Many brands focus their marketing efforts on the obvious social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. However, leaving platforms like Reddit untapped would be a big marketing misstep.
Marketing on Reddit follows different rules and requires different content compared to other platforms. So how can you effectively use Reddit for marketing?
What Is Reddit, How Does It Work, and Who Uses It?
Reddit calls itself the “front page of the internet” and functions as a collection of different discussion forums based on various interests. These different forums are known as “subs,” and they range from general information to specific niches. Users can subscribe to subs that they are interested in so that relevant posts then show up on their unique feed. The most popular subs on Reddit include “announcements,” “funny,” and “ask Reddit.”
Overall, Reddit thrives on unique content creation. People post unique content within a sub, and other users comment on their thoughts. Reddit also uses “upvotes” and “downvotes” on posts and comments. The more upvotes you get for quality content, the more karma you have. The more karma you have, the more respected you are on the platform.
User data for Reddit is harder to gather since the platform is more anonymous than other platforms and doesn’t require inputting demographic information. Surveys have been able to determine basic demographic information about the platform’s users.
For starters, a majority of Reddit users are male — as many as 69%. In terms of age, Reddit is definitely a younger platform, with 64% of the user base falling between the ages of 18 and 29.
In terms of ethnicity, 70% of Reddit users are white non-Hispanic, 12% are Hispanic, 7% are black non-Hispanic, and 11% are other non-Hispanic. Finally, a large percentage of Reddit users are from the United States — with more than 222 million users.
Why Should You Use Reddit for Marketing?
If you’re a newbie and still don’t know much about Reddit, you may be hesitant about investing in marketing on this platform. However, trust us when we say that this is a platform that you definitely shouldn’t sleep on. But don’t just take our word for it — here are some of the tops reasons why you should use Reddit for marketing purposes:
- Reddit has over 430 million monthly active users — and it’s constantly growing. Reddit saw a 30.3% increase in users from just a year prior.
- Reddit has over 52 million daily active users — a 44% increase over just one year.
- Reddit holds the title of the seventh-most popular social media application in the United States.
- Reddit is ranked as the 18th most visited website in the world.
- Reddit users spend a great deal of time on the platform, with an average session length of 10 minutes and 23 seconds.
- Reddit is neglected by most brands — making it a prime space for promoting yours with less competition and costs involved.
Different Ways to Market on Reddit
1. Text
The easiest way to post on Reddit is to use text. All you have to do is type out your content, and that’s about it! However, you should still make sure that your text content is extremely engaging to draw in viewers without the use of eye-catching images or graphics.
2. Images
If you want to stand out amongst the ton of text present on Reddit, then you may want to consider posting images. Images are easily integrated into the platform and are mobile-friendly. Images on Reddit should not be overly edited or tailored, as is common practice on other platforms like Instagram.
Instead, they can be completely casual or even low quality so long as they are funny, cute, interesting, etc.
3. GIFs
GIFs are popular on many social media platforms, but they definitely reign supreme on Reddit. GIFs take a short segment of a video and turn it into a loop. Redditors have a unique sense of humor, and you can tap into this by using funny GIFs on the platform.
4. Videos
Videos aren’t usually very successful on Reddit since they require you to link out of the platform to YouTube. Generally speaking, Redditors don’t like leaving the platform for content if they don’t have to.
Instead, focus on images and GIFs for the best results.
5. AMAs
One uniquely Reddit concept is “AMA” or “Ask Me Anything.” Brands can have a lot of success with AMAs, where they can answer questions about their brand, products, services, etc. There is a specific sub for AMAs, but they can also occur on outside subs.
6. News
Reddit has a specific tab for news, so it’s no surprise that this is an important component of the platform. For this reason, sharing news — yours or someone else’s — is a great Reddit strategy that can earn you a lot of karma.
7. Ads
Finally, Reddit offers paid ads that show up in user’s feeds. These are considered native since they fit in with the natural content on the feed. They appear as “promoted” and can include an image or short video with a call to action.
Reddit Marketing Best Practices to Follow
Reddit is a unique community complete with a set of best practices that you should follow for effective marketing on the platform.
- Establish Your Account: Account history is very important for Redditors. Your overall goal should be to build “karma” points on your Reddit account by posting, commenting, and earning upvotes on each. You can also win awards and trophies from high-quality content. All of this is public on Reddit, so make sure that you build up your account before you start promoting.
- Limit Self-Promotion: Generally speaking, the golden ratio on Reddit between original contributions and self-promotions is 80:20. Reddit is seen as an authentic platform by its users, so overdoing it on unauthentic promotion can quickly turn off other users.
- Post Engaging and Original Content: If your Reddit marketing strategy involves reposting your Facebook or Instagram content, you may want to reconsider. Instead, you should tailor your Reddit posts to the platform itself to take advantage of its unique properties.
- Keep It Authentic: You need to practice ethical and moral marketing tactics on this platform. For example, you should never create fake accounts, pay people under the table, or force employees to upvote your content for points.
Final Thoughts on Reddit Marketing
Marketing on Reddit will differ from marketing on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. To achieve the best results on this platform, you need to build your profile, consistently engage, and create meaningful content. This goes beyond simply posting the same exact things that you post on your other socials.
So if you find that you can’t quite dedicate the time and effort necessary to market on Reddit effectively, then you may want to leave it to the experts like Greg Gillman. Greg Gillman specializes in omnichannel growth strategies for direct-to-consumer brands. He has helped brands like Adidas, Petco, Ring, and Theragun generate more than $4 billion in annual revenue — and he can help you achieve the same amazing results.
Sources:
Reddit – Statistics & Facts | Statista
How to Post on Reddit on a Computer or Mobile Device | Business Insider
