Known as “the front page of the Internet,” it’s the gateway to everything that’s going on in the world. Founded in 2005, Reddit is inhabited by a quirky community of more than 36 million users, contributing to Reddit’s 169 million unique monthly visitors. Some would compare the well-known aggregate website to reading a newspaper — with the added benefits of interactivity, timeliness and personalization. With all this in mind, businesses can tap into an abundance of knowledge and insight sitting on Reddit, if they use the platform wisely.
How Does Reddit Work?
Redditors submit photos, articles, videos and text posts to Reddit for other users to vote on, rating it up or down depending on whether or not they like the content. As the content trends and people upvote, it rises to the top of the page. Reddit is a constantly updated and completely user-driven experience.
It’s a simple idea. And its impact is powerful. It gives people insight into what’s going on in the world, what’s interesting and what people are reading and watching in real-time.
Subreddits
Reddit is comprised of various and expansive branches, called subreddits. People can subscribe to subreddits of specific topics to comment, vote and stay updated in the conversation. If you love reading, learning or watching cute animals, there’s a subreddit for that, in addition to anything else that interests you.
While there are many silly and downright ridiculous subreddits, there are plenty for businesses to use as valuable resources for general business management advice and industry-related topics. /R/SmallBusiness and /R/Business are the perfect subreddits for users starting, owning and growing a business. /R/Entrepreneur is another great subreddit for individuals who are involved or want to get involved in entrepreneurship.
Who Uses Reddit?
The key to Reddit is that everyone is anonymous, which allows an interesting and open experience. As of 2013, Reddit’s largest demographic was 18- to 29-year-old males. Reddit users are typically college-educated, Internet savvy and active on social media.
Reddit for Businesses
Reddit poses numerous opportunities for businesses and there are a number of ways to get your business involved in conversations on Reddit. Similar to Google Adwords, Reddit digital marketing campaigns allow businesses to place pay-per-click advertisements on specified, relevant subreddits. If your target audience largely consists of people involved in a particular subreddit, you may be tempted to advertise to them. However, users are outwardly critical toward traditional and blatant marketing tactics. Reddit ads may pose a reputational risk for many businesses that don’t use them wisely.
Gimmicks and hard selling don’t work for this audience. Businesses should understand the Reddit community, participate honestly and get creative. It’s better to post great content that will be naturally upvoted by users and rely on word of mouth marketing. Redditors are attracted to the site due to the lack of intrusive content. They’ll ignore or reject marketing attempts that are irritating and obvious. Only quality content will be upvoted and accepted.
Feedback on Reddit
One of the most popular and beneficial Reddit business strategies is to collect valuable feedback from your audience. Businesses can gather input about their brand or consumer opinions on products or services. This type of market research requires active monitoring and engagement on subreddits related to your company. While it takes some time and effort, you receive exclusive insight into what your audience finds important and what problems they’re experiencing.
Results
A great example of a successful paid advertisement on Reddit was by Aqua Notes, in which the company contributed to the subreddit, /r/showerthoughts with this sponsored post: “No more great ideas down the drain! Aqua Notes waterproof paper and pencil for all your /r/showerthoughts!” Redditor feedback on the post acknowledged that it was an obvious advertisement, but applauded the spot-on targeting and championed for the product. When you use proper reddiquette and establish a positive presence on the site, it can do wonders for your business.
Reddiquette
To begin your company’s journey on Reddit, you’ll start with the basics: create a username and personalize your profile with subreddits pertaining to your business. Learning Reddiquette will take some time because there are basic rules the Reddit community follows. You won’t get banned from Reddit for not following them, but your posts won’t perform as well. The same holds true for company use of paid advertisements and overtly promotional tactics. For businesses to benefit from Reddit, they must be transparent, participate regularly, speak the language and, most importantly, have a great sense of humor.
You “read it” here. Now your target audience is waiting to read it on Reddit. Appleton Creative is an award-winning, full-service Orlando advertising agency. Appleton works with local, national and international clients to provide marketing strategies through web, social media, video production and print – all in-house. At Appleton, we want to learn about your business, empower your marketing team and be your creative resource. Your marketing goals are worth a conversation: contact us at 407-246-0092 or info@appletoncreative.com.
