Reddit is truly one of a kind. What about Reddit makes it so unique? Well, the communities in Reddit are self-forming through the common interest’s people have on any topic! Essentially, it is all organic information that is created and promoted for users, by users! That’s pretty cool to think about. But how exactly can this help with marketing a product or service?

1. Be Present

What is a business if not for its brand? We know a brand isn’t just a logo, but it’s culture, as well. Reddit is a place that can help both of these things thrive.

Recall that Reddit was created for the specific purpose of fostering discussion. Therefore, there’s no better way to gain publicity and get people talking about your brand than to harbor a discussion on Reddit! However, it would be difficult to get people talking about your product or service if they are uninterested. Luckily, Reddit is such a diversified platform that there is probably a subreddit that would be best suited for whatever what your business offers. Finding your niche audience is an important part of how Reddit can help your business thrive.

Another way Reddit can assist your brand and help you gain awareness is to become a star. In other terms: to land on the ‘front page of Internet.’ Reddit’s front page highlights some of the platform’s most popular subreddits daily. Most people who use Reddit at least glance at some of the top subreddits, so what better way to actually increase your awareness than to be in the center of that attention?

2. Be Proactive in Discussions

Reddit has evolved from being just a place where users get together and share information. Reddit is a community of people that have different thoughts and opinions but share common interests. In fact, Reddit really makes getting to the point of being able to drive sales super easy for businesses.

There are around 140 thousand active communities on Reddit!

Use this to your advantage.

They practically group themselves together to make it easier to join a community of your potential consumers and interact with them, which is one of the most important parts. Compared to other social media platforms, Redditors truly hate being marketed to. Therefore, it is important to be recognized as one of the communities, rather than some company who just wants to sell them something. Because, let’s be honest, it would be extremely annoying if that’s all you see.

Many Redditors are very good at spotting blatant advertisements in their subreddits. They even have an entire subreddit dedicated to it (r/HailCorporate). So therefore, if you want to communicate with people and create a community that will help advocate for you, it’s important to not look like you are trying to directly sell them things. Instead, do something like starting a discussion on your problem. For example, Dell offers solutions via subreddit to problems users are having with their computers. In this example, people aren’t looking at you for advertising and the product you are offering, but for the way you were able to respond to their questions, comments, and concerns on your service page. Doing this allows for the consumers to begin to form their own opinions on your product and may start to advocate for you in that aspect, naturally.

3. Be Cordial

There’s no doubt at all that Reddit is a very popular website. In fact, it is one of the most viewed websites in the world. Reddit is a popular media stream outlet, so anything that appears on the front page of Reddit is deemed to be a popular topic at hand. However, how can your business benefit from the PR of the Reddit community?

Initially, it starts with knowing the Reddit rules. As previously mentioned, Redditors don’t really approve of direct marketing, therefore, you must know your Redditquette (Reddit etiquette.) The first rule in learning to use Reddit for public relations, or just in general, is follow the rules! Subreddits may have specific guidelines for you to follow on that thread. In order to use these subreddits to their advantage, you must play by the rules. In the Reddit world, the Redditors have all the power.

Secondly, use open discussion subreddits wisely. This doesn’t mean going out and selling your product or service. Take advantage of the opportunity to tell people about your business. AMAs, or Ask Me Anything, are a great way to get people talking about your business and an equally great opportunity for you to respond to any questions or comments or even good suggestions. AMAs give users the opportunity to get to know your business, your brand. During these AMAs, don’t forget to be a real person. Just being a company sellout won’t necessarily get you the information that you need. So, be an actual person behind the keyboard. Don’t try to stretch yourself too thin by pleasing others. And lastly, of course: be respectful. Internet trolls are the worst! Redditors can blatantly make a mockery of your business throughout the site. That’s truly not what you want.

4. Be Prepared

Just as it adds benefits for your business, Reddit can add benefit to your competition, as well. It may begin to start sounding redundant, but that is almost the main point of Reddit: to be a front to discuss various topics. And thus, is what users have created. Therefore, it is more than likely you will find your competition on Reddit. How? It’s rather simple.

The first way is to search their name in the Reddit. This is the classic search where any subreddits of the company you search will pop up. Here is where you can read up on any and all topics of conversation about the competition. Likes, dislikes, suggestions; they can probably all be found in these within these subreddits. Of course, some of the work you must do yourself (ie: check if the page is recent or old, new comments, etc).

Secondly, is to check the source of information; the subreddits you go to for feedback and tips. Chances are that if you are using this subreddit to gain information on your product or service, people have probably mentioned both you and your competitors. Just using general conversations on the subreddit, you can potentially gain knowledge on your consumer preferences on the industry and the competitors in it.

While Reddit is a very powerful tool to use for business, it also comes with many risks. Redditors are a strong, influential community and if you don’t play by their rules, you could potentially miss out on easy (& FREE) marketing opportunities. So, don’t be afraid to use Reddit in all its advantages. Be mindful and do so carefully.