The Guide to Marketing on Reddit

When we talk about social media marketing, we immediately think of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok! But for those who prefer to think outside the box, exploring marketing on Reddit might also be an option. Dive into anything!

Just like Twitch, it’s a platform that’s a bit less well-known and still hasn’t attracted much attention from professionals. However, Reddit users (the famous “Redditors”) have unique characteristics that others don’t, and these could be of interest to more than a few brands. We’ll take a closer look at the topic and explain how to incorporate Reddit into your strategy!

But speaking of Reddit, what is it, and how does it work?

Reddit isn’t a typical social network, and that can be a bit disorienting when you’re just getting started. The platform follows rules that are a bit more specific than those of the other social media platforms we’re used to. It also works differently, as it’s more like a forum than a social media platform—it features a news feed and a profile page, for example.

Everything You Need to Know About Subreddits and the Voting System

In practice, then, Reddit is divided into subreddits that (roughly) correspond to forum sections. There is no predefined structure or required theme. Anyone can create a subreddit on almost any topic. And anyone can therefore post in the subreddit of their choice.

Where it gets tricky is that the answers aren’t sorted by publication date. Reddit has a built-in voting system. The position of each question or topic is determined based on the number of upvotes and downvotes it receives. The same system applies to the answers posted. The content that appears first on a subreddit is therefore the content that the community has deemed most relevant.

A community centered on expertise

This voting system has an immediate effect: it raises the overall quality of content. To be featured and read, it’s absolutely essential to provide relevant information. Trolls, rambling posts that say nothing, or those that provide no additional information are quickly downvoted and consigned to oblivion!

Conversely, users highlight the posts most liked by the community and reward contributors through a points system called “karma.” The result is a completely unique social network, largely driven by enthusiasts and experts. And of course, this system runs counter to what we see on Facebook or Instagram, where every opinion carries the same weight.

Reddit, a powerful tool for conducting market research

A highly international—and predominantly American—community, subreddits covering a wide variety of topics, and a community of experts and enthusiasts who share information and opinions. It sounds like a paradise for professionals looking for new ways to conduct their research. And it is!

Reddit is often one step ahead of trends or what might make headlines in the coming months.

But you still have to know where to look! Since we’re nice, here’s a non-exhaustive list of subreddits that are useful for marketers:

• r/webmarketing, r/marketing, and r/digital_marketing are fairly general subreddits.
• r/socialmedia and r/socialmediaresearch, as their names suggest, cover topics related to social media, with the latter focusing on monitoring and sharing links on the subject.
• Finally, for technical questions, you can check out the subreddits r/emailmarketing, r/SEO, r/analytics, or r/PPC for ads.

If you’re new to Reddit, we recommend that you take some time to familiarize yourself with the community guidelines before participating. And maybe try answering a few questions before asking your own. But once you’ve gotten past that initial learning phase—and if your questions haven’t already been answered—Redditors can be a huge help. This community really does know just about everything. There’s even a saying online that if Reddit doesn’t have the answer, nobody does!

Getting Started with Marketing on Reddit as a Brand

Reddit is an indispensable tool for keeping up with the latest trends, right? But can a brand really reach millions of Reddit users? To that question, we’d like to say yes… and no! A classic “Norman” response, based on the specific characteristics we discussed earlier.

Since Reddit is primarily in English and expertise-driven, brands that share these same characteristics will feel much more at home on the platform. At the same time, Reddit covers a wide range of topics , and the French-speaking community numbers more than half a million people. In theory, therefore, all brands can find and share interesting information!

On the other hand, there’s no way you can simply take a social media strategy designed for Facebook or Twitter and apply it directly to Reddit. To avoid making a faux pas, Reddit takes a little time to get used to. But above all, you’ll need to follow certain explicit or implicit rules. To help you get a clearer picture, here’s a guide in the form of “Dos” and “Don’ts.”

Marketing on Reddit: The “Don’ts”

Start posting without observing

We strongly recommend that you take some time to explore Reddit, its nuances, and its unwritten rules before getting started. Despite its large user base, this social network is a bit less open than the industry’s heavyweights. The result? More formalized ways of interacting that you’ll want to be familiar with before you get started.

Promoting in non-sponsored posts

Most Redditors are determined to preserve the platform’s high quality at all costs. And direct advertising in posts has no place there. Some have tried it, but this approach immediately draws the ire of users.

Spamming the same information across different subreddits

There’s no spam on Reddit, unlike what some people might do in various private Facebook groups, for example. It’s a practice that’s strictly prohibited by the platform’s rules. If you give in to the temptation, you run the risk of getting banned.

Reddit Marketing: The “Dos”

Read the rules before you start

Let the person who accepted the rules without reading them cast the first stone! Everyone does it, but on Reddit, take a moment to read the general rules as well as the rules for the subreddits you’re interested in. They may vary slightly. For example, some subreddits require you to put the main keyword in square brackets in the title to make searching easier.

Talk only about what you know in an authentic and sincere way

Here’s another tip that may seem basic but is actually very important on Reddit. Keep in mind that you’re addressing a community of experts. If you bend the truth or are too vague in your posts or replies, you run the risk of being called out at best—or getting downvoted and losing reputation at worst. When you speak up, make sure you have something interesting to say!

Respond to comments and unanswered questions

You don’t necessarily need to start a new thread to be an active and recognized Reddit user. In the beginning, we even recommend replying to other users’ comments and questions—especially those that haven’t been answered yet. These are a great opportunity to get upvotes! You can then create posts on these specific topics to appear in related search results.

Use RedditAds

Like other social media platforms, Reddit has its own advertising network. The advantage is that it allows you to target specific subreddits. For example, if you’re a clothing brand, you can target the r/fashion subreddit. Ads appear as a headline and a link. Companies use this space to highlight news or events related to their brands.

In conclusion: the best thing to do is to give it a try!

We agree—Reddit is a social network that seems a bit chaotic and overwhelming at first glance. And the voting system can be off-putting. But we assure you that the platform isn’t that complicated to get into. And once you get the hang of it, you simply won’t be able to do without it. Whether it’s for keeping up with industry trends, connecting with other professionals or experts in a field, or answering questions from people who could benefit from your services or products—the hardest part is just getting started, right?