Reddit Marketing 101

Understanding Reddit Marketing-

Reddit is known as the Front Page of the Internet. All kinds of topics are broken down into millions of subreddits. Subreddits are the format of forming small communities regarding a specific niche. They are denoted by /r/.

Reddit can be a great social media platform for marketing if you participate with the genuine intention of interacting with other users and follow the reddiquettes. 

Reddit Stats

Reddit is a great social media tool to make use of. As per Search Engine Journal-

●     Reddit receives over 21 billion monthly screen views.

●     51 percent of Reddit users are U.S citizens.

●     46.7 million searches are done on Reddit each day.

●     There are more than 130,000 active Reddit communities.

●     Reddit has more than 330 million active users per month.

●    Reddit has an average visit duration higher than other popular platforms such as

      Facebook, Youtube and Google.

○     Reddit - 15 minutes and 10 seconds.

○     Facebook - 10 minutes and 50 seconds.

○     Youtube - 8 minutes and 31 seconds.

○     Google- 7 minutes and 16 seconds.

Reddiquettes- Do’s and Don’ts

Redditors take the platform very seriously. They actively ensure that the website's original purpose of being a value-added platform isn't exploited. If you try to just post a link or spam any thread with irrelevant or non-value content, chances are you’ll get deleted or blocked.

Here are some do’s and don'ts when it comes to Reddit Marketing.

 The Do’s

 1.   Understand how r/Forum works

A good start would be investing some time in understanding the overall platform. Once you have the basics right, head over to r/Forum. It is an official subreddit where users submit external links on various topics. The community of Redditors then upvote or downvote the link based on its value of content and usefulness. The higher the upvotes on a link, the more the chances of it ranking at the top of the page. This, in turn, increases the likelihood of more views and engagement.

2.   Put more work on your titles

Reddit has a very basic user interface. This makes attracting readers’ attention a little difficult. You don’t have a lot of graphic elements to manipulate or enhance your content. Hence, you need to come up with catchy titles or headings to attract audience's attention immediately. A good title helps your content stand out from the clutter and draws more viewers.

 A great title would always be-

●             Different

●             Trending

●             Valuable

●             Interesting

3.   Actively join relevant subreddits

Subreddits are communities of like-minded people who share content and information regarding the topic that they find valuable for a specific niche. They are specific to one topic most of the time. These aren't random fan groups or pages that would entertain irrelevant content posted under them. Hence, for running a marketing campaign, you need to make sure you follow relevant niche related subreddits that complement the product or service you're trying to promote. You can't promote a technological device on a music subreddit.

Other than this, you should consider the number of page views to run a Reddit marketing campaign on it. It needs to be above some set threshold for it to have any value.

4.   Scan for your Audience

Reddit has millions of subreddits and communities. Scanning through this vast pool of subreddits can seem to be difficult. However, it can be made easier with three simple steps-

1. Find suitable subreddit.
2. Look for the pageview count on that subreddit.
3. Check the number of members. A small group of relevant audience is more effective than a large group of random people.

5. Share organic links

You cannot look at Reddit as just a marketing tool and only engage with content related to your business or client's requirements. Spend more hours organically looking at the subreddits and discussions you can contribute to.

Add relevant links to the question asked. Generally adding valuable links to exciting or strange facts, technological innovations gain you more credibility. Also, make sure you upvote other useful links and engage with other content as well.

The Don’ts

1.   Don’t lie or make empty claims.

Lying about any topic is considered a big crime on Reddit. Redditors don’t tolerate lies at all. Having said that, Redditors also don’t appreciate false claims. If you are promoting a product or service that could lead to controversies, don’t discard them by stating your opinion that it is not so. Always support it back with facts and references.

2.   Don’t mislead the audience.

You cannot represent yourself as someone you are not. Your energy shouldn't even be invested in that direction. An honest user on Reddit gets immense credibility and acceptance. However, if you pretend to be someone else, your credibility would go down, and you'd receive abundance of downvotes. This could harm the image of your brand. 

3.   Avoid the excessive “I” approach.

Reddit is a community platform. It believes in discussions, engagement, opinions and facts. You cannot promote your brand or yourself as an individual continually. Don't start promoting yourself the moment you get on Reddit. Establish a name for your brand, earn upvotes and comment views. Engage with other posts genuinely. After all of this, you can promote your own content to some extent. Try keeping a ratio of 5:1 genuine to promotional activities.

What is Reddit good for?

It is possible to market all kinds of products or services on Reddit, however, there are specific topics that tend to be better received than others on Reddit -

●             Personal Inspiring Stories

●             Photography and Art

●             Historical Facts

●             Global and Regional Politics

●             Science

●             Music

●             Food

If your niche isn't on the list, the first thing to do is to check if there's a subreddit available. You can also create a subreddit yourself. This can itself give you an edge or the initial boost on the platform as you introduce the topic to Redditors. 

If you are looking to viral your business through Reddit then. It will help you to reach your targetted customer and help you to gain more leads.

In review, here’s how to drive traffic with Reddit marketing.

1.   Post Relevant Content.

Your posts need to refer to highly relevant and to the appropriate audience. Understand the core characteristic of the subreddit you're targeting. Try to incorporate it in your content as much as possible. Keep your information strictly to your niche.

2.   Be sure of the quality of your content.

Only post quality content that is well-researched, well structured, and drives people to take action. Generic posts and short content will get minimal interaction and lots of downvotes, which will affect your Karma significantly.

So now that you have a good idea about Reddit marketing, you can get started.