Creating a community is at the heart of every brand’s mission. They all want to connect with their audience through meaningful messaging that resonates directly with them. But across social, it’s a familiar theme that audiences feel as if they’re spoken at, rather than to. Facebook Groups is considered a good way to connect with a dedicated audience, but they’re often private and exclusive which can limit the reach that brands could obtain. If only there was a platform that users could use with open communities? Well, you’re in luck. There’s a little website that some of you may know, called Reddit.
So, what is Reddit?
Reddit is a website for discussion between users, branding itself as “the front page of the internet.” Generally, a user will upload a post whether it be a link, question, video or photo and users will engage by either commenting, upvoting or downvoting the post. With over 430 million active users and over 1.3 billion website visits last month, it’s fair to say it’s quite a popular platform.
Engaging with content that users prefer is made easier through subreddits, and with over 1.2 million of them, there’s a subreddit for almost everything. When a story makes it onto the ‘larger’ platforms, it has likely been recycled from popular subreddits.
Looking for more stats?
The average user spends 16 minutes on Reddit, while 42% of internet users aged 18-24 actively use Reddit to keep up to date with the latest news. Not a bad stat to know, considering Gen Z are about to control 40% of the market.
What are the must-knows about Reddit?
Be careful
Although “Redditors” are not opposed to marketing on the platform, they are known to be able to spot an ad easily. When using Reddit, avid users hate when a brand tries to jump on a trend to increase their brand visibility. Reddit is a community and it should be treated that way by all users.
It’s a niche platform
There’s a reason that there are a variety of subreddits. Users join a community based on their interests, beliefs, and to avoid content they’d become accustomed to on other platforms.
Links
Over 50% of the content posted in subreddits are links. With Reddit being branded ‘the front page of the internet’, users come to Reddit for the latest news and updates and expect to find the relevant links from the subreddits they’re active in.
Character Engagement
Although there is not a set character limit, the posts that have the best results via comments and upvotes are typically under 120 characters.
Not all brands run their Reddits
As mentioned, there are over 1.2 million subreddits across the platform, with a subreddit for almost anything you could think of. Brand subreddits are often seen across the platform, however, it is uncommon that the brand actually runs their Reddit page, but more the community that purchase or obtain interest in the products.
Questions
Depending on your aim for the platform, questions could be a hit or miss. There are dedicated subreddits for questions, most famously – AskReddit. But depending on your goal, questions are not always the answer when targeting Reddit. If you’re looking for responses, questions are the right way to go about it; Reddit posts including a question in the title typically generate the most user comments across the platform. If you’re looking for upvotes and increased brand exposure, questions can often decrease your results, with posts including external links and videos receiving the most upvotes.
How brands are currently using it:
Space X
Elon Musk created a Reddit account hosting an AMA (ask me anything) for Space X’s BFR launch. Space X is a world-renowned brand, with many audiences interested in both Elon Musk and the Space X missions. The idea was to generate conversations that heightened public curiosity relating to the mission, while also delivering answers to the audience’s must-know questions. With this form of communication, the brand must have a large following – without it, the AMA would likely have received less engagement, and not met the desired objective. It also helps that Space X missions are really cool.
Xbox One
Xbox launched ‘Show-off Sunday’ on Reddit, encouraging users to post images of their current setups and gaming achievements in order to create discussion between users within their Reddit community. But why did it work so well? While they are promoting their product, the focus is on the users. They want to know how the users are using their products, not just encouraging them to buy it.
Putting it into effect
Don’t just advertise
Becoming a part of your community is inevitably beneficial for your brand and is great for generating insights into customer opinions without asking the questions. Finding appropriate subreddits surrounding your brand can boost your insights and target audience when posting or browsing.
First-looks
If you want to become a part of the community, you need to give back and gain their trust. A perfect way to do this, could be through exclusive first-looks within relevant subreddits.
Ask me anything (AMAs)
Whether your brand is releasing a new product or simply looking for engagement, Reddit can offer both. Utilising the AMA aspect within the platform can generate insights into what customers’ curiosities and concerns are. But with so many other social media sites to go to, why Reddit? Well, it’s the communities. If users are part of a subreddit, they’re a big fan of the brand or topic being discussed, meaning responses to questions or posts are from people with a genuine passion for what you’re posting.
Promoted posts
Although communicating with a Reddit audience is best done organically, there has been a push for advertising on the platform. Promoted posts appear at the top of the home page or on selected subreddit. With the community aspect of the platform, it’s simple for advertisers to target specific subreddits that they know will deliver results. However, whatever you’re promoting has to really resonate or entertain the audience, with the average Redditor using tailored subreddits for specific reasons.
What to takeaway
Reddit is not one big community, but a variety of communities spread across one platform. Targeting audiences on this platform couldn’t be easier in terms of finding your audience, but with that being said, brands have to be very target audience specific. Although you can argue this across all social platforms, on Reddit you really do have to be a part of their community. Yes, you can advertise with specific targeting on subreddits, but this is the perfect platform to really connect with your audience, on their terms.
Jack Watkins