A decade ago, Tumblr was the cool social media platform on the block. It was very popular with middle school, high school, and undergraduate-age Internet users. It even seemed like a useful place to promote yourself or your personal brand, but in more recent years it seems as if it’s not as talked about as it used to be. Despite hosting 539 million blogs as of July 2021, what exactly happened to the micro-blogging giant and why is it not successful as it was in the early-to-mid-2010s? Have the kids simply moved on to new horizons to get their fix of hilarious gifs, or are there certainly marketing tactics that have backfired and resulted in the corporation failing to drive traffic these days? This Los Angeles social media agency has answers.

First, let’s rewind for a little bit and briefly learn about the history of the website. Tumblr was founded in early 2007 (Almost 15 years ago! Wow!) by David Karp. While it took a couple of years to hit the mainstream, within the first two weeks since the official launch it already attracted 75,000 users. Not bad! Users love Tumblr because of how customizable it was. You could copy and paste using your own custom layout on your blog which made it super addictive. Its ability to allow the users to make their experience super personalizable made it similar to the former social media giant MySpace in that regard. In June 2013, Karp sold Tumblr to Yahoo. And then they sold it to Oath in 2017, and they sold it to Verizon in 2019, and then Verizon sold it to Automatic (the owner of WordPress) that same year. Yeah, you can definitely see where things are going from here. To make matters even worse, Tumblr’s current owner bought the website for only $3 million, despite it previously being purchased for $1.1 billion by Yahoo. Yikes.

There are several problems with Tumblr. For one, there is a significant limit to video uploading. Statistically speaking, people spend an average of 2.6x more time on a page with a video. Unfortunately, the cat gifs are only going to get you so far. People love their videos, and that’s why YouTube is the second most visited website in the entire world, with the average person spending 21 minutes a day watching videos (21 minutes x 365 = 7665 minutes = 5.32291667 days per year). These facts alone make it apparent why TikTok has taken off as well as it has. While you can upload videos up to 5 minutes long on Tumblr, they cannot exceed a size of 100MB. On TikTok, videos cannot be longer than 3 minute, but they allow up to 287.6 MB in file size. Most videos uploaded to Tumblr are usually links from YouTube. This is good to bring even more traffic to YouTube, but not so much to bringing traffic to content that originated on Tumblr.

Another issue with Tumblr was a big decision made in December 2018. During this time, Tumblr decided to make the platform family-friendly and auto-flagging content that was deemed “sensitive.” However, no algorithm is perfect, and Tumblr’s was way off.  Many people creating blogs that were even G-rated were flagged. While many popular websites do not allow content that is not suitable for underage users, namely Facebook and Instagram, it’s Tumblr deciding to drastically alter the image – and doing so in a very unstrategic manner – that ultimately hurt them.This incident served as a public relations disaster for Tumblr. 

Brand consistency is extremely important for your online presence. While we encourage you to make improvements to your brand as you bloom as an entrepreneur, making substantial, contrasting changes may hurt you in more than one way. Think of it this way: if you open a gluten-free bakery and have already established a loyal clientbase, they will probably be upset if you decide to scrap this and decide that gluten-free goodies aren’t hip anymore. You could try to expand your clientbase by adding gluten products to the menu, but this would probably damage your image if people have always known you as the gluten-free bakery in town. It’s no secret that you can’t please everyone, but if you significantly upset your clientbase, you won’t only find yourself with less profit but with less clicks on your website and engagement on your social media pages, and this, as you can already imagine, is a big red flag.

Changing your image too drastically can also hurt you in SEO rankings. Ask any of the social media agencies in Los Angeles and they’ll tell you so! If your primary keyword has “best dog groomer Orange County,” but you decided to rebrand as a general pet store, you  might still get some hits, but the Internet does not simply forget what has already been done (for better or for worse!). Google will likely still cache Lucky’s Pet Store as Lucky’s Dog Groomer, and even if you announce your re-branding on Facebook, both the search engines and your audience will likely be confused. We understand that sometimes brand changes are necessary for legal and financial reasons, but we recommend doing this as a final resort only for the sake of your SEO rankings and your client loyalty. This will put your competitors at a considerable advantage, and you may find yourself in the dust compared to them as you fight for that spot on the first page of a Google search result. 

So what? What does your favorite Los Angeles social media agency think you can learn from Tumblr? While it is probably not your first choice in social media marketing, and even if you’re not looking to launch the next big social media site, there is a lot that you as an entrepreneur looking to drive traffic to your website or your social media pages can take away from this story. Firstly, it is very important to stay up-to-date with the times. It can sound like a major chore, but the truth is that in the digital age, if you want your business to succeed, you will have to do this. Tumblr failed to keep up with many of the latest trends from its user base, resulting in them to migrate elsewhere. 

If you love memes, then you may have considered using them for your online marketing campaign to better connect with your target audience. Even if you are good at editing, you might find yourself asking a lot of questions, “What memes are most popular with my consumers these days?” “Would it even be appropriate for my company?” Gone are the days of memes such as rage comics and advice animals that lasted for years, as it seems like every few weeks a new trend is born. But fear not, fellow Internet explorer, for the most awesome-tastic Los Angeles social media agency has got you covered! We have conveniently compiled some of the latest family-friendly memes, even a few that we created ourselves for your reference (image macros aren’t necessarily special, though, so bear with us just a bit!).

1. Two Guys on a Bus

This meme originated from a cartoon drawn in 2013 by Brazilian artist Genildo Ronchi. The original version of the image reads, “Escolha o Lado Feliz da Vida!”, which is Portuguese for “Choose the happy side of life!” Earlier this year, the cartoon made its way to the English-speaking realm of the Internet, where its meme-a-bility was taken advantage of. As many memes contrast good vs bad, it’s easy to see how Two Guys on a Bus can be used to promote your brand. You can save the template and make your own version here.

2. Disney+’s The Beatles Documentary

They need no introduction, as half a century after the world-renowned band broke up, their music has continued to be adored by generations all across the world, and their new documentary, Get Back, streaming on Disney+ is proof of that. Since its release in November 2021, the citizens of the World Wide Web have gotten creative by adding fake subtitles that will make you laugh. Whether you’re a freelance worker or one of the biggest social media companies in Los Angeles Why not have one of the most recognizable bands of all time endorse your brand?

3. Anthony Adams Rubbing Hands

If you’re concerned about timing and relevance, then you might want to select a meme that has enjoyed a longer lifespan and is not as recent as a few months old. In this case, we would recommend considering the meme of Anthony Adams rubbing his hands behind a tree. Despite being around for a couple of years, it has remained a useful and funny meme that can be applied to many different situations. Are you a professional painter with potential clients unsure of which color to use for their living room refurbishment? Then you probably are finding yourself rubbing your hands together eager to assist them!

A final word

Even if you are good at editing, sometimes the question of “is it appropriate?” might dawn on you if you are contemplating using memes for your company’s social media accounts. Even if you don’t work for a Los Angeles social media agency, there are certainly benefits to doing this, and there are literally hundreds of popular memes out there to choose from! However, depending on your audience and the type of services you provide, it is ultimately up to you to decide if utilizing the power and the fun of memes is a good move for your online marketing strategy. If you choose to go for it, we recommend using them periodically. Much like overusing SEO terms can decrease your company’s website from appearing on the front page of a Google search, overusing memes can exhaust your audience. 

This blog is brought to you by Drive Traffic Media, a leading social media marketing company in Los Angeles.

Sometimes genius and misanthropic tendencies go hand in hand. It’s rare that you have someone who has social graces and also the creative energy and talent to launch their own company which rises to prominence on the world stage. But whether it comes to them easily or not, the CEO of your company should make building a personal brand a part of their agenda. If they don’t, their business and all of its employees will suffer.

Why a CEO Brand Matters More Than Ever

The foremost answer to the question of why building a personal brand matters to your CEO is that much of a company’s market value stems from its CEO’s reputation. If you don’t believe this, look at how a company’s stock plummets amid rumors of turmoil in a CEO’s private life. What’s happening with a CEO brand can directly impact the perception of the company. Fair or not, a CEO has celebrity status, so what they say and do matters.

What Does That Mean for CEOs?

What this means is that building a personal brand for your CEO should be a focal point for your company and everyone who is elevated in its hierarchy. If your CEO doesn’t like to appear in public very much or does not give off the vibe of being charming, sophisticated, well read, etc., then it’s sometimes necessary to bring in a team of professionals to craft a brand identity for them. Your CEO’s appearance and personality should be in keeping with the image you want to convey for the rest of the company.

Building a personal brand might mean social media training. It could mean elocution lessons, a new wardrobe, appearances at charity functions, or you might need your CEO to engage in publicity stunts like the high-flying Richard Branson is apt to do. How your CEO comes across is how you want your company to appear.

A CEO who remains behind the scenes and has no personal brand to speak of will be the subject of negative press because they’ll be slapped with labels like “reclusive.” A reclusive CEO does nothing for a company’s bottom line, and hopefully, they’ll be able to understand this and act accordingly.

A robust CEO brand can boost interest in your company and allow you to reach new heights faster than almost any kind of marketing or advertising efforts. Building a personal brand can be a tedious process, but it’s one in which your CEO must engage. If not, then your company is likely to remain mired in mediocrity while others claim the lion’s share of commerce in your niche.