How to Use Reddit in Your Content Marketing Strategy

If you’re looking for a new marketing channel, Reddit is your best choice.

The platform hosts content published by a vast network of users. In total, it attracts almost 164 million unique visitors every month.

Looks just perfect, doesn’t it?

Before making your first move, you should know that there’s a catch to this.

Redditors are a particular community. If they suspect you’re there because of marketing reasons, things can quickly turn bad. The same will happen if you fail to follow the “reddiquette.”

But brands still manage to use Reddit for promotion with success. And they take the risk because it’s worth it.

Here are 10 actionable tips to help market your business on Reddit and generate a stream of targeted traffic to your website.

1. How It Works

Reddit is all about user-generated content that can be upvoted or downvoted by users. Submissions that get lots of upvotes move to the Hot page.

This works on subreddit pages, but also the main Reddit page. You can only imagine what would happen if your post made it to the front page. We’re talking loads of traffic, a massive increase in followers and quite a few conversions too.

If you’re completely new to Reddit, Edublogs has a series of videos on how to set up and use subreddits:

One thing you should know about Reddit is that it’s huge, and the sheer number of submissions makes it difficult to stand out. Plus, the platform implements updates at the speed of light so you should at least try to keep up.

2. Who Are the Users of Reddit

Here’s all you need to know about the user base of Reddit before you make it part of your marketing strategy:

• 71% of Reddit news users are male
• 59% of them are 18-29 of age
• 47% identify as liberal (only 13% consider themselves conservative, and 39% as moderate).
• 47% of Reddit users are online almost all the time (compared to 21% of U.S. adults overall)

If this group falls into your target audience, Reddit can be immensely helpful in taking your online branding to the next level.

3. Things You Need to Know about Posting on Reddit

There are two types of posts on Reddit: links that simply direct users to an external site, and text posts which are hosted on Reddit.

Choose link posts if you’re looking to boost your traffic. If you’re more interested in getting links, text posts are a better pick.

To make it work on Reddit, make sure that your texts posts are relevant to the subreddit where you’re posting. AskReddit is a popular subreddit where users post all kinds of questions. As a brand, you should monitor those topics. And have a say in your field of expertise.

Offer plenty of insightful information that can serve as a good resource for users. Include lots of links to other websites and keep it interesting.

Read next:  Do’s & Don’ts of Marketing on Reddit

4. Avoid Getting Banned, Here’s How

Reddit community doesn’t think twice before banning users who seem to be spammers.

A banned account is one thing, but in some cases, it might lead to banning an entire domain from ever appearing on the platform. And that could be a huge problem for your brand. There’s even subreddit where people discuss the bans.

Here’s what you should do to avoid getting banned:

• Never submit the same comment many times to different subreddits
• Don’t submit links only to your website
• Don’t ask for upvotes
• Steer clear of illegal content
• Don’t share anyone’s private information
• Don’t be overly promotional

That last point requires additional emphasis. Redditers are a specific lot. They hate to become subjects of someone’s advertising strategy. That’s why they’re extra sensitive to any signs of marketing attempts and pick them up instantly.

Reddit users won’t hesitate to screen your posting history. They’ll go to great lengths to check whether you’re a marketer who only posts content from the company website.

That’s why you shouldn’t constantly post your own content – marketers use 1 to 10 ratio for a good reason.

5. Create a Profile that Feels Real

To avoid raising any suspicion, you need a profile that looks like a real person, not a marketer. And believe me, a slight inkling that your posts might be promotional is enough to get you banned.

Make sure to submit to various sites and link to quality content. Amass a few hundred “karma” points to prove that you’re not after promotion. Post insightful comments on other posts and wait at least a few weeks before posting your own high-quality content.

Browsing through all this on your profile, suspicious users are bound to see you in a positive light. After all, you’re here to add value to the community, not spam it with promotional brand content.

6. Find the Right Subreddit for Posting

Reddit is full of smaller communities called subreddits. You can choose from niche subreddits with few subscribers or big subreddits that generate lots of traffic.

A great example of a successful subreddit is Glamour Magazine’s Showerthoughts. The publisher created a cross-platform campaign to promote their issue with Anna Kendrick’s on the cover. Reddit was the perfect network to start the discussion.

Niche subreddits are full of engaged users who are easy to convert. Posting on a large subreddit, you’ll get more traffic, but low conversion.

Try both and see what works best for your marketing objectives. Always follow the posting rules of subreddits, no matter how small.

7. Use Redditads

Reddit ads are reminders of the date and time of an event. They also feature a link to the official page of the event. Use Reddit ads to keep users informed about events that are directly relevant to your brand.

Red Bull makes great use of this strategy. They remind the gaming community in one subreddit about the upcoming events taking place at the Red Bull Training Grounds in Orlando.

And in Adweek, the global director of marketing for Coca-Cola explains why the brand uses Reddit ads: “…because most Coke campaigns end up on Reddit one way or another.”

8. Set up a Calendar

Another smart way to share news and remind users of upcoming events related to your business is setting up a calendar. The Phillies subreddit is a good example – users want news about all kinds of things ranging from the team’s standing or game schedules. They can see an updated calendar and rank board directly in the subreddit.

You can keep your followers in the loop by sharing company news or creating a calendar of events. Also, set up a goal and then update users on how far you’ve gone to reach it. Timely updates are key here. A study from the Pew Research Center showed that 78% of Reddit users come to the site to get their daily news fix.

9. Develop a Network

If you’ve got an idea which is powerful enough to have several subreddits created around it, go for it. This is how you build a network around one core concept – the SFW Porn Network is one good example.

Make sure that your subreddits follow a naming convention. And feature common navigation that directs users to all your subreddits. Keep a close eye on the community and monitor it for quality – remove content or images that don’t follow the standard.

10. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Reddit is a lively community. Users know that asking a technical question, no matter how complex, is likely to get answered. This mindset offers an attractive potential to brands for delivering quality customer service. Right in front of everyone’s eyes.

Xbox 360 is a case in point – the brand directs customers to the right subreddit to help them have their issue resolved as quickly as possible. Redditors can benefit from this repository of useful links and directions. All the while they’re also sharing their experience with Xbox 360.

Getting this type of natural exposure works well for all kinds of brands. If your business delivers solutions or products which might generate queries or suggestions, there’s a good reason to be present on Reddit. Create a subreddit for your brand and focus on showing that you care about your customers.

Reddit has enormous marketing potential. Tap into it with these 10 tips and enjoy increased brand exposure on a platform that attracts millions of users each month.

If you play it right, you’ll generate a ton of traffic to your website. And develop an active community of loyal followers to fuel your brand engagement.

BIO: Elizabeth Lee is an experienced content marketer from PACK & SEND, constantly looking for new and unorthodox ways of promoting and growing business online. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys traveling and learning more about foreign cultures.

Thanks to dreamgrow