If you’re selling something, you should be wary of overlooking Tumblr. It’s the dark horse candidate of social media. Whether you’re a freelance photographer or a multinational corporation, it can provide your brand a lot of value.

Tumblr, launched in 2007, is a relatively middle-aged social network. It’s younger than networks such as Twitter and Facebook, but newer than Instagram and Pinterest. Yet it falls behind most networks in traffic and user data, causing many brands to pour relatively little time into Tumblr (if they even have one). Here are a few quick numbers for context:

1. Tumblr is home to +225 million blogs.
2. It’s worth $1.1 billion to Yahoo.
3. It’s the 18th most trafficked site in the U.S. That’s ahead of Instagram, Blogspot, Wordpress, CNN, ESPN, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, Gmail, and Pandora.

I’ve heard more conversations about newer sites like Buzzfeed (#39) or even Ello (#8,252) than I do about Tumblr. It’s not at all uncommon for brands to have a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but skip Tumblr.

Why people don’t use Tumblr:

1. It’s hard gaining momentum.

It’s easy to start a Tumblr, make a few posts, and then trickle off. Without the little dopamine rush from dozens of new likes, comments, and followers, we tend to lose interest in posting after a while. Unlike other networks, getting the first hundred followers takes time (or money).

2. It has poor brand perception.

Due to the anonymous nature of a Tumblr url (not to mention the anonymous ask feature), many Tumblrs are waist-deep in angsty posts, NSFW content, and inappropriate anonymous questions. If nothing else, Tumblr has a reputation for being weird.

3. It provides less quantitative user data than other social networks.

In fact, Tumblr barely knows who its users are. Anonymity is intrinsic to Tumblr. This is a legitimate drawback. But every social network has drawbacks. Instagram doesn’t have external links, Facebook doesn’t allow all of a site’s “fans” to see posts, and so on. That’s not the point.

Rather than trying to get attention, go where it already is.

People are giving their attention to Tumblr. That’s why it’s the 18th most-visted site. But Tumblr’s true value isn’t easily quantifiable because its greatest strength is the quality of user interactions, rather than the quantity. The network is the most comprehensive, dynamic, and honest slice of the social network pie.

Why you should use Tumblr:

1. There’s no ceiling.

Tumblr’s true strength is definitely in quality over quantity, but the numbers are certainly worth mentioning. A nice photo on Instagram won’t get any more likes than your follower count, unless it happens to be featured. On Tumblr, that same photos can continue to gather notes (combination of likes + reblogs) months later.

2. Tumblr is more dynamic than other social networks.

All content is native to Tumblr. It’s not uncommon to see text posts, photosets, panoramas, GIFs, chats, or audio uploads with thousands of notes. Vines and Instagram photos regularly get serious traction, as well as the occasional YouTube or Vimeo video.

Having multiple forms of content is not unique to Tumblr. Twitter added GIFs, Instagram added video, etc. But what sets Tumblr apart is that it all belongs. It doesn’t feel weird to see a Vine, Instagram post, GIF, or panorama on your Tumblr dashboard. On other networks, it can feel unnatural. Instagram posts don’t do well on Twitter; panoramas don’t look as good on Facebook; GIFs haven’t caught on much for Twitter. Tumblr allows the most comprehensive marketing of any social network.

3. What Tumblr lacks in quantitative user data, it makes up for in qualitative user data.

A look at a follower’s blog will give you an in-depth profile of her curated taste at the least, and a painfully honest glimpse of her soul at most. This means marketers can jab (provide value) better on Tumblr than on any other social network.

Tumblr is where you will learn the deepest needs, desires, and fears of a follower. Since very few people from “real life” follow her, she is able to be more open and candid. Thus, you will be able to provide much better value.

Tumblr is incredibly valuable (and confusing to many brands) because it’s so intrinsically bent towards quality over quantity. The network can be mysterious, but it’s a mistake to ignore it completely.

Brands like Denny’s or Taylor Swift are well-loved on Tumblr and rack up thousands of notes because they provide value. If you’re willing to invest time and energy into it; the ROI is there.