5 Effective Tips to Help You Promote Your Business on Reddit

When people talk about social media marketing, they often forget about Reddit. Perhaps, the main reason is that Reddit is completely different from other social media platforms. It has different features, policies, and a slightly different audience. Nevertheless, it's one of the most popular sources on the internet, and more than 430 million people use it every month.

Another interesting thing about Reddit is that it serves many purposes. At first glance, you may think that the only purpose of this website is providing a platform for people who want to have fun and exchange jokes that no one but Redditors understand. At the same time, this is a great source of information on virtually any topic, with countless subreddits dedicated to everything, from programming to art or education.

What is not obvious about this website is its value and usefulness for marketers. This website calls itself "the front page of the internet" for a reason: Redditors love good content. High-quality content quickly finds its consumers on this website so if you put enough effort into your marketing campaign, you will see good results. We collected five tips that will help you use Reddit to your advantage. But first, let's figure out what Reddit is and how to get started.

How to Get Started

Reddit consists of numerous subreddits. These are basically forums dedicated to different subjects. No matter what niche you're working in, the chances are that there is a subreddit about it. To find subreddits dedicated to the necessary topic, search for relevant keywords, or visit /r/enteryourtopichere. We suggest that you always make sure to post to relevant subreddits because otherwise, your posts can be downvoted by Redditors.

To create a Reddit account, you don't need to verify your email. This is one of the distinctive features of this website, along with anonymity and voting on posts. However, we recommend that you spend one more minute verifying your email because this way, your account will look more legit. Your reputation on Reddit depends on several factors. For instance, when you post links, they influence your link karma. In the same way, your comments help you build up your comment karma.

Another important thing to consider is your username, as you won't be able to change it in the future. Unlike other social media platforms, Reddit discourages its users from using their real names. Most Redditors use fake names, and the authenticity of comments is checked by complex algorithms that take into account a user's posting history and comments. Everything you post and all your comments are stored and saved in your profile so everyone can check what you've said. If you create a new account, you won't be able to transfer your comment and link karma to it.

What Marketers Should Know

First, here's some information about Reddit's user base: more than 70% of Redditors are men, and 59% of them are 18 to 29 years old. As much as 47% of Redditors are online almost always, which is a quite impressive figure compared to 21% of the U.S. adults, in general. Redditors don't forgive low-quality content. Given that everyone can upvote or downvote your posts and comments, quality means everything.

Reddit has a huge community of active users but it can be tricky to work with for an average marketer. If you simply post sales pitches and promotional content in an attempt to get some traffic, Redditors will quickly destroy you in comments, flag your posts as spam, and your content won't be seen by anyone ever again. However, if you choose the right topics and the right approach, you'll be able to attract a lot of people. Here are a few examples of what you can write about:

• Educational content and unusual facts or anecdotes
• Personal stories that describe unique events or challenges
• Science
• Fitness
• Video games
• Politics
• Food
• Music
• Technology
• Art and photography

In other words, your content should actually be valuable. It may be informative or entertaining, but it must be engaging, meaningful, and memorable. Another important aspect is your links. Redditors spend a lot of time online and they are always ready to click on something. However, we recommend that you only use full URLs. Short links are often used by scammers and hackers and therefore are usually ignored by Redditors. In addition, given that Reddit doesn't have character limits, there's no reason for you to use URL shorteners.

Now let's take a look at the five best tips to help you promote your business on Reddit.

1. Use the Right Subreddits

Given that Reddit consists of a bunch of subreddits dedicated to different subjects, you should choose subreddits carefully so that your posts and comments will be relevant and appreciated by the audience. For example, if your company sells cameras, you may post in /r/photography. Keep in mind that not all subreddits are equally popular among Redditors.

For example, /r/politics and /r/sports are more popular than niche subreddits like /r/marketing or /r/freelance. Popular subreddits can help you if you want to increase traffic. However, if you're looking for quality leads and conversions, targeting niche subreddits will be a more effective approach.

Don't forget that you can also create your own subreddit and invite users to participate. If you provide high-quality and engaging content consistently, you will build an engaged community that will help your subreddit grow.

2. Use Reddit Ads

Although posting quality content is key to your success on Reddit, this platform also offers some good advertising opportunities. If you want your posts to become more visible, you can advertise them on certain subreddits or on the whole platform.

When it comes to advertising, marketers can choose between two options: text ads and link ads. Text ads are linked to your posts that may contain more detailed information and links. These ads will help you increase engagement and boost your brand's exposure. Link ads can help you drive traffic to your website or blog. You can also use them for discounts or promotions.

3. Use Reddit to Improve Your Customer Service

Reddit has a very active community, and it's a perfect place for answering customer's questions. When people visit Reddit to get help with something, they usually get it. Therefore, you can use this platform for your customer service. For example, you direct your customers and prospects to your subreddit where they will be able to communicate not only with your support team but also with other consumers.

Not only will this approach help you improve customer service, but it will also give your brand natural exposure and help you build a thriving community of engaged customers. Creating a subreddit will help you demonstrate that you care about your customers.

4. Be Consistent

Consistency is always extremely important for social media marketing, and Reddit is no exception. Even if your content is outstanding, it won't take you far if you post it rarely. Select subreddits related to your niche and check out what questions people ask. This way, you will know what to post about. For instance, you can frequently post helpful tips or step-by-step guides. Make sure to provide answers that can actually help people. This way, you will increase your brand's authority and build a good reputation within the platform.

5. Make Use of the Viral Content

Don't be all business, all the time. Redditors always appreciate high-quality serious content but they also like to have fun. If your brand image allows you to do so, don't be afraid to post fun GIFs, memes, and videos. The main thing is to make sure that they are relevant to your area because you don't want anyone to downvote your posts.

Reddit has tons of content about virtually everything so you can repost content that performs well. We also recommend that you keep track of viral posts and analyze them so that you can understand how you can make your posts more popular.

Final Thoughts

Reddit is a great platform for marketers who want to increase their traffic and to boost brand exposure. Although Reddit is quite different from the mainstream social media, it can still be very effective if you follow some simple rules and put some effort into creating good content. This website has a very engaged and active audience. Just approach it properly, and you will see how beneficial Reddit can be for your marketing efforts.

This guest post was written by Rhonda Martinez, a writer, lecturer, dissertation advisor and member of the Graduate Faculty of Computer Science. She loves edtech and works as an editor at LegitWritingServices, a website that reviews writing services and popular education-related subreddits. As a dissertation advisor, Rhonda enjoys to guide students and help them write better dissertations.