Tumblr plans to join the mobile advertising world this year as the expansive and hugely popular blog network searches for new revenue streams in an increasingly mobile social landscape.
Last year, Tumblr began allowing advertisers to pay for prominent placement – a process that kick-started an inevitable transition into the mobile ad realm. The company expects to make its fist annual profit this year once it extends the advertising platform to smartphones.
In the first half of this year, Bloomberg confirmed Tuesday, companies “will be able to promote their posts and blogs to bigger audiences on Tumblr’s mobile application, similar to the way the Web version works.”
Tumblr’s Vice President Derek Gottfrid revealed his company’s ambitious plans in an interview with Bloomberg.
The number of people using Tumblr’s mobile product has quadrupled over the past six months, edging closer to the number on the Web and making the project more urgent, Gottfrid said. Tumblr Chief Executive Officer David Karp, who has expressed disdain for typical online display and search advertising, is betting he can achieve profitability simply by getting customers to pay to make their own posts stick out.
Tumblr presently hosts close to 100 million blogs.