By Published On: June 10, 2017Categories: Digital Marketing

This post describes the How to use Reddit for Digital Marketing. Reddit seems to be buzzing everywhere -it regularly comes in headlines, you hear your friends talking about it, it seems to be quite popular with Obama and even Bill Gates; but what exactly is Reddit?
Well, it is an online social media community wherein members and users vote on the content. Reddit has sub-communities – they call it subreddits. it can be created by any user who is independent and is controlled by volunteers. Links are submitted by Reddit users and thus vote on which discussions or stories are more important. Reddit is open to anyone who can join or participate.

Reddit seems to be a platform that is growing by the minute and has a good technical audience. IAmA is the most popular one- here the user can post Ask Me Anything’s or AMA’s which are open to all and the comment system can be used for questions or answers. This being said, Reddit needs a good deal of commitment and maybe isn’t for all. But if you expect to connect to a technical audience, to understand their requirements, how you can be of help, and so on- then maybe this is for you.

Some pointers on how to use Reddit

Here we have given you some suggestions on how you could connect with your customers using Reddit –

  • Frequent Reddit  – You could try joining this community, try and ask questions and also take part in AMAs. If you think you are ready and understand it well then you can start with your own AMA. Just like in other social communities, in Reddit, you get more out of these experiences only if you give more. Hence, it is also a good idea that you engage in other AMAs and only then start your own.
  • Be real –  You need to be real. It shouldn’t feel like it’s a robot taking part in the AMA. Do not use jargon or marketing language. Bring in people who are knowledgeable and those who can respond fast.
  • Be prepared -All questions need to be answered and acknowledged. It’s possible that you may not know the answer but that’s fine. Do not try and change the conversation; that could backfire.

Reddit for Beginners

Everyone needs to begin somewhere. So if you are not familiar with Reddit it’s perfectly ok. All you need to do is spend some time so you will get used to it. Check it out at least once a day. Find out how the content moves around. Get into the comment threads and find out what people are currently into.

  • Come to think of it Reddit is quite self-referential. You might see something that you don’t understand or feel that doesn’t make sense. Well, it’s possible that it is referencing a feature of the Reddit culture – a meme, or a previous post. Usually, you should be able to make out the reference point right in the comments. Those who need clarification would upvote commenters who are capable of explaining things and thus bring up the value of the thread.
  • Comments are the most important in this site. But if something has been upvoted to the top or front page, it doesn’t mean that it is legitimate. If it has been there for long then it is quite possible that the top comment is a user who is questioning the article or cites opposing sources. Hence unlike Twitter or Facebook, this community is very much capable of self-regulation.

Some terms used in the Reddit world

Multireddits- These subreddits can be grouped up in customizable ways – these are called multireddits. It is through them that users would be able to navigate the communities that they choose and need not be weighed down by the domineering front page. They would come as an expandable sidebar and can be created quite easily if you just click on the ‘create’ button and enter the subreddits that you want. You would also be able to see other user public multireddits and if you like them so much, then you can also make a copy for your sidebar.

What are Upvoting, Downvoting, and Scores

When you log into Reddit, you can upvote or downvote on items and thus help in determining their ranking. On each item, you get only one vote but it can be changed later. The numbers which come between the up or down arrows are the submission scores ? that is the upvote numbers minus the downvote numbers.

What is Karma?

Reddit Karma is just an accrual of goodwill that you get when other users see your comments or posts and upvote them. A good amount of Karma gives you more value in the community. There are two kinds of Karma -links or comments. Your user profile displays both on the up right-hand corner and it is pretty much like a badge of honor.

How can you use Reddit to promote your business?

Marketing is not something that is taken lightly. That being said, brands like Xbox and Redbull are on this network and this is because of their potential. So before you start promoting your business, please do have a look at the following tips.

Get familiar with the Reddit users

How to use Reddit for a Digital Marketing blog page is useful for viewers. You need to make up a profile that is genuine and open up your observation skills. Find out what is happening that is relevant to your brand. Keep your ears open, listen to conversations, find out where you can contribute and on which topics.  Also, that a Reddit user generally spends more than 13 minutes on the site.  Such users are quite engaged with the platform content and might be quite open to your branded communications too. If this particular group can fall into the audience that you target, then Reddit would be a great choice for your marketing strategy.

Build up a Genuine Reddit Profile

Your presence might be marketing-oriented, but to avoid any suspicion you have to create a profile that feels and looks real. If a Redditor gets the slightest idea that you are a marketer, they would surely monitor your posting history and try to find out whether your purpose of being there is to promote your business. This is why you need to avoid being too promotional and have to be smart by it. You need to be there in different subreddits and be living in these groups. Whenever you share any link to other sites or content you need to keep your high quality in mind. This is the only way you get great karma points. Accumulate them and then post content that is branded. You need to be patient and wait to post. Think that you need to bring value to the community.

What to post on Reddit?

Now you are ready to post – you need to choose between two kinds of posts –

  • Link posts that would send users to an outside site.
  • Text posts that are on Reddit itself.

It has generally been seen that if you go for link posts it could enhance the traffic to your website. But if you are looking to build links or you want to boost your brand then you need to go for text posts. If you go for text posts, then you need to ensure that you submit them to the appropriate subreddits. All your content needs to be relevant, bring in insight and try and educate users towards your topic. Make it interesting and link to various resources.

Choose the appropriate subreddit – You have two choices when you need to choose the right subreddit for your post.

  • Opt for a niche subreddit that has a limited number of engaged users. Your advantage would be that these kinds of users are usually easy to convert.
  • This being said, you can also do your posting in large subreddits which would attract large numbers of users. You may not get many conversions here, but you would get lots of traffic.
    For your post to be seen you need to take a little effort. You need to target the apt community. Use humor – it seems that Redditors have a fondness for wit. Posts or comments which seem insincere do not last long at all.

Do not get banned – If you look like a spammer or marketer to Reddit communities you would get banned very easily. So do not be too promotional. Do not use too many links that would connect to other websites. You might be tempted to submit the same comments to various subreddits. i.e is best avoided. Also never ask for upvotes at all. Never share any sensitive or illegal information. If you like this post on how to use Reddit for digital marketing share it with your followers on Twitter Linkedin and other social media networks.

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