Do we need to get on Tumblr?

Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, as recipes were being pinned and re-pinned like mad and micro-bloggers re-blogged cat gifs through the night, something happened.

Yep, it’s official; the new ephemeral darlings of social media royalty were dubbed.  Tumblr and Pinterest are now the fastest growing social media platforms out there.

Active Tumblr users grew a staggering 120% in the last six months, and Pinterest’s active users grew by 111%.

For social media gurus around the world, the unseating of Instagram as the fastest-growing social media platform is big news. But for businesses that rely on social media for marketing, it’s really nothing to worry about.

Whenever this kind of news spreads around the Internet, a whole lot of reactionary plans are set in motion. And in a few months, when news of social platforms like SnapChat and Plague go viral, all those plans tumble to the wayside.

Don’t get caught up in the hype and water down your brand with a post on every social media platform. Focus on creating impactful posts and stick to the simple adage of, “be where your customers are.”

Facebook, for example, isn’t going anywhere. Though it grew a paltry 2%, it still sits at around 1.19 billion users from every demographic.

Sure, if you have a passionate social media coordinator with the bandwidth and talent to tackle these growing platforms, go for it. But if you’re chasing platforms make sure you pick the right ones, form a plan, stick with it and analyze your ROI to see if it’s really worth it.