If you follow the tech developments and platform inventions of social media, you can get a headache. Facebook and Twitter seem to rule the net, but FourSquare and StumbleUpon are out there too, and many are wrestling with developing a presence on Instagram. Et cetera! We want to help cut through that clutter for our clients and readers, and we hope to guide your nonprofit, small business, or charity toward the outreach and development and communication channels that can be most beneficial for you and your audiences.
One such channel that has been around for a while but is not high enough on people’s minds is Tumblr, a (micro)blogging site that offers wonderful ease of construction, numerous ways to customize and brand your site, and some of the easiest means to post quick stories or even audio messages we have ever encountered. Think of it as some of the most accessible features of Microsoft Word linked to the wide reach of Twitter with some of the under-the-hood muscle of a full-fledged website if you want to get your hands dirty. If not, you won’t be disappointed, or much limited, by your creation.
To set up your website, you need an email address and a name for the site. You’ll get a traditional confirmation email link to click on to get the process moving. The fun spirit of the platform is already evident when you are asked to prove you are not a robot, as you are required to click the ‘I am human!’ button. From there you are transported to a homepage that will help you get started with some of your basic information (including the opportunity to upload a logo or staff image to start branding the site for your organization – see the screenshot on the left).
Then the fun stuff begins! You can pick your theme and your layout by enjoying a quick survey of the theme-chooser on the left. Click on any one to test it out, and your organization is just a couple more clicks away from an up-and-running site. The best thing about it is that Tumblr will grow with you from absolute neophyte to HTML-code jockey, because you can take the free themes as-are, or you can pay for a more flexible system (between $9.99 and $49), and/or you can delve into the layout code of any design you have access to so you can adjust it to your organization’s satisfaction.
Here’s a short explainer video produced by MKCREATIVE | media team member, Christopher Gardner. Be sure to check out the rest of the video series on our blog.
The simplicity of Tumblr can give even the smallest charity a professional-looking web presence in an afternoon and with the skills one already has learned using email or a web browser. You can even get a custom domain name using Tumblr’s services, only for the cost of registering that name (something your nonprofit likely has already done). And Tumblr will tap into your Facebook and Twitter accounts automatically – cutting down on time and effort. Moreover, your site will have built-in RSS Feeds (something we’ll be covering later this week)!
The ease, simplicity, and power of Tumblr is something we’ll be exploring with you over the next few weeks – please continue this storyline and check out the platform!
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