Reddit, founded in 2005, is an American social news and discussion website, billing itself as "the front page of the internet". Reddit is home to both a passionate and diverse user base, and generates an average of more than 1.5 billion monthly active users. The online forum is home to more than 130,000 communities, also called subreddits. These subreddits can be on anything from cybersecurity to B2B marketing, meaning that marketers have access to an active community of engaged members at their fingertips. 

But before you go and start your Reddit marketing adventures your business… Wait! Unfortunately, it is not just a matter of creating and sharing promotional content as each subreddit comes with its own unique rules. And these rules are strictly enforced by moderators who can remove your post, or worse, ban you from posting in the subreddit. This means you must approach Reddit marketing from a strategic point of view. 

Before you start bemoaning your luck, wishing that moderators would allow marketing content aplenty, bear in mind that it is the rules that make Reddit a potential goldmine for marketers. This is because they prevent the platform from descending into frenzied chaos, as is the case with some other social platforms. By identifying relevant threads, and staying on top of current events, you can ensure that your content is relevant to your audience. 

Hot Reddit marketing tip: The platform does allow explicit, targeted PPC ads in particular subreddits, you can overtly and covertly broadcast your message to your audience, simultaneously. 

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5 Tips for Successful Reddit Marketing

Good things come to those who wait… Or work their a***s off! And tapping into the potential Reddit offers is no different. However, with the right advice, you can unlock streams of value you otherwise would have missed. Here are some top tips to be successful in the world of Reddit marketing. 

1. Don’t be explicitly promotional: Reddit is different from other social channels in that people haven't made the decision to follow your company account. This means that they likely don’t want to hear about how amazing your product is, or how your solution is going to change the world. Speaking about your product in an obvious marketing way is a sure-fire way to get your post removed, or worse, get your account banned from posting in the subreddit in the first place. Achieving success on Reddit means gradually raising your company’s reputation (and followers) in the eyes of your target audience without being pushy and self-promotional. 
2. Engage with the community: Reddit is not a post-it and leave-it kind of platform. In order for you to increase awareness among your community, you should try to actively engage with the community. This involves commenting on posts with relevant, well-thought-out responses, upvoting content, and more. Every time you interact with another post on Reddit you will boost your Karma points - This will give you the benefit of having increased trust among community members.  
3. Patience: Reddit marketing, like other social media platforms, takes time to master. It will likely be a long time before you see any meaningful payoff. Repeatedly posting, and making notes on which posts performed well (and why!) will help you understand what the audience values, and how you can provide it. 
4. Give value, get value: Reddit is a value-based community. Even upvoting and downvoting comments are a way of helping others find the information - or entertainment - that they seek. Make your post interesting and relevant for your target audience, otherwise, you will get lost in the mountain of daily posts active communities receive. Ask a question that’s beneficial to community members, share an interesting link or story, and post insights that will be of value to other Redditors - These are all ways to help boost your community value.
5. Be bold, be controversial, just don’t be boring: This applies to other social media platforms just as much as it applies to marketing on Reddit. If your content is boring, you won’t ignite any sentiment towards your account or posts. 

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What NOT to Do On Reddit

When it comes to Reddit marketing and building your profile, there are a few no-go’s. The principal of which is to not overtly promote your site - This will get you thrown out once the moderators are informed. You might even get shadowbanned, which means that you won’t even know that no one can see your comments, posts, or up-and down-votes. 

It’s also important to not just focus on one subreddit in particular. This can also make it obvious that you are working undercover as nobody posts on just a single subreddit. Posting, and engaging with, multiple subreddits can increase your profile's credibility if somebody happens to check you out. Also, some subreddits won’t let you interact at all until your account shows activity on several forums.

While you of course want to improve your profile's reach and boost your Karma, never beg for upvotes. They can come across as needy and are likely to result in your content receiving more downvotes. In addition, reposting content across multiple subreddits is typically considered a no-go. Be specific in who the content is for, and which subreddit it should be posted to. Do this and the outcomes of your Reddit marketing efforts will greatly improve. 

Lastly, don’t be fake. Put time and effort into searching out valuable answers to the questions raised on subreddits. You can’t just jump straight into posting and commenting, because you’ll end up getting down-voted, muted, or banned. A great rule of thumb is to submit content that is relevant, informative, and insightful, and respond to other users who engage with you.

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Our Favorite Subreddits

To give you a head start on Reddit, here are some of our favorite subreddits. 

Digital & B2B Marketing Subreddits

We’re B2B marketers, in case you didn’t realize… So over the years, we have uncovered some B2B marketing gems on Reddit. We particularly like the following:

• r/marketing: One of the biggest marketing subreddits, with over 200,000 members. It’s great for information and resources, with Redditors often posting helpful content such as monthly social media round-ups. 
• r/dataisbeautiful: While this is not necessarily a marketing content subreddit, it is nonetheless great for marketers looking to effectively convey important information. The posts often give great ideas for designs you can implement with your own content and ideas.
• r/AskMarketing: As the name suggests, this is a great place to ask any and all marketing questions you may have. The beauty of this thread is that it allows you to uncover tips and tricks from industry pros on topics from lead nurturing to a conversion tracking
• r/content_marketing: A community of nearly 100,000 members sharing tips, feedback, and tools that can boost your content marketing. There are often golden nuggets dropped, with posts such as 11 ways to create a successful social media content strategy being particularly useful.
• r/seo: Over 100,000 members discuss SEO best practices, tools, and tactics, like 14 different types of SEO content you can create.
• r/ppc: With more than 120,000 members, this is the ideal subreddit to chat about Adwords, FB paid ads, and everything related to PPC.
• r/digital_marketing: 150,000 members swap digital marketing ideas, and strategies, with a little digital marketing humor spread in there also…
• r/growthhacking: A smaller subreddit with 9,000 members, discussing more specialized aspects of B2B marketing, like generating leads through social listening.

Tech Subreddits

A lot of the clients we work with are very tech-focused, so over the years, we have become very well-versed in the tech Reddit marketing community. These are some of our favorite threads.

• r/technology: This subreddit is home to more than 12 million Redditors and is dedicated to discussing the creation and use of technology - From its benefits to the issues it creates. A lot of the posts within the group are a combination of technology & political commentary - Making it a good source to stay on top of current industry events. 
• r/tech: This thread is home to nearly half a million members, and discusses the importance of technological innovation, as well as general informative and thought-provoking commentary.  
• r/webdev: As you would expect, this community discusses all things web development - Including both the front and back end. 
• r/Google: A subreddit dedicated to Google news, product announcements, updates, and sometimes complaints, with more than 1.8 million members. 
• r/AWS: This is a highly technical subreddit with more than 200,000 members, ideal for asking questions and sharing insights about anything to do with AWS. It is particularly useful if you are working with AWS cloud.
• r/microsoft: Over 150,000 members use this subreddit to ask questions about Microsoft products, get support, and share company news such as new office openings, pay hikes, and so on.

Cybersecurity Subreddits

As the leading B2B cyber security marketing agency in Israel, we have also become experts in the world of cyber security Reddit marketing. These are some of the subreddits where cyber security aficionados and professionals hang out.  

• r/cybersecurity: This is the subreddit for news and discussion about the latest breaches and cyber security strategies, with close to 400,000 members. It is a great place to up your cyber-knowledge with thought-provoking posts such as 10 lessons learned from a decade in cyber security. 
• r/hacking: This is a subreddit of more than 2.4 million people dedicated to discussing hacking, industry standards, and security suggestions. If you’re a CISO or security professional, make sure to check this thread out!
• r/kubernetes: A subreddit with more than 80,000 members, discussing insights and technical problems associated with Kubernetes, as well as a lot of humorous Kubernetes-related content.
• r/blackhat: The subreddit provides an ongoing discussion and documentation of vulnerability and exploitation techniques, as well as general security tips.
• r/devops: This is the go-to subreddit for DevOps & DevSecOps. More than 230,000 members from various backgrounds congregate here to discuss all things cybersecurity. Specific topics and discussions are varied and include interesting posts such as how you can deploy to production over 100 times daily. 
• r/sysadmin: This subreddit focuses mainly on challenges facing, and tools used, by professional computer system administrators. It offers tips and tricks used by industry professionals, as well as common daily work stories and tips. 

Other favorites...

In addition to using Reddit just for marketing purposes, it is also a highly interesting place to hang out and spend time (not during work hours of course). These are 3 of our favorite general threads you can check out for purely entertainment purposes…

•  r/showerthoughts: This, as you would expect, is a varied subreddit of people with interesting (and often weird) shower thoughts. Check it out and prepare for your mind to be blown…
• r/MostBeautiful: A simple subreddit dedicated to the beauty of the natural world. From awe-inspiring to feel-good content, this is a great place to hang out after a stressful day. 
• r/photoshopbattles: As the name suggests, this is a subreddit dedicated to the best (and weirdest) photoshop images you’re likely to see. 

Reddit Marketing: A Treasure Trove if done correctly

Hopefully, you can now recognize the value of Reddit as a valuable B2B marketing platform. While the platform may not be the first one you think of when it comes to your online marketing strategy, it is one that you should at the very least test out. It takes time to learn the rules of the game, and master the art, but once you do you will be able to reach an audience of like-minded, industry-relevant individuals and boost awareness. So our final tips when marketing on Reddit: be smart and if you fail, rise and try again! 

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