Ari Levine – Brand Strategist, Tumblr
By Jamison Antoine
Q1 – What makes Tumblr different from the other popular blog sites and social networks?
Ari Levine – You can customize everything on Tumblr. We give our community full control over what they want to build, design and create from their blog design to the content they decide to share. Tumblr is a hub for all things social, whether you’re pushing your posts out to other services or pulling in photos by hashtag from other apps. We also see incredible engagement on the site. The average user spends over 1.5 hours on the site per month and that’s just interacting with great content (no games, chatting, etc.). Lastly, we have an amazingly diverse community that uses our tools and platform to promote their own creativity and the creative work of each other.
Q2 – As someone who would normally advise brands using Tumblr, what tips can you share for artists who are looking to brand themselves on the platform?
AL - Be a part of the conversation. Go out there and follow other users, reblog their content and let people within the Tumblr community know you’re there. Be creative with what and how you post content to you audience, take advantage of the visual nature of Tumblr and do something different. Tumblr is a place where you can really be yourself without restrictions so do that via the customization to your page and the type of content you share.
Be unique. Users like to identify with things that you post—nostalgic images, infographics, fan-submitted content. Engage!
Q3 – With Myspace retooling and focusing on more established artist on their platform, do you see an opportunity for Tumblr to play a larger role in the development of emerging artists?
AL – Tumblr is a place for both. Artists like Shakira, Coldplay, Beyonce and Paramore engage in Tumblr and see success. Other artists, like Odd Future and Frank Ocean, used Tumblr as their hub while in their developmental years and continue to use it to engage with their audiences. Tumblr definitely has that energy that MySpace did back in 2006, where users and music fans feel like they are the first to discover bands. With the ease of use on Tumblr, and its ability to work well with other platforms, Tumblr is exactly what developing artists need to get off the ground and immediately plug into their potential fan bases, where they hang out.
Q4 – Which artists come to mind when you think about cool things you’ve seen on Tumblr?
AL – Odd Future, Frank Ocean, Beyonce, MS MR, Deadmau5, Beastie Boys
Q5 – Who are your to top five artists dead or alive?
AL – Wu-Tang (the whole Clan)
Jamison Antoine is a music industry veteran and social media marketer with stints at Island Def Jam, Universal Music Group and 360i Digital Marketing. Follow him on Twitter: @JayDigital
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