New York Times Gets Its First Tumblr
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The Gray Lady has just launched its first Tumblr account, but it’s not showcasing the newswriting and photojournalism content you might expect.
The new Times account — T on Tumblr — covers the domain of T Magazine, the style and culture magazine of The New York Times. The subject matter is a perfect fit for the arts- and community-focused mini-blogging platform.
The Washington Post recently took to Tumblr with a blog full of behind-the-scenes info and musings on the future of journalism. But The New York Times‘ first foray into the world of Tumblr is less news and more pure fashion.
In fact, we recently wrote about fashion brands flocking to Tumblr, and T on Tumblr makes sense for the same reasons: The content is highly visual, and the posts are potentially highly viral. Due to features such as one-click reblogging, Tumblr Fashion Director Rich Tong says, “There’s a huge capacity for fashion content to go viral on Tumblr.”
And visual, cultural content for the creative communities is exactly what Tumblr is aiming for these days.
T on Tumblr is replete with huge, magazine-quality photos of pretty people making funny faces. Captions are brief and contain links to the official T Magazine site. The blog also curates a “Posts We Like” section.
Horacio Silva, T’s online director, told The Cutline, “It’s a great way of bringing to the surface a lot of these great visuals that for any reason may have been overlooked.
“We take a very curatorial approach to the editorial decisions we make. I think that aspect lends itself perfectly to Tumblr.”
Check out T on Tumblr, and let us know in the comments what you think of the project. Is this approach more appropriate for Tumblr than the news-and-commentary tactic of the Washington Post?
Use the blog to position yourself as an industry expert. Write about what’s going on at your company but also consolidate important and interesting industry happenings so that others will look to you as a resource and expert in the field. Make your blog worth reading by collecting valuable content and making it easier to stay on top of for readers.
Absolutely don’t create a advertorial time drain. … We have plenty of those around! Write something that adds value instead. Write something that educates, inspires and informs your audience. Real-life stories written by readers are the best way to keep the content engaging. Success stories in your genre/industry could be a great start to involve masses at both ends, creating and consuming content.
If you’re not willing to put the hard and persistent effort into building an audience over a prolonged period of time, your best bet might be to look at guest writing opportunities on existing blogs, websites, email newsletters or even in print publications, which have large and established readerships. Every publisher and media company is always looking for quality contributors who deliver value.
There is no overnight method to create a respected and popular blog. Remember, general “hits” are insignificant compared to loyal readers — and there is no way to build loyalty immediately. Focus on providing excellent content by balancing both company insights and personality. A good blog to model for you may be 
“If you build it, they will come” is not how it works with blogs and websites. You need to focus on creating unique content, and when you do post something, be sure to share it with everyone in your network. Never underestimate those in your network because they may just be the people who become your voices.
As we know, anyone can set up a blog in a day or so, but it takes quite a bit more work to be a superb blogger and start realizing the real benefits of blogging. Creating entertaining and informative posts based on specific experiences and statistics is a fast track way to grow a loyal readership. Show your readers that their comments are appreciated, make sure you respond to them!
Too many companies focus the company blog on promoting a product line and trying to make more sales rather than focusing on solving readers’ problems. Think of questions and concerns your audience has or better yet, ask them. Then address those concerns on the blog. For example, a mechanic shop can discuss car maintenance tips and tell readers what they need to know before buying a new car.
If you aren’t willing to commit to developing a high quality blog (it’s hard), then don’t start one. Instead, develop relationships with other successful bloggers in your industry. Ask whether you can write an occasional blog post for them and point back to your company website. This is a great way to optimize your exposure and stay non-committal about writing a regular blog post.
Your blog content should appeal first and foremost to your customers and potential customers. Think about what they would want to read and form your content around meeting their needs in a unique way. To increase readership, you can include links to these articles in your company email newsletter.
Blogging won’t be a successful marketing avenue for you overnight. It might never be. Here’s a good test: The first two months of starting a blog are the most difficult because it feels like nobody is reading. If you can keep yourself focused on a topic and remain consistent over that first two-month period then you probably have what it takes to run a successful blog. If you can’t, just stop.
Interviews are a great source of content and allow you to tap into others networks. Find the experts in your industry and especially the experts with an online presence who will mention the interview.
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