Reddit is one of the largest social networks / forums that is largely ignored (myself included until recently I'll admit) by the majority of corporations and small business owners alike. It has over 500 Million active users and it is the #4 website in the US (#9 in the world) when it comes to overall traffic. It's an active and growing community that allows access to the coveted Generation Z and Millennial demographics. And now it's more versatile than ever with brand new complete user profiles. With a user base that enormous, it would be tragic not to take advantage of such an opportunity to promote your content and interact with prospects. In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, it would be wise to market your media and build your brand on Reddit. Here are some reasons why:
Share Visual Content
Like the wildly popular Snapchat and Instagram platforms, Reddit is all about images and video. If your business has a strong visual component, and I would argue most should these days, then Reddit is a great destination for your media. If you want to drive traffic or attention to your YouTube videos, Slideshare presentations, slideshows, infographics, or portfolio then this is the place. Don't get me wrong, there are endless threads involving debates almost entirely devoid of images. There are many intellectual battles waged every hour on the platform. But most popular or viral threads on Reddit are and will continue to be visual in nature. Images, GIF's, and Videos reign supreme here and you should get a piece of the pie.
Reach Younger Users
Facebook users are ancient now compared to what they were like 5+ years ago. Twitter and LinkedIn users are as well. If you want to supplement your marketing campaigns going out to teenagers and twenty-somethings (and you're already performing at a high level on Snapchat and Instagram marketing), you'll find tens of millions of younger users with purchasing power on Reddit. Expose them to your products and services, ask for feedback, and help to provide value. Converting younger users could end up being worth a fortune with repeat purchases and customer referrals. You may even be interested in reaching out to Reddit Influencers and have them assist you in sharing your brand.
I'm not saying by any means that all Reddit users are in the Generation Z or Millennial demographic, so if that isn't your target market then you can still accomplish great things. There are hundreds of millions of Reddit users and thread viewers ages 35 - 65+.
Community Building & Branding
Online community building has always been a critical pillar of digital marketing and overall business branding. Establishing yourself or your business as an industry authority is also Digital Marketing 101. Once you have the minimal required Karma (positive user feedback of your posts and comments) of around 100, you can begin creating your own Sub-Reddits and growing your own branded community. If nothing else, consider it brand protection to register your branded username(s) and create your Sub-Reddits on your own terms. There could be an SR out there right now misrepresenting you or your brand online and you need to take control of that to the best of your ability.
Search Engine Optimization
This was one of the main reasons I finally hopped on Reddit to be honest, at least initially. It's always good to grow your SEO and build backlinks! While Snapchat and Reddit are all the rage, they refer very little actual website traffic by comparison and don't create any backlinks to your websites! (well, maybe 1 at most from your Instagram profile). Reddit allows you to easily drive traffic to your website by posting links to Sub-Reddits, your profile page, and post threads. You shouldn't spam the same link repeatedly, or barrage the same SR day in and day out, but you can provide subscribers with high quality curated selections in many cases. You'll drive significant traffic to your websites and see a bump in some of your page rankings etc. Anything that can effectively increase traffic and SEO at no cost is an investment worth making.
Paid Advertising
As a frugal entrepreneur you probably know what my thoughts are on paid advertising options in general... but the prices are very reasonable on Reddit. As I've mentioned, because Reddit is ignored by so many startups and corporations alike, the price of advertising is much less than on Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. If you want to take the paid approach then it will provide you with a strong value and be worth trying out at least a campaign or two.
Just Don't Feed The Trolls...
Thick skin is always important in the world of social media. Like many other social platforms (Twitter and YouTube come first to mind from experience), there are plenty of internet trolls and "passionate" critical users on Reddit. They don't enjoy being marketed to, whether it's blatant or indirect, so if you are there primarily for business purposes you should expect some heat. There are some really rude Redditors that may downvote all of your comments or submissions until you're looking at 0's. Or maybe you'll just get your post deleted and profile banned from the SR. Don't let them discourage you or your branding campaigns and certainly don't get caught in any potentially damaging online arguments. It's the small price you have to pay for excellent exposure opportunities.
Final Thoughts
While I wouldn't say Reddit should be the top priority for most companies, it's an area that needs to be explored and experimented with. For a very small investment of time and resources, you can reap significant benefits for your business. Market away!
I hope you enjoyed this article about reaching out on the Reddit social media platform for excellent return on investment.
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