Al Jazeera America is an American news channel reporting unbiased, fact-based and in-depth journalism that gets you closer to the people at the heart of the news. In less than one year, our Tumblr blog has become a go-to source for up-to-date, in-depth news stories that adhere to our brand platforms. Named one of TIME Magazine’s ‘30 Tumblrs to Follow’ in 2013, Al Jazeera America entered the Tumblr world with great fanfare. Growing to nearly 30,000 followers in less than six months, Al Jazeera America’s Tumblr has become an influential destination and community hub.
During our pre-launch period, we used Tumblr as our home base for introducing the Al Jazeera America brand to US news consumers. Early fans were treated to an unprecedented look behind-the-scenes as we built our channel from the ground up. Photos, hiring announcements and an in-depth series of blogs profiling our diverse employees all helped generate excitement for our August 20, 2013 launch.
Since launch, our Tumblr has become a home base for responses, reactions and reverberations about our online and on-air content. We believe that our social communities often have as powerful a voice as our editorial team and we use our Tumblr blog to elevate voices and comments from our various social platforms. User comments have frequently shown extraordinary reach. Examples of top posts from our community include:
A recent example of Al Jazeera America’s influence on Tumblr was our State of the Union hashtag campaign. On the Thursday before the SOTU, we launched the #DearPOTUS hashtag with blog posts and additional posts across our social media pages. The posts featured people previously featured on our flagship show, America Tonight, holding up signs that began “Dear Mr. President, I want…" followed by the number one issue they wanted the president to take on. We then invited our digital audience to submit their own photos and comments via Tumblr, email, or our other social outlets with the hashtag #DearPOTUS. We also reached out to diverse activist groups to help get the word out.
The pictures, and comments that followed covered a wide range of issues, providing a powerful insight into what our audience genuinely cares about. During the six days that the campaign ran, from January 22nd through the 28th, the project was liked and reblogged 458 times including a prominent reblog from the Atlantic.
Al Jazeera America’s Tumblr is unique because we have created an environment that thrives from community engagement. By frequently reposting comments, we encourage additional engagement, creating a feedback cycle.
www.aljazeera.com http://aljazeeraamerica.tumblr.com/
