Just this week, Tumblr announced it would be rolling ads across its blogs in order to boost revenue. With this in mind, how will this important update affect the site’s users, brands and Tumblr itself?

The micro-blog site revealed that all of its blogs will show ads, with users being able to monetize from these if they choose. Tumblr stated that users will only be able to gain financially from these though, if they register with its partner programme, which is still in the works. There’s also the option to deactivate ads, so you don’t have to view them. And in terms of placement, the site announced that these would be visible in three places: the main page, its side slider feature which lets users browse blogs without having to leave their dashboard, and on its mobile app and site. We imagine ads will appear in the user’s dashboard too akin to placement on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, so ads are intertwined with their usual stream of blog posts.

The full details are still ambiguous at this point, with Tumblr announcing on its blog that it’s still finalising the new format with its partner program- we imagine these will be the first run of brands on board to trial the new ad placements. Coincidentally (or not so), the announcement was made after its parent company, Yahoo, was just this week acquired by telecoms company Verizon- might partnering with advertisers be a way for Tumblr to facilitate Verizon’s own ad strategy?

Aside from this, the move seems to be a profitable area for Tumblr itself to head towards, perhaps functioning as an extension of its Creatrs program, which lets artists partner with global businesses. To date, this programme has curated thousands of pieces of creative content, and connected some of Tumblr’s best creators with brands for promotional collaborations and campaigns. It’s been a valuable scheme for businesses, with Tumblr essentially crowdsourcing the very best content on their behalf. Since the programme’s inception back in early 2015, its helped lesser known artists hit the jackpot by working with top brands. Brooklyn-based photographer Sam Cannon, is one for example, whose GIF work (for which she is known), has been used in campaigns by the likes of Mastercard, Converse and TRESemme.

Moving forward, we might expect these same creators and more to further monetize from having featured ads. And of course, featuring sponsored content will be a lucrative way for businesses to reach new online users, particularly the teen market for which Tumblr is known. With over 65 million users, 306 million blogs, and over 45 million posts created each day, this is a vast new territory for brands to gain traction.

Are you a Tumblr user, or do you have a Tumblr blog for personal or business purposes? Do you think ads will come as a welcome feature to the site? We’d love to hear your thoughts as always, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.

Photo credit: Virgin Media