Your Guide to Reddit & How to Use it for Your E-commerce Business

What is Reddit?

With as many as 52 million daily active users, Reddit has successfully placed itself as the 16th most popular social media channel. Given its vast popularity, it has named itself the ‘front page of the internet.’

Content on Reddit can be published in the form of links, videos, or photos. However, people are yet to realize that Reddit can serve as an excellent platform for marketing strategies.

Contrary to platforms like Instagram or Tiktok that mainly focus on influencer marketing or videos, Reddit is the hub for content marketing. Regardless of your industry, you can easily find forums encompassing various niche areas of business topics. 

Additionally, Reddit allows you to advertise your business, eventually leading to its overall growth. Even without an ad, you can generate valuable content that will drive more customers to your business, thus serving as an excellent source of revenue for your business. 

The Front Page of Reddit

As stated earlier, Reddit has named itself the front page of the internet. But what exactly does it mean? 

Simply put, the posts that get the maximum upvotes and comments are usually placed on the front page of Reddit every day. This has the potential to garner significant visibility for your posts and, as a result, your business website. 

Reddit Isn’t For Everyone

Researchers indicate that a majority of Reddit users are male. This amounts to as much as 15% of US male users compared to 8% of female US users. Furthermore, most individuals using this platform fall within the age group of 18-34 years old. Lastly, as many as 59.7% of Reddit users are from the US. Therefore, Reddit is not for everyone. Leveraging the power of the Reddit platform for e-commerce will solely depend on your target audience. 

How Does Reddit Work?

Before delving into the various functionalities of the Reddit platform for e-commerce, let’s first look at how it works. 

As stated, Reddit is a content-driven platform. The more organic content you create, the more upvotes you can generate. Here upvote basically means how many people have liked your content. The post that gets the maximum number of upvotes or comments will automatically be placed on the ‘Hot’ page, which refers to the trending page. 

Getting a lot of upvotes is directly linked to the amount of visibility you can garner for your business. The more visibility, the greater the traffic, which ultimately means more followers and interaction with your potential customers. This, in turn, will help you to close sales or generate more new leads. 

Why You Should Use Reddit in Your Digital Marketing Strategy

One of the most common rookie mistakes companies tend to make is not to include Reddit in their social media marketing. Most need to realize they are missing out on a sea of opportunities by doing this. But what exactly are those? Let’s find out. 

You Can Earn Followed Links From Popular Content

According to the regulations laid down by this social media channel, all the links you add to your content initially start as NoFollow links. But once it starts gaining momentum, and you manage to gain a score of more than 2, they become followed links. 

These followed links are an essential part of your SEO strategy. In order to achieve this, you need to be able to curate organic and engaging content, enabling your customers to interact with you via the post.

Popular Content Can Send a Lot of Traffic

Another advantage of Reddit in e-commerce is that it helps drive significant traffic. However, in order to avail the same, you need to generate content that is not self-promotional but adds some form of value to the community. This way, even if your content does not make it to the front page of Reddit, you will still manage to generate sufficient traffic. 

It Is a Great Way to Demonstrate Your Expertise

Reddit is perhaps one of the best platforms to share your perspective or opinions in an unfiltered manner. Engage with your audience, and demonstrate your expertise in such a manner that enables you to emerge as the voice of your industry. 

Text Posts Often Rank High on Google

Contrary to most other types of posts, such as images or videos, text posts are an excellent traffic source for business owners. If they are engaging enough and contain good organic content, they will likely rank prominently in Google.

You Can Engage with Those Who Mention Your Business

More often than not, you will find someone mentioning your business in their comments. It can be in the form of some queries or doubts they wish to clarify or simply a recommendation of your products to others. Nonetheless, make use of this advantage to encourage interaction with your business. 

Understanding the Basics of Reddit

One of the many features Reddit is known for is the anonymity of user accounts. You only need a username and password, alongside your email id, to create an account on Reddit. However, the platform does keep accounts in check through transparency. 

After successfully creating your Reddit account, you will automatically be subscribed to some of the most popular subreddits. 

Subreddits are basically niche communities within Reddit, each with its own rules and subscribers. You also have the option to subscribe to other subreddits of your choice by simply searching for the same on this platform. Additionally, you can also create your own subreddit. 

Learning the language of Reddit

Reddit users tend to be quite fluent in what we call the ‘internet language.’ However, quite a few specific terminologies are exclusive to this platform. Wondering what those are? Let’s find out.

A glossary of Reddit terms

Below are some common terms you are likely to encounter as a Reddit user. 

Subreddit- A subreddit refers to a forum dedicated to a particular topic. It can either be a public or private community.

Upvote and Downvote– Reddit has a specific voting system dedicated to all its users. Consider this as a like or dislike button. For example, if you like a comment or post, you can upvote it. Similarly, if you do not like something, you can downvote it.

Karma- This typically refers to the quality of the content that you post on Reddit. It is usually calculated by deducting the total number of downvotes from the upvotes. Karma can be categorized into two types- Comment Karma and Link Karma.

OP-  OP, also known as Original Poster, refers to the first person to share a post or a comment.

Mod- Last but not least, a mod which is a short form for moderator, is the person who thoroughly scrutinizes the subreddit and ensures they comply with platform regulations. 

Reddiquette: Understanding the rules of Reddit

While Reddit thrives on anonymity, it is also important for a user to remember to follow online etiquette. This means you should not post any kind of spam or sneaky self-promotion content or engage in bullying while using this platform.

Your ultimate aim should be to post content that will add value to the subreddit or the community. Even when upvoting or downvoting any post, think about how it will benefit the community. 

In order to get the maximum number of upvotes, you must generate witty and insightful content instead of blatantly posting something that someone else has already posted. 

How to build up your Reddit Karma quickly

Since it is so easy to create an account on Reddit, it is possible that a person might have multiple accounts. The Karma system is how Reddit ensures credibility for each account. 

As stated previously, there are mainly two types of Karma, Post Karma, and Comment Karma. The former refers to the upvotes that you receive on your posts, while the latter is for the comments. In order to build up your Reddit Karma quickly, you must be active in the comments and in the posts by others. Additionally, you can also follow the below-mentioned steps.

• Chalk out a list of subreddits that align with your interests and expertise. In that manner, you can share valuable information.
• Look for r/AskReddit, where you can answer questions to build up your post or comment Karma.
• Consistency is the key. You need to be consistent enough with your Reddit submissions. 

Free tools to improve your Reddit experience

In today’s digitized world, many tools are available online to scale up your Reddit e-commerce experience. A few of them include-

Reddit Enhancement Suite

Consider this as a free pass for Reddit Gold Membership. With the help of the same, you can easily format your posts or search for specific users. 

Notifier

As the name suggests, it notifies you whenever someone mentions your brand name or other related products. Thus, every time you get an alert, you can respond to the same quickly and efficiently.

Later For Reddit

With the help of Later For Reddit, you can find the best time or day to share your posts. This, in turn, will enable better visibility and consistent engagement for your business. 

How to use Reddit for businesses

One grave mistake you could make while using Reddit is posting self-promotion or marketing content or things of similar nature. This will enable others to perceive you as someone who only cares about selling their products or services on Reddit. 

That said, it does not mean you cannot use this platform for your business purposes. In fact, according to the latest survey, as many as 90% of Reddit users have claimed that they trust information related to products on this site more when compared to other sites. 

So how exactly can you use Reddit for e-commerce purposes? Let’s find out.

1. Pay for Reddit ads

One of the best possible ways to market your business on Reddit is by harnessing the power of Reddit ads. In this manner, you can specifically target users based on their subscribed subreddits. Thus, you can display your products and services to a more niche and specific audience. 

However, one important thing to note, unlike other platforms such as Facebook or Google, which operate on CPC (Cost-per-click), at Reddit, you will get results based on Cost-per-impression (CPC).

2. Promote deals in the right subreddits

On Reddit, you can find a subreddit on almost every topic. You must filter out those relevant to your business as a business owner. For example, if you are offering a discount or a sale on your products, you can post the same on communities such as r/deals.

3. Customer service and community management

Community management is another great way to promote your business on Reddit. Users always ask about potential purchases, post queries about specific products, or simply air complaints about companies. Always keep an eye out for such information and try to use it to your benefit in the best way possible. Maintain constant engagement with your customers, which will ultimately lead to an increase in your sales.

4. Post something interesting (that happens to do with your business)

One of the many things that drive visibility on Reddit is authenticity. Therefore, you can always use this as an opportunity to do something interesting or witty related to your business. 

5. Do an AMA if you have a compelling story

AMA, or Ask Me Anything, is a famous tactic quite a few business leaders use to build their personal brands. One such example might include the co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak. You can also do the same by posting something similar on r/AMA. This will help your brand gain better visibility, and you might be surprised by the various questions that Reddit users have to ask. 

6. Curate viral content

Look for subreddits syncing with your interests or business. In this way, you will be able to curate some of the top-quality content, whether in the form of texts, photos, or videos. 

7. Hire local or remote talent

Reddit can also be a great way to hire professionals who can work for your business. For example, you wish to find someone who lives near you and can work full-time. You can post about the same in your region’s subreddits. Simultaneously, if you are looking for a specific skill set, such as content writers, you can post it in r/contentwriting.

8. Market research and feedback

Feedback is an effective way to know how your customers actually feel about your brand or business. Depending on the subreddit, you can ask for feedback from the subscribers, which can be related to your product or website. You can then take the necessary action based on the information you receive.

9. Run a contest in a subreddit

Last but not least, hosting contests in a subreddit is another great way to increase your engagement with your customers. You can either run a contest or promote giveaways. The winners will be eligible to receive any one of your products for free or might even stand a chance to win the Reddit Gold membership. 

What Does the Average Reddit Advertising Campaign Cost?

On average, Reddit ad cost-per-click is estimated at $3.50, specifically in the US. However, the CPC of your ad campaigns can differ depending on the level of the competition.

Conclusion

Marketing on a platform such as Reddit can undoubtedly be challenging. Nonetheless, it is definitely worth exploring, as you get to understand all the latest market trends as well as your customer preferences. Comply with the rules and guidelines laid down by each subreddit to prevent unwarranted situations. It can turn out to be a great platform to promote and grow your business if you use it effectively. 

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