Reddit is an online community of users who can post, comment, and vote on content. It draws more than 330 million people each month and has nearly 50 million daily active users.
Moreover, Reddit’s vibrant community of users is highly trusted, as it primarily comprises real people who talk candidly about their experiences with products, services, and the world at large.
When brands consider social media video marketing, it’s usually Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, TikTok, or YouTube that comes to mind first. Pinterest is even emerging as a powerful marketing tool for ecommerce stores.
But Reddit should be added to that list, as it can be a powerful tool for boosting brand exposure and engagement.
Here are four proven strategies for driving success on Reddit:
1. Use Reddit for customer research.
Since Reddit is full of real people talking about their experiences with just about anything, there’s a good chance that there are thousands of people already talking about your industry, its products, emerging trends, and how they feel about them.
Using Reddit’s niche forums – known as subreddits – brands can keep a pulse on their respective industries, identify trends based on real user feedback, and get to know their target audiences better.
The process is simple:
- Find subreddits that are relevant to your industry, brand, or niche.
- Identify the most popular and active users.
- Respond to queries and questions related to your industry.
- Become an active member of the Reddit community.
Beyond these basic steps, the process is entirely up to you. You certainly can opt for the manual route and browse through each subreddit individually. If you choose this option, it’s best to set up an alert to remind yourself to visit them regularly, either on a daily or weekly basis, depending on how busy they are.
You can also plug your subreddits into a content aggregator or monitoring tool to help you track relevant conversations. This pulls all of your subreddits into a single stream, so you can quickly scan through all the conversations.
2. Leverage paid ads
With Reddit advertising still in its infancy compared to other social sites, there is plenty of opportunity here for great ROI. Utilizing a cost-per-click model allows you to optimize your campaigns for reach, video views, traffic, and conversions—making videos one of the most engaging types of content on Reddit.
With Reddit advertising, you can choose to either reach out to the entire platform or certain subreddits.
When running Reddit ads, there are a few things to consider:
- Reddit ad size: Ads must be 1200×628, and they look best when they’re text-heavy.
- Ad copy: Keep your copy short, simple, and attention-grabbing to a Reddit user.
- Targeting options: You are able to target audiences based on their interests, locations, device types, and even the subreddits that they’re most active in.
You’ll also want to be mindful of Reddit’s ad policies. Reddit can be strict on certain types of content, so it’s best to read up on their rules before posting any ads.
3. Drive organic traffic to your website through Reddit posts.
On a larger scale, Reddit is dominated by male users aged 25 to 44—most of them are based in the United States, particularly San Francisco and Seattle.
Still, Reddit offers a diverse array of communities that can be tailored to meet your exact needs.
With the subreddit system, you can find passionate users who are just waiting to engage with content related to their interests.
When it comes time for crafting your own Reddit traffic strategy, there are two main options available:
- Aim high and attempt to reach the coveted front page of Reddit, where all will see your content.
- Narrow down your reach to specific niches via subreddits. While this outreach won’t have the potential of reaching 330 million users, many subreddits still boast 100,000 or more active members.
When creating Reddit posts, you can’t be overly-promotional with your content. In most cases, it will either be flagged, removed, or the community just won’t respond the way you want them to.
Instead, add value to a subreddit by creating content that the community can engage with, such as videos, tutorials, and long-form posts.
Include a relevant link to your website in the post so users can learn more about what you have to offer. This will help you drive organic traffic back to your website without breaking Reddit’s terms of service.
4. Earn karma points for delivering value to users.
Reddit users get rewarded for their active participation in the community with karma points. By sharing links and comments, you gain opportunities to receive positive feedback from other members when they upvote your contribution – increasing your karma score. If your posts are met with negative reviews, however, it could cost you by lowering the number of points associated with your name.
To be respected on Reddit, building up your karma points is a must. To demonstrate that you are enthusiastic about becoming an active part of the communities, earning at least a few hundred karma points is required. Certain subreddits even necessitate obtaining a particular amount of karma before posting in them.
Although your karma points won’t directly control the success of your content, they can provide a clue to other Redditors about whether you are genuinely partaking or just self-promoting.
Final Thoughts
Reddit offers businesses a unique platform to engage with their target audience and spread the word about their product or service. With a little bit of research, you can find the right subreddits for your brand’s message—which will help open up new opportunities for customer acquisition.
By following the strategies outlined in this article, you can take advantage of Reddit and increase your brand exposure on the platform.
