Reddit digital marketing: only for the brave?

Can Reddit digital marketing boost your brand? Explore the pros and cons of this novel marketing strategy.



What is Reddit?

Reddit used to call itself "the front page of the internet" – a central hub where you can dive into any community or topic discussion, no matter how niche.

It's built around communities called "subreddits". These are channels about particular topics. Users (or "Redditors") subscribe to subreddits and engage in conversations about their favourite topics.

And these topics include, well, everything. All of human life is here – from the respectable to the bizarre, the broad to the niche. So, unless your business is truly niche, you're likely to find potential customers there.

Therein lies the rub. These forums are organic. They're built for discussion, engagement and community vibes. If you turn up with a marketing bag of tricks, you're going to get a frosty – or fiery – reception.

How does Reddit digital marketing work?

Reddit is different from other social networks. You can't just create a business account and start posting about your brand. Instead, you find relevant subreddits and share useful, engaging content.
Sounds sneaky? It is. Reddit digital marketing is all about the long game. Crucially, you want to make your presence felt as a valued user – not as a brand.

How, you might ask, does this ever lead to conversions? Isn't it the online equivalent of a gardening company standing in the street with a sign that says "I love gardening"?

This is where your account comes in. You need to create an account that links people to your services. If you make valued posts, people will click through to your profile. There, they can learn more about your brand or send you a private message.

You can also host an AMA (ask me anything). You might say, "I'm a gardener with 10 years of experience in stately homes. AMA." This is a way of highlighting your expertise and prompting conversations without going straight in with a sales pitch.

Another possibility is to create a subreddit for your brand. Like a Discord channel or Facebook fan page, this enables your users to essentially do the marketing for you. You can then use this subreddit to carry out market research, find beta testers and offer support.

Finally, there's straight-ahead advertising. Reddit lets you do takeover ads and promoted posts. These allow you to market your services on Reddit without ruffling feathers in your subreddit of choice.

A takeover ad will give you a promoted post, a spot in Reddit's "trending" category and a banner ad. A promoted post, by contrast, is much like a Google Ad. It shows up next to non-advertising posts but is marked as a promoted post.

When you plan a Reddit ad, you're asked to choose an objective. This could be app installs, brand awareness, conversions, traffic or video views. Each type of ad has a different payment and bidding structure.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Reddit digital marketing?

The key advantage of Reddit is that it opens up new possibilities for targeted advertising. Subreddits brim with engaged, community-focused users who are up for a discussion. They want answers to specific problems. If you can provide enough welcome info, you may then be able to position your brand as a solution.

Perhaps the key disadvantage is that Reddit is smaller than TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. But if there's one thing we've learned in our years of digital marketing, it's that big doesn't always equal beautiful. That applies whether you're targeting customers or choosing keywords . Precision is more important than proportions.

Another disadvantage is that using Reddit ads – as opposed to participating in subreddits – offers fewer customisation options than other platforms. While you can target your ads based on location, gender, interests, device and time of day, you can't target based on income or connections.

Whether these advantages and disadvantages matter to you all depends on your brand. Moreover, it depends on how you feel about playing a long game.

At the end of the day, you get out of Reddit digital marketing what you put in. You need to hang out in subreddits and become a valued member of the community before you start posting or targeting ads. Otherwise, you're likely to be downvoted, lambasted or banned altogether. Are you willing to put the hours in?

Looking for affordable internet marketing solutions to help your brand grow? You need a digital hero. Get in touch with My Digital Hero today to book a free discovery call.