In 2005 two college graduates in the US had an idea. Launch an online community for people to decide for themselves what stories are newsworthy. Links and information are posted, others vote on those posts and the most popular rise to the top of the list.
Today Reddit remains focused on that same principle. The platform has got far bigger, though. Now boasting 330million active monthly users, each signs up to Subreddits of their choice— individual noticeboards devoted to particular topics hosted by a moderator.
Let’s make one thing clear. This is not a marketing platform, and the community does not welcome promotional interests. Nevertheless, brands are using this for promotional purposes— but how? Fear not, we’ve got the answers. Here’s everything you need to know about content marketing with Reddit.
Expert content marketing with Reddit needs clear goals
There are two basic types of posts on Reddit. Here’s what they mean for brands:
Links
Link posts direct users to external sites. If you want to boost inbound traffic to your company URL then it’s best to share links.
Text posts
Text posts are published with the aim of starting conversations and offering insights. These work well if your content marketing goal is securing inbound links. Look at the AskReddit Subreddit, where users post all sorts of questions. Monitor those queries and craft well-written responses referencing and linking to other websites (i.e. not your own).
Spam means a ban
The Reddit community can be pretty ruthless. If they consider users are spamming message boards they will take action. That usually means banning an individual account. In worst case scenarios it could mean blocking an entire domain from every part of Reddit. That’s obviously very bad news, so here’s how to avoid falling foul:
*Don’t submit the same comment to different Subreddits
*Don’t ask for upvotes
*Avoid illegal content
*Tone down the promotional voice— to it right down
*Submit links to other websites, not just your own
*Never share private or personal information
*Always— and we mean ALWAYS— add value
Users will scrutinise accounts and posts they think are content marketing
If the community has a vague suspicion an account is linked to a marketing or promotional team a ban could ensue. The best way to avoid this is by ‘blending in’.
Here’s how to do that before you start posting links to your site:
*Always link to quality content and numerous sites
*Amass ‘karma points’ for being a helpful member of the community
*Post in different Subreddits including those unrelated to your targets
*Make insightful comments on other people’s posts
*Don’t post links to your own site for the first few weeks after opening an account
Expert content marketing means making the most of your posts
Once you start posting links to your own site, follow these steps:
*Look at the top posts in your target Subreddit
Analyse any promotional posts in the Top 100 and ascertain the angles and approaches they took to resonate with readers
*Use niche Subreddits to generate high levels of engagement
Larger Subreddits are good for attracting high traffic but less fruitful when it comes to starting conversations
Becoming a utility
Once you have an established and favourable Reddit presence it’s a good idea to look at how you can genuinely provide a service.
RedditAds
Reminders of dates and times of specific events, including a link to official websites or pages.
Calendars
Sports teams set a great example for this. Within that context, a team’s Subreddit could have league table standings and upcoming matches posted in a visual format.
Customer Service
There are thousands of questions asked every day on Reddit. Users do this because they know there’s a very strong likelihood they will be answered. Exploit that by responding to any company-specific or sector-related queries quickly and effectively.
Building your own network
Finally, providing you have a great idea that’s powerful enough to build a network of Subreddits go for it. You’ll need to stick to a naming convention for each Subreddit and monitor all content to ensure compliance with the rules outlined above. Hard work, but in the long run it can prove incredibly effective.
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