Tumblr for Libraries & Archives: Creating Posts

Tumblr maintains an excellent Help section that details the technical aspects of blog posts (for example, the maximum file size of videos). The Help section may be accessed by clicking the person icon at the top of your dashboard. Find Blogs => Posting below the search bar.

Currently, there are 7 content options on Tumblr: Text, Photo, Quote, Link, Chat, Audio, Video. A banner containing these post options resides at the top of your dashboard:

Taking advantage of Tumblr's different content options is immensely helpful for keeping your blog fresh and vibrant. On this page, we present some posting tips for those content options that we use most often.

This is a great content option for displaying images at full-size on users' dashboards.

• Photos may only be uploaded in JPEG or PNG formats

• Uploading multiple images of collection material to a post creates a visually impactful display (maximum of 10 images per photoset)

• Rearrange the photos by dragging and dropping the images at various spots (you will see a blue line indicating the position where the photo will be dropped)

• Your images don't need to be of professional grade, but they should be clear. Taking time to snap some nice, clear pictures will show your care for collection materials and your commitment to creating quality posts.

• Consider making the ever-popular animated GIF with your image(s). See the Animated GIF Basics page in this Guide for more details.

Posting content on a regular basis is very important on Tumblr as it shows that you are active and engaged online. To assist you with this, Tumblr provides the useful Queue feature that allows you to schedule posts for specific days/times. Find details on how the Queue works by going to Tumblr's Help section and typing "Queue" in the search bar.

This is a familiar blogging feature allowing you to compose text-based posts.

• Text may be formatted i.e., bolded, italicized, hyperlinked, etc. Highlight text to make formatting options appear.

• Although images may be uploaded to text posts, these images will only display as a thumbnail in users' dashboards. Users must then click each photo to enlarge it - not ideal if you are looking to capture users' attention immediately.

• If your text post seems to be getting a bit too lengthy, consider using the Insert Read-More Link which can be found by adding a new blank line to your post, clicking the + to the left of the new line, and selecting the fourth icon shown (gray bar with three white dots). "Keep Reading" will appear where the read-more link was added: 

Whether or not you supply additional comments to a quote or link post, these posts are useful for conveying interesting/thought-provoking content in a simple, direct way to your followers. 

Example of quote post:

Example of link post: