Several months ago we launched a simple beta version of a Tumblr analytics platform called Numblr as an experiment. We received a great response from the launch and so we decided to up the ante by giving it a proper design, a more sophisticated back-end and new features including a performance benchmark called a Numblr Score for every Tumblr entered into the system.

Based on Tumblr’s list of the top brands on the platform, we’ve put together a ranking of the 25 best-performing fashion brands on Tumblr. Stay tuned for more data and insights in the new year, and let us know what you think in the comments section or drop us a line at numblr@undercurrent.com.

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Methodology

A Numblr score is made up of three weighted variables that end up placing a Tumblr account on a scale from 10-100. We capture every post a Tumblr has authored to calculate the score. For the purposes of this report, we rounded scores to the nearest whole number.

The most influential variable is a Tumblr’s note to post ratio. We look at all of the posts that are originally authored by the Tumblr account and then calculate an average; reblogged posts don’t count toward the ratio.

The second variable is content longevity. There’s some nuance to it, but what we’re doing is calculating the distance in time between when a post was first authored and when it received its last note. The longer that distance is, the better.

The third variable is the post frequency of a Tumblr. We calculate the time between each post and average it out across the Tumblr’s entire history to calculate a post interval. You can probably guess that there’s a sweet spot here. Post too frequently and you’re more likely to underperform because you won’t get as many notes per post. Post too infrequently and you’ve got a stale presence that people don’t recognize in their Tumblr Dashboard.

Finally, we look at the entire system’s performance (every account that’s been added to Numblr) and score an account relative to how well all of the other accounts are performing.

A little over a week ago the President & CEO of Allen Edmonds, Paul Grangaard started a Q&A thread on Reddit, one of the more interesting things I’ve seen a brand do in a while that didn’t follow the typical pattern we see brands following on the internet today.

It was smart for a couple of reasons. The first is that he connected with a network of people who are already passionate about menswear. There are a plenty of groups like this online, but a subreddit made sense in this instance because you can communicate immediately with a subset of people with a focused interest; no audience or status required. Read more

A few weeks back I was trying to work out how to analyze a Tumblr’s performance – a long-standing issue for everyone, particularly within the fashion industry. Short of cataloging every note and post by hand, there isn’t any tool out there that solves for this problem and so a few days ago I, along with my colleague Vladimir Pick, set out to build our own. It’s called Numblr. It was conceived, launched, and in use by others in four days. What follows is a reflection on our process. Read more

How much of the story does your social data really provide? We’ve discussed previously the challenges rich data tools pose for understanding the social space. There are a multitude of data points available and just as many data providers, each of whom is ready and willing to fill your inbox with reports, data, and charge you a retainer for monitoring. As you probably realize by now, asking the right question is just as crucial as getting the right data. Equally important, however, is having some way to validate the data you get – validation is what moves you from statistic to insight, what moves you from just knowing something to truly understanding. Read more

Mr. Porter has set the proverbial bar high for online luxury retailers, so I had expectations of greatness when the Mr. Porter Global Treasure Hunt made its way to New York City last week. What was delivered, however, was a less than stellar experience that reveals some lessons about delivering a consistent digital experience online and off.  Read more