Marketers should stop being fearful of Reddit — here’s why
Opportunities for market research, community engagement, and amplified reach make the platform a worthy player, according to Geoff Gates of Boathouse.
By: Geoff Gates
The following is a guest piece by Geoff Gates, creative director, social strategy and content, for Boathouse. Opinions are the author’s own.
Few social platforms are met with as much unreasoned trepidation as Reddit. After a strong IPO, Reddit has continued to over-deliver, reporting a 48% increase in revenue in its first quarter of public trading. The platform boasts 73.1 million daily active users (DAUs) and more than 100,000 active subreddits. This audience is a highly engaged one and isn’t afraid to express opinions.
So where does the fear to activate on Reddit come from? Why are so many marketers missing out on what it has to offer? I’d argue it’s as simple as a lack of knowledge of the opportunities it presents to those who are looking in the right places.
Here are some of the potential benefits of being on Reddit, along with a variety of ways you can use it to help your company or your clients.
The Opportunities
Community engagement
The community may be small, but it sure is mighty. Reddit users are posting an average of 1.2 million posts per day; they’re an active group. Reddit is fertile ground for building relationships with people. But check your brand hat at the door, they also sniff out advertising a mile away. Come in with a genuine point of view or word of advice — don’t hit them over the head with a sell.
Amplified reach
Reddit has 267.5 million weekly active users, which is about half of what X reports on a monthly basis. The audience on Reddit is a voracious one that creates and consumes content as much as or more than audiences on other platforms. When content resonates, the up-voting system takes over and has the ability to thrust content into more and more feeds. But before you post, do your research and lean into what people on the platform are already talking about.
Market research
While Reddit did suffer its own API-gate, as of today third-party platforms are still able to access its API. This means that the platform can be scanned by social listening tools, which I personally think is one of the most valuable things you can do with Reddit. If you’re wondering what’s being discussed in a particular industry, look no further. Reddit is fantastic for gleaning industry insights and opinions that may help form your content or even your product strategy. Scans can be used in upfront research or consistently as ways to get a feel for what people are talking about.
Feedback and innovation
Listen and innovate. Reddit users post their feelings and experiences with products and services frequently, and some of what they say can be beneficial for you to hear. Take into account their feedback where it makes sense. You wouldn’t ignore a customer if they came into a brick and mortar to chat, would you?
Partnerships
There are plenty of well-established presences on Reddit. Explore the option of partnering with someone who has a well-established audience to get you off the ground on the platform. Having the backing of a trusted source will do wonders.
Levels of Reddit use
Still not sure what to do with all of this? I recommend choosing one of three levels of Reddit use: The creator, the engager or the listener.
The creator
This approach actively creates content for Reddit. This will require the most work, resources and knowledge, but has the potential to bring you the most value. Create your channel and begin to post, but don’t forget to engage with community members and subreddits. If you’re not ready to be less “brand” or you’re not ready to dedicate some creative resources to it, this option may not be best for you.
The engager
This approach doesn’t create content in the way we typically think of content, but engaging with users is nonetheless a form of content creation. This approach will have you living in subreddits becoming an active member with a POV, the ultimate goal of which is to add value to Reddit users.
This is the perfect in-between approach for companies that want to have a presence while not having to dedicate as many resources to content creation.
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