A Quick Guide to Tumblr for Business

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With the rise of Pinterest and Tumblr's astounding growth, it seems
that 2012 may be the year of the visual platform. Tumblr surpassed 15
billion monthly pageviews in January, and Pinterest is driving some
serious traffic to retailers. We've already covered some best practices for brands on Pinterest, but if you're looking to mix up your content creation, try Tumblr. To date, there have been 16,827,658,845 posts on the site, so isn't it time you get it on the action?

As with any other platform, there are pros and cons to consider. But
with the popularity of Tumblr and the ease of setting up, customizing
and maintaining your blog, we suggest you at least check it out—there's a
very engaged Tumblr audience waiting to see your content. Here are some
tips to help you get started.

Set Up Your Tumblr

Pick a password and designate a URL for your Tumblr—the URL will be www.anything.tumblr.com. You can't host the blog on your website's domain, but you can set up a custom domain so
it matches your website (such as mashable.com/blog), place a button on
your site or even link out from your site's navigation to make it
seamless for your users to consume your Tumblr content.

Then, customize your blog. Pick a theme, choose colors, pick a font,
upload a header and a profile picture and write a little "about me"
section. There are some great themes for small business. You can choose
more of a collage layout if you're going for a Pinterest-y, image-heavy
look, or you can opt for a linear, news-feed layout.

Getting all that set up shouldn't have taken you too long. Now, let's start tumbling!

What to Post

"Blogging" no longer evokes a visual of someone sitting in a coffee shop writing about life all
day. With the 140-character limit on Twitter, we've lost our attention
span for 1,000-word musings. We want simple, palatable content in many
different forms. Tumblr has helped to redefine what it means to blog and has
made it infinitely easier and faster to do so. Visuals do particularly
well on Tumblr, but there's more to the site than pictures. On your
dashboard, you'll see seven options—text, photo, quote, link, chat,
audio and video. Here are some great uses of each kind of post:

• Text: Explain rules for your upcoming content or make an announcement.

• Photo: A product image, a picture of your team, a
  picture of a celebrity wearing or using your product, a dish at your
  restaurant, a profile of a new team member. You can upload multiple
  pics, which is great for an event recap or even product shots—use a wide
  shot and a close-up, for instance.

• Quote: A one-liner that your fans just need to hear.

• Link: Saw something on the Web that you just have to share? Link out to it.

• Chat: Did you have a funny exchange with a customer? Recount it here.

• Audio: Post the jam that has everyone in the office grooving, or maybe a song that mentions your line of work.

• Video: Did you shoot a cool sizzle reel? Post it on Tumblr!

To make a post, just click the icon of the media type you'd like to
post. From there, it's pretty simple: upload the picture (or video or
audio) and fill out all of the fields. Be sure to tag the post with
relevant terms, since searching through tags is a great way for people
to discover your content. You can publish the post now or schedule it
for later. The latter is a great option for time-strapped entrepreneurs—you
can set aside some time each week to hammer out a few posts and then
space them out over time to keep your page active, while you're out
doing other things, like running your business. Click the box to send
the post to Twitter, to allow for easy distribution.

Much like Pinterest,
you should go beyond just trying to push your product on Tumblr—try to
embody a lifestyle. Sure, you can post product pictures, but don't be so
pushy; instead, be human. If you have a clothing company that just got
samples in, show how excited you are and make your Tumblr
audience feel special by giving them a first look. Try posting something
like, "Just got first samples of our new product line! Take a peek!"
with some pictures. You can also post about your brand's history (i.e.
where'd your slogan come from? Who designed the logo? Who's the person
answering customer service calls?), along with anecdotes about customer
interactions and pictures of office celebrations to give people a
behind-the-scenes look at your business. Now more than ever, people want
to know from whom they're buying products, so Tumblr is a great way to
let them see how great your company is. This helps build loyalty, and your bottom line.

What Now?



You're all set up, and you've rattled off a few posts. Are you
worried it'll be tough to maintain your business' Tumblr? Use the mobile
app (see above) for easy blogging. You can even text your update from
an SMS phone or update your Tumblr via e-mail—just e-mail your custom
Tumblr e-mail address (hint: it's an @tumblr.com e-mail address, not
your login). If you're an Instagram user, you can also set up the
photo-sharing app to send your stylized images to Tumblr, which can add
some flair to your blog and help you kill two birds with one stone, by
updating two platforms in one simple move.



As you get in the flow of things, you should start seeing an influx
of followers and activity. When you log on to your dashboard, you'll see
the river of content you've created, along with notes about who liked
or reblogged a post and who started following your Tumblr. Give them a
follow back, and then you'll start seeing their posts when you log
in—comment, like and reblog to engage with the audience and build
relationships.

Where to Look For Inspiration

A new undertaking can be daunting, so we've gathered up some great
small business Tumblrs and explained a bit about what makes these blogs
special. Hopefully they'll inspire you to blog even more.

• Alternative Apparel:
  Alternative Apparel's theme is decidedly Pinterest-y. The clothing
  brand focuses highly on visuals, highlighting celebrities and everyday
  Joes enjoying life in the brand's cozy apparel. Clicking on a picture
  pulls up a caption and product details.

• Foodspotting:
  Dish-sharing app Foodspotting has Spotted, which highlights dishes for
  various holidays and occasions, like Chinese New Year. The blog also
  includes recaps of Foodspotting events, such as the #DimSumDemolition
  and the Dumpling Waddle in New York. If you're hungry, it's probably
  dangerous to look at the blog, and even if you're not hungry, you'll
  still want to eat these dishes. Thus, the Tumblr serves as a way to
  remind you that it's fun to take pictures of your food, which is
  precisely what the Foodspotting app lets you do.

• Instagram:
  As you (now) know, you can push your Instagram photos straight to
  Tumblr, so it's not surprising that Instagram uses Tumblr to help spread
  its gospel. Like Foodspotting's Spotted blog, the Instagram Tumblr
  motivates people to use the app. Its Weekend Hashtag Project encourages
  users to take pictures that exemplify a pre-determined hashtag, like
  #SoloParking. Favorites are then shared on the Tumblr, with kudos for
  the photogs who took each shot. Then there's "How I Shoot,"
  a series in which Instagrammers share tips for taking excellent
  pictures. There are also tips and best practices throughout the Tumblr
  in case you're looking to step up your Instagram game.

• Lure Fishbar:
  The Soho eatery posts drool-worthy food porn, like king crab rolls and
  the sushi bar special. Then, there are plenty of sultry ambient shots of
  the restaurant to entice chic eaters into the venue, along with pics of
  the chef with New York celebs, like Carmelo Anthony.

• Warby Parker:
  The blog, Zagg Pepper, takes a clean approach—there's a simple layout, a
  white background and a commitment to post "musings, inspirations and
  fun stuff." Though the brand purveys glasses, the blog highlights all
  things intellectual, artsy and stimulating, since the brand's
  bespectacled devotees are often into that sort of thing.

• Ace Hotel:
  The Ace is a boutique hotel that embodies a cool, high-end lifestyle,
  with locations in New York, Portland, Seattle and Palm Springs. The Ace
  Hotel blog boasts pictures of the properties, Ace-branded apparel and
  pictures of local art exhibits, in addition to promoting local shops and
  bands.

• Mashable: Of course, as a site that covers social media, Mashable makes
  good use of the platforms that are out there, including Tumblr. The
  Mashable Tumblr, MashableHQ.com, is a peek behind the scenes at our New
  York City headquarters. You'll find pictures of our office dogs and
  founder Pete Cashmore on a scooter. But there's also some more
  substantive information, like updates from our Social Good Summit and
  Mashable Connect.

Does your business have a Tumblr? If not, are you inspired to start one now?