Why Reddit Should be on Your Radar as a Business
Have you heard of Reddit? Chances are you have, but may not have a good understanding of the platform, and the ways you can utilize it in your marketing program. According to Bustle, Reddit, established in 2005, is the 7th most used site in the United States, only ranking behind Google, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, Yahoo!, and Wikipedia. According to DMR, a site that specializes in curating digital statistics, Reddit has over 330 million users and 40 million daily searches. Needless to say, it needs to be on your radar.
What is Reddit and How Does it Work?
Reddit brands themselves as “The Front Page of the Internet.” When users open the site, it has a list of stories running down the page similar to a forum. When users create an account, they choose topics that interest them, so the topics listed on their homepage should be relevant. Users can also choose how they want to view the topics or search if there is a specific subject or topic they would like to read about. A subreddit is a forum dedicated to a specific topic on the Reddit site.
Reddit allows users to click an arrow that can boost content up or down in other users’ feeds. The more upvotes, the more likely other people are to see it on their Reddit homepage. The more downvotes, the less likely people will see it. Over 58 million users vote each day to decide what is seen or not seen on the platform.
Reddit has a moderator on each forum. This means that if content is getting cruel, or inappropriate in some manner, it can be stopped by the moderator. However, bad karma and lack of votes will eventually diminish a negative user from his or her voice.
The Reddit Language
Reddit has its own language within its forums. For example, some commonly used terms are AMA, “ask me anything”, TIL means “today I learned”, and DAE is “does anyone else?” Reddit has a forum to translate terms like these if you’re new to the platform and unsure of what something means.
How Businesses Can Use Reddit
Although Reddit has recently incorporated the opportunity to advertise on the platform, marketers may want to take a hard look before diving into an advertising program. Reddit users have grown to love the platform because of its real and authentic, ad-free, curation of user-generated content. Many users may be turned off by companies serving them ads on the previously-protected platform.
Like Facebook and Instagram, ad posts are required to show that they are “promoted.” Ladder, an agency operating in New York and London, tested advertising with Reddit a few months ago with a budget of $250. While this insight is far from any kind of conclusive test, and many things could play into the ad performance, here is what they learned:
- Users did not upvote any of the ads.
- The ads didn’t get many clicks.
- Organic posts and videos performed better.
Aside from advertising, there are still ways you can potentially leverage the Reddit platform to help you grow your brand and your business.
Listening/Research/Insights
Following subreddits relevant to your brand, products or services can give you insight into how customers perceive your brand. By taking note of what Reddit users have to say about your brand, you can often uncover opportunities for improvement, insight into what your company is doing well and other trends or information that may be beneficial to help guide the management of your company and its future.
Influencer Marketing and User-Generated Content
Influencer marketing can also be very effective. There are many influencers that spend time on Reddit, so it can be a great platform to identify potential influencers. The platform’s upvote functionality is an easy way to screen or validate an influencer and determine their influence on your customers or potential customers.
A big component of influencer marketing is building relationships. Once you have identified promising potential influencers, you can reach out to see if they have any interest in working with your company and begin nurturing the relationship. Content that influencers share on Reddit can be a great source for driving quality traffic to your website. More information about influencer marketing can be found in our article, 7 Reasons You Should Be Using Influencer Marketing.
In summary, a strategic approach to leverage Reddit can offer your company benefits and value that are difficult to achieve on other platforms. If nothing else, Reddit is certainly a platform worth taking note of and paying attention to.
Resources:
1 The Most Popular Websites In The United States Reveal A Lot About Our Online Habits – Bustle
2 80 Amazing Reddit Statistics – DMR
3 The Reddit Ads Experiment – Ladder
