Construct a landing page without having to code a microsite.

A great example of this is Starbucks’ Frappuccino.com. Rather than hiring a developer and coding a site from scratch, it’s easy to pick a Tumblr theme and build your site. The ability to reblog user-generated content and include fun GIFs makes for a site that embodies Frappuccino’s brand, which exudes youthful fun.

Create a unique experience around a product launch or special event.

To drive engagement around the expansion of its vanilla flavors, Coffee-mate launched a Tumblr with the theme “Take Back Vanilla.” The company invited Coffee-mate fans to celebrate the expansion by helping to change the concept that vanilla is tantamount to boring. Fans submitted photos for a chance to have them transformed into wacky works of art. It all lived on Tumblr beautifully.

Crowdsource.

Similar to Twitter, conversations on Tumblr are organized using hashtags. Create a hashtag for your campaign and encourage submissions, then reblog them to share.

Produce an online magazine.

Whole Foods ’ online magazine Dark Rye is another stunning example of Tumblr done right. The Tumblr hits on Whole Foods’ upscale activist vibe using artistic food photography, videos showcasing the brand’s ethos, plenty of reblogs from Tumblr influencers and a promise to “make every day feel like a sleeves-rolled-up Saturday morning in spring.”

Showcase part of your brand that might not fit on a.com.

Remember those chewy, multi-colored, sour gummy candies? Candy maker Trolli uses Tumblr for weirdlyawesome.com. The name pretty much says it all—this blog has a bizarre collection of rainbow-colored GIFs, odes to sour gummy candies and other oddities. Tumblr allows the candy to express its full-on, sugar-high personality. As Ferrara owns the brand as well as Brach’s and Fruit Stripe, among others, its presence on the site is relatively modest and basic.

Reach a new audience.

Denny’s has revitalized its personality with a creative Tumblr page at blog.dennys.com. Known for being the place where grandparents go for early dinners, the company embraced its other big possibility—late-night eats for young people.

Grandma probably wouldn’t ‘get’ this irreverent collection of GIFs and the crowdsourced celebration of the delight of eating breakfast in the middle of the night.

Advertise.

Tumblr offers a handful of ad products and, after being acquired by Yahoo in 2013, is looking to grow this part of its business. Sponsored posts can be targeted to users’ dashboards based on gender, location and interest.

Radar posts show up in users’ right rail, and trending blogs appear in the trending tab on mobile. Tumblr also syndicates sponsored posts to Yahoo, resulting in dramatic reach. To learn more, visit tumblr.com/business.

With the intense competition for eyeballs, getting your company’s blog post read can be difficult. Tumblr, for example, hosts more than 243 million blogs, so standing out is critical. Paul Rand, CEO of Zócalo Group, points to brands whose Tumblr blogs stand out. Only one of the brands he cites, Coffee-mate, is a client. He also integrates some Tumblr tips.

Source: Paul Rand, president-CEO of Zócalo Group. The above is an excerpt from PR News’ Book of Social Media Strategies & Tactics. To order a copy, please go to prnewsonline.com/prpress

This article originally appeared in the July 13, 2015 issue of PR News. Read more subscriber-only content by becoming a PR News subscriber today.