers. Once you get the hang of it, though, Tumblr is a breeze.
My number one rule regarding Tumblr is that using the same posts over and over again = BORE. The Tumblr staff has made an effort to make link posts stand out, by adding in a big box with a prominent header. This sort of works as a net, catching eyes and drawing people in, but you can’t rely only on links to get your business (or blog, etc.) noticed. Change it up! Use text posts, utilize photos, and snag some quotes from any articles on your site. Avoid posting walls of text. Long text posts are certainly fine, but break it up for easy reading. It really helps.
Rule number two: use tags. Your Tumblr won’t just show up on other peoples’ dashboards: they have to follow you first. To make that happen, you need to tag your posts. When people browse a certain tag, they’ll see a whole sea of posts – including yours! Once your post catches someone’s interest, they’re likely to click over to read older posts and maybe even follow you.
Finally, you need to interact with people. It’s not fair for you to post something and expect reblogs. If you see a post on your dashboard that you like, reblog it! Help others get some attention! The more personable you are, the more likely you are to gain loyal followers, plain and simple.
To recap:
1. Variety
2. Tags
3. Interact
It’s simple, right?
Ultimately, you want your Tumblr to be professional and simple, but not boring. Play around with your posts, customize your layout, figure out what works and what doesn’t, and have fun with it. That’s the whole point of Tumblr, after all!
Do you have any other tips for using Tumblr for your business?
Alisse Desrosiers is a cat lady, feminist, and self-proclaimed social media savant from Providence, RI. Follow her on Twitter and Tumblr!
