Are you interested in understanding how marketing in Reddit works? 

Reddit, if you don’t know already, is the hub of viral content. If you have seen a viral video on Facebook or Twitter, chances are that it originally was a Reddit post. We live in a world, where ultimately, all social media content is connected. Why we are focusing on Reddit is because Reddit users amount to over billions. Plus, they have more than 430 million active followers. It is highly popular amongst the younger generation. We must also note that Reddit content usually holds higher numbers on any social media platform. The Reddit community is also one of the most loyal and engaged audiences. 

So, if you are in content marketing, you need to get into Reddit marketing. 

Digital marketers, here’s the news for you. Reddit is not like any other social media platform. So, if you are thinking of using your traditional digital marketing strategy, you won’t make it. As simple as that. 

But, worry not. If you are new to Reddit but want to build core followers amongst the Reddit audience, read this simple guide on how to ace marketing on Reddit. 

Reddit Defined

To understand marketing on Reddit, you first need to know what Reddit is. Well, in simple terms, Reddit can be seen as a website that also works as a news site. Navigating through Reddit posts can feel overwhelming at first. Just hang on, because this is the essence of Reddit blog posts. Once you get the hang of it, you might become one of the active Reddit users. 

Reddit users post their original content via links, videos, or photos on Reddit. People can comment on these posts. Audience members then either “upvote” or “downvote” the original content and the comments. This way, whatever is buzzworthy, or whichever comment is more impactful (usually funny) gets popular, which means that more people get to see it. 

And, whichever Reddit posts get enough downvotes, drown in the daily increasing original content. 

Reddit also has a feature called Reddit Gold. Reddit Gold is basically a premium membership that gives users access to private subreddits. 

Not to forget that there are millions of subreddits as well. These are pages that garnered enough Reddit audience to build its own community. Now, if we dive even deeper, we will find a niche subreddit. These are pages that cater to a select group with niche Reddit content. For instance, there’s a niche subreddit page called jellybeantoes. What’s the Reddit content about? It’s about cat paws. You might be surprised to find that this niche subreddit has more than 139,000 Reddit users. There’s a specific subreddit for almost anything that you can think of. Imagine the numbers! It’s a gold mine for constant marketing. 

While it seems similar to Facebook or twitter in the way users engage with blog posts. It has its own benefits as a social platform. 

While users can comment, upvote, and downvote original content, their profile on Reddit is somewhat limited. If we dissect audience data, we will find that around 70 percent of the Reddit users are male and of the younger generation. Traditionally, this social platform has been linked to fandom culture and gaming. However, it has accepted and grown a huge number of other non-gaming content. 

While the numbers are impressive, marketing on Reddit can be difficult for some advertising teams. 

Marketing On Reddit: Challenges

If you blatantly drop in advertising links on the Reddit audience, be ready to face criticism. Marketing on Reddit is not that easy. You, first, need to win your followers. 

Sure, if you are a brand marketer, you can engage with the Reddit audience. However, you must be smart about it. Instead of spamming people with unwanted advertising, find people who would be genuinely interested in your products. This is the key to marketing on Reddit. 

As mentioned before, Reddit users don’t appreciate blatant Reddit marketing strategies. Some can even turn hostile. This is because many believe that you can’t self-prompt without giving anything back to the Reddit community. Multiple subreddits even have direct rules that ban marketers from content marketing advertising. 

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that marketing on Reddit is an absolute no-no. Let’s just let the Redditors speak for themselves on this one. 

Businesses won’t find any issue engaging in Reddit marketing. The only condition is that you don’t spam. Simply focus on building a community. Once you have enough followers, you will find that they are the most loyal customers. One of the most important things to remember from the Reddit marketing guide is to invest in quality content. 

To push the point further, Reddit even has an ad platform, which they are extremely proud of. They even put out promoted posts for several known brands. Some of them include Poshmark, Adobe, and Audi. 

Besides, there are different subreddit accounts that are big in discussing their favorite brands. These conversations thrive because no representative of a brand butts in. It’s just users who share a liking for a brand. 

This is why we are repeating again, the one thing you should take away from this Reddit marketing guide is that your marketing campaign objective should be to build a genuine community. 

In simple terms, a digital marketer can’t just run a marketing campaign objective borrowed from Facebook or Twitter. You need to familiarise yourself with Reddit advertising strategies.

What Is The Ideal Digital Marketing Strategy For Reddit?

What particular topics should you focus on while posting content? How to find relevant subreddits for your brand strategy? How to go about with your brand strategy on Reddit? These are some of the questions that we will answer below!

Find Relevant Subreddits And Uncover User Feedback

The Reddit community is vibrant and ever-growing. Identifying specific subreddits that are relevant to your brand will give you huge valuable data about current trends. You can find out what the customers need and customize your products accordingly. 

The main thing is to observe different subreddits first, before juking into marketing on Reddit. Keep an eye on the particular topics that are getting upvoted the most. Identify your target audience and observe them before posting content for your brand. 

You should also look out for how your competitors are doing. What do people think about them? This is the beauty of Reddit. There are millions of active users ready to engage in unfiltered conversations. The first step towards successful digital marketing is to observe. You will also find several people asking for brand recommendations. Remember that you shouldn’t jump in with blatant Reddit advertising. Simply note down their needs and other user’s comments. 

Keep tabs on all the data, and it will help you modify your products. Moreover, it will also help you create an effective digital marketing campaign. Observing your target audience is key in marketing on Reddit. 

You will find multiple subreddits where people talk about why one brand is better than another. It’s literally genuine free feedback. If you know where to look and how to analyze, marketing on Reddit will be easy for you. 

If you feel overwhelmed by just the thought of browsing through multiple Reddit text posts, you can simply use software to help you observe user behavior. One such software is Sproutsocial. It aggregates text posts and messages for you, which you can analyze to effectively run your social media content. 

Original User-Generated Content

Reddit doesn’t just give you insight into what the current trend is, it also creates trends. There are a ton of User-generated content posted every day. Some of them include testimonials and product photos. 

You can use these product photos to post on other social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Furthermore, these kinds of customer promotions will give your brand more legitimacy. It shows that you have a loyal base of customers who don’t mind recommending your products. 

Support Your Customers Instead Of Trying To Sell All The Time

This is probably the best advice for anyone who wants to run marketing on Reddit. 

Reddit users really appreciate brands that engage with the community and support them. It is also not uncommon to come across several Reddit accounts of famous brands that are specifically created to support their customers. The idea behind this social media strategy is that it cuts any middleman out. You get to communicate with your customers directly. What’s better is that you won’t just be addressing one customer, many users with similar doubts will upvote your comments. 

Did you know that Corsair has created their Reddit account exclusively as an extension of their customer support system? Well, it’s true. They have identified what Reddit is all about and are making the most of marketing on Reddit. Naturally, millions of Reddit users acknowledge Corsair’s devotion to their customers. It has increased its visibility and brand legitimacy. 

Make The Most By Using Reddit AMA

What is Reddit AMA? Great question. Reddit AMA stands for Ask Me Anything. This feature has taken marketing strategies for brands to the next level. 

If you own a bigger agency you can easily sway the Reddit community by using this feature. It’s quite popular amongst big brands. You can directly engage with your customers by answering questions and showing off your brand image. Many companies utilize Reddit AMA if they need to prompt a launch or something similarly important. 

Again, you need to remember that you have to let your brand image shine through. Don’t shamelessly self-promote. Engage with your customers over quality content. 

You Can Engage Using Your Personal Reddit Account

Many brand owners have done it. And it has proven to be effective. Although this is not a necessary step to start marketing on Reddit, you should definitely engage with your customers using your personal Reddit account. It will give you a presence amongst your customers, which may take time, but ultimately, it will be rewarding. 

Reddit users also tend to engage with and believe non-corporate accounts more. For instance, Eric Banholtz from Beardbrand is an active member of the Reddit community. He keeps watching over several subreddits that bear similarity with his brand. 

Keep Your Human Persona When Engaging With Reddit Users

Be friendly and don’t use jargon. This marketing strategy stands for other social media strategies as well. Speak candidly and discard the corporate image that brings down a lot of customers. 

Reddit is all about being true to the community. Authenticity is very much appreciated by Redditors. And if your brand personality hits the right chord, you might even go viral, which is huge for marketing on Reddit. 

Focus on creating a distance but an approachable voice for your brand. Here’s an example. Decide conducted an AMA and this is how they responded to queries. 

The response is detailed, educational, polite, and personalized. It also shows the emotions of the brand voice. The upvotes this post got prove that this is exactly the kind of brand image Redditors like. 

Marketing On Reddit: Article Takeaway

Here are some final words on which brands are best suited for marketing on Reddit. 

If you have a blog post that talks about personal and heartwarming content, you will do great. Some other content that does well include art, photography, educational websites, politics, video games, technology, sciences, comics, food, science, music, etc. 

However, if your brand does not belong to any of these categories, don’t worry. You can always create a Reddit account and start building a community. The good thing is that niche subreddits often do better than other Reddit pages. What this means is that if your target audience belongs to niche subreddit pages, they will be even more loyal and engaging.  

Last, always remember to focus on supporting your customers. And, never blatantly create promoted posts to be successful in marketing on Reddit.