Beleaguered, embattled PR pros have been trying hard to keep up with all the updates from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube and more, but it may be time to monitor another blip on the radar: Tumblr. On July 26, the microblogging/social networking platform announced it would introduce ads "so that later this year people can start making money from their blogs." (It is not clear whether this was spurred by parent company Yahoo's recent acquisition by Verizon, but it is a possibility.)
According to Tumblr's announcement, users will not be forced into showing ads and can turn them off in settings. But if they register for the upcoming program, they will be able to monetize their blogs.
Many brands pay little attention to Tumblr, in large part because it doesn't have as wide a user base, but perhaps also because of some of its unsavory connotations. A 2013 analysis by SimilarGroup showed that 22.37% of incoming traffic to Tumblr came from pornographic websites, making that the top referral category.
But money has a way of changing things. The top YouTube stars, for instance, rake in millions per year in ad revenue. This is the kind of incentive that causes people to develop content consistently so as to build and retain a loyal fanbase. All this adds up to potentially fertile ground in which new influencers may spring up that your brand could work with.
It may be worth dedicating some research to the platform going forward. A good place to start would be Mashable's annual list of the 10 most viral blogs. Just be careful clicking around while at work, OK?
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