A recent study by Garry Tan shows that Tumblr is the most popular social network among people aged 13 to 25. Garry surveyed 1,038 people from two age groups of 13-18 and 19-25, and in both cases the results showed they use Tumblr more often than Facebook. Twitter came third, but while it’s a clear 3rd runner among 19-25, teenagers use Instagram almost as often as Twitter.
This is interesting, because these two age groups are a favourite target for advertisers worldwide. From foods, drinks, clothes to gadgets and toys, flashy ads seek 13-18yo approval and urge them to influence parents purchases. Similarly, ads influence 19-25yo to spend their first money in a particular way and affiliate with the brand.
Therefore, all the fascination advertisers have nowadays with Facebook is already a misfire, and companies are ignoring a very big audiance on Tumblr. At the same time, this is great news for Tumblr and their strategy of slow and subtle monetisation is paying off, while not alienating their users, they introduce innovative income streams.
What is Tumblr?
Tumblr is a microblogging platform and social networking website. The service allows users to post multimedia (images, videos, links and quotes, text) to a short-form blog. Users can follow other users’ blogs, like or reblog their posts, as well as make their blogs private. Anonymity and nicknames are at the core of Tumblr, and this is probably one of the key advantages over Facebook, easily recognised by the tech-savvy teenagers and young adults of the 21st Century. You can find me on Tumblr at f055.tumblr.com