Reddit Marketing Guide [Updated 2023]

With over 330 million users, Reddit is undeniably one of the top social news platforms. It allows Redditors (Reddit users) to share their opinions on tons of issues. This news aggregator website can feature in a similar space with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. As it encourages conversations on a wide range of topics, it provides a platform that businesses can leverage. Brands and businesses will no doubt want to seize the opportunities provided by Reddit to ensure business growth in 2023. However, knowing how to go about it can be daunting without the proper guidance. Not to worry, we got you covered. As with other marketing platforms, there are rules you must abide by to achieve success on Reddit. This Reddit marketing guide 2023 offers all you must know to grow your business in 2023. It offers the best marketing practices for success and to avoid getting you kicked out from Reddit. Before delving into the main stuff, let's briefly discuss how Reddit works for a better perspective of this marketing platform.

How Reddit works

Reddit is a broad social platform that features a lot of components. Understanding these components lies the key to knowing how Reddit operates. The following are some of the core features of Reddit.

1. Reddit's voting system and karma

As mentioned earlier, Reddit is a social news platform. It allows users to submit posts that are then reviewed by other users. In addition to reviewing the post, Reddit allows users to either upvote or downvote the post. The buttons for upvote and downvote are always beside the post or comment. This feature is similar to what can be seen on popular forum sites like Quora. Also, you will find a number beside the upvote and downvote buttons. This number changes according to the number of upvotes and downvotes a person has. The resulting number after calculating the upvote against the downvote is known as karma.

The upvote and downvote will determine whether a post will move up the Reddit rankings or not. Hence, a post with a lot of upvotes will move up the rankings and that will more downvotes drop down the list. The higher the ranking of a post, the closer the post is to the top of the feed, leading to higher visibility.

Every Redditor has a personal karma number. The karma number reveals the number of karma a user has received. And it is viewed as a user's score. A high Karma score can make an individual famous within Reddit's community. Hence, it is like the user's score. So, the higher your karma number, the better as it can make you popular within Reddit.

2. Subreddits

This is yet another feature that makes Reddit stand out. It consists of many smaller communities called Subreddits. Subreddits are made up of users with similar interests.

There are tons of subreddits in existence. Consequently, you might find it difficult in searching for one that suits your interest. This is where the Reddit list comes in. Reddit List is a site that points users to the ranks of the famous subreddits. And this helps users in finding a subreddit that suits them. However, if you do not want to join a subreddit, you can choose to create yours.

3. Administrators and Moderators

Administrators and Moderators are both important personnel in the Reddit community. Reddit administrators have control of this forum site. As they have full access to the platform, they are charged with overseeing the general ongoing of the site. These employees of Reddit have the authority to ban subreddits and remove moderators from their position.

The moderators play a similar role to the administrators but on a different scale. Reddit moderators are individuals charged with the control of subreddits. The moderators oversee everything going on in their respective subreddits. They have the authority to remove posts and even users from the subreddit.

4. Reddit's community guidelines

Every user must abide by the rules and guidelines of their respective communities. Otherwise, they may be banned from the community. If you have your own subreddit, you can set the rules which a user must abide by to join your community.

In turn, every subreddit must follow Reddit's community guidelines. There is also Reddiquette (Reddit's etiquette) which every Redditor must follow. Reddit also allows a user to report or block other users who have taken an offensive action. All these regulations were put in place to make Redditors feel comfortable and ensure safe practices on the platform.

Reddit marketing guide 2023

Now, that we've gone through the basics of how Reddit works, we will consider how to adapt your marketing to the social forum site.

Reddit offers a platform for people to come together to share things. And that makes it a perfect place for you, as a brand to reach your target audience. However, you need to be tactful. If you are blunt, you will face difficulties and insurmountable hurdles. And this is because many Redditors value their subreddit so much. They have invested much time and effort to create a section that fits their style. Any outsider is seen as intrusive. Based on this, they will despise you if they feel that you are trying to take over the community for your personal benefit. These insecurities may lead them to ban you from their subreddit.

If this happens, it means your time and effort to market your brand amounts to nothing.

To successfully market on Reddit, you need to take certain steps. The following are tips to help you successfully market your services on Reddit.

1. Get involved

Not every Redditor trusts a new account that has no posts, or reviews. Hence, if you start posting brand-related content immediately after signing in, you may get no response. To avoid that situation, you need to first get involved. And that means that you need to become a genuine Redditor.

Review other users' posts and comments. In addition to that, upvote their comment. Also, join a subreddit, participate in discussions, and post your own content. Make sure the contents you post initially have nothing to do with your brand. By so doing, you earn karma points. And in turn, you are becoming popular and trustworthy in the Reddit community. Afterward, you can start posting business-related content. Once you post, people are more likely to respond to you because of the trust you have gathered.

2. Search for relevant subreddits

Subreddits help brands to get to more people with ease. However, when searching for subreddits, look for ones that are related to your business in one way or another. For instance, if you deal with jewelry, you may look out for subreddits that talks about fashion. So when you post business-related content, you will be contributing to the community and promoting your business. This increases your respect within the Reddit community.

3. Listen to clients

Reddit lets its users review the posts of other Redditors. This platform encourages complaints, compliments, and even suggestions. Reddit helps brands easily identify the perception of customers of their services. You can never downplay the effect of business insights. As it helps brands to decide their next line of action. For instance, complaints from clients inform brands of any needed adjustment. And suggestions give brands new ideas that may promote their businesses. No doubt, any channel that provides a platform to hear from clients is very important to the business.

4. Respond to clients

While it is important to listen to your clients, it is also essential to reply to them. Clients find it frustrating to keep on laying complaints without getting a solution. It is like talking to an empty space. When clients become too frustrated, it may lead to serious business damage. They may opt to create embarrassing scenes for the business. To avoid that, you must address every complaint, creating a cool atmosphere for the brand. Apologize, and offer a solution to the problem at hand. When you do so, you will not only be keeping the interest of your customers, you are gaining more trust from onlookers. To achieve this continually, you may assign a subreddit manager to look out for comments on your behalf each time you make a post.

Do not always wait for comments from customers. You can ask them yourself. To do this, make a post to start discussing with your clients. You may ask them about what you want to know. For instance, you may ask them to review a new product you recently launched. Ask them for their experiences with your product. In addition, let them know that you need suggestions to make their experience better. Note that at a time like this (when you just set out on the platform), do not advertise any service. Just make it a discussion. This will create a friendly environment where users will freely tell you their inner thoughts about your brand. Additionally, you will gain more trust from clients.

5. Be consistent

Since it may take a considerable amount of time to fully reach out to your target audience, be consistent. Be regular at your Reddit activity. Keep on posting both brand-related content and other informative topics. Continue being active even after getting your target audience. Doing so helps to build engagement.

Summary

There is no doubt that Reddit is a very useful tool in reaching millions of internet users. Still, results do not come easy. It takes trust to navigate through this forum with success. The Reddit marketing guide 2023 simply sets out to show you how to endear your brand to Redditors. Using Reddit the right way offers your business a competitive edge that any competitor in your industry would want. You would not only be able to interact with your customers directly to solve issues but it provides you a platform to gather relevant business insights. Insights that can come in handy to release new products/ services or expand your business structure. Also, think along the line of the return on investment of using the platform. Yes, Reddit is a place for everyone but not going about it the right way will only make it an unsuitable place for you. This Reddit marketing guide 2023 is sure to help you out.