Is Reddit Right For You?
The nearly 20-year-old internet site, which has recently floated, is the subject of a lot of chatter in the marketing community in a way that it's never been before. Reddit has had a certain reputation for being a slightly cliquey platform, mainly due to the organisation of the content. Each content area has subreddits, topic-specific boards that users create and moderate based on the specific topic at hand. If you've watched a TV show, there will be a subreddit for it. Whatever your job is, there's a subreddit for that too.
Redditors tend to be passionate about the boards they're active in, and moderation depends on the nature of the board, the rules, and the individuals responsible for moderating. Each subreddit has its own rules and in-jokes, and this can make new visitors feel like the site is quite closed on their first visits. Effectively, it's a bit like the early message boards of the internet, but with a more democratized user base.
Half the users are US based, but there are active communities for other countries, and there seems to be more openness to views and issues from outside the US, compared to sites like Facebook. This means that subreddits are more likely to have global appeal on any given topic, such as plumbing, compared to a plumbing related Facebook group which may attract primarily US based users.
While just over 63% of users are male, there are many active female-interest subreddits – if you've ever seen an item of clothing or an accessory on a celebrity, advertisement, even just a random picture, r/findfashion members will identify and locate it for you within minutes of posting. More than 50% of Redditors don't use any other social media, so there is an audience on there who aren't seeing your social media activity on other platforms. If you've been struggling to build an online community, you might just find it on Reddit.
Like Facebook, most Redditors (75%) access the site via their phones, mostly on the app rather than the desktop version. Reddit results are often given high page ranking, especially for product queries and reviews, so it is worth paying attention to Reddit if your search engine research returns a lot of results from various subreddits.
Community is the key with Reddit – it's literally how the site is structured. Being active, informative, and an expert will go a long way to creating a good reputation in your chosen subreddit(s).You may already have some Redditors on your staff that are active in these communities, so ask around your employees and see if there is already a presence for your business or your area of expertise that you can build on.
These communities are perfect for building positive relationships through AMA (Ask Me Anything) events where you're online for a set amount of time to respond to questions or give your opinions. Activities like this may not result in immediate, attributable sales, unless you happen to recommend the exact product for solving someone's problem, but they will all count towards your organic sales growth.
Remember Google likes EEAT – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness – because that's what consumers want. Redditors appreciate the same qualities, and Reddit is a great site for B2B marketers especially to focus their relationship building efforts. You must also be willing to be authentic and to own your mistakes, or make fun of yourself when it's appropriate. Reddit is a deeply human to human place, and it is important that this aspect comes through in your activities there. If this sounds like you, let us help you get stuck in.
