Teens and young adults flock to Tumblr: What does that mean for brands?

At least, that’s what a survey conducted by Posterous co-founder Gary Tan seems to suggest. Tan asked about 500 teenagers and 500 young adults which social media platforms they use regularly. Though majorities of both groups (55 percent of teenagers and 52 percent of young adults) use Facebook, even more (61 percent of teenagers and 57 percent of young adults) regularly use Tumblr, the sharing-heaving, image-centric blogging platform.

Social networks Twitter and Instagram pulled down numbers between 10 and 20 percent for each group.

“Facebook is where teens and young adults connect with family and some friends,” says digital marketing consultant Tim Peter. “Tumblr is where they connect with like-minded people about the topics they care about.”

Does that mean brands, particularly those looking to appeal to a younger audience, should shift their Facebook and Twitter-heavy social media efforts toward Tumblr? Business owners and brand communicators say Tumblr has certainly been a help to them, but social media experts say Facebook’s still an essential tool, too, even if it’s not on top with the high school and college crowds.

Tumblr successes