What not to do - rules of Reddit

Lesson Details:

I: Introduction

When we talk about social media, we generally presume that we are talking about Facebook and Twitter. However, there is a very large and vibrant community on Reddit.com. There are tens of thousands of groups on every topic you could think of; from model trains to politics to relationships, if there's a community that's interested in the topic, it's there.

And that is where the opportunity lies for marketers. If you can create a post that goes viral on Reddit, you're going to get a lot of attention. And that is exactly what brands want.

What's more, unlike Facebook and Twitter, Reddit has no rules against promoting your own content. You can, and should, definitely do this on Reddit!

A: What not to do – rules of reddit

First, let's take a look at some of the things you shouldn't do when attempting Reddit marketing. There are a few things that will get you downvoted immediately. In some cases, they will even get you banned from the subreddit.

Don't spam or promote products that don't relate to the subreddit. This is the biggest rule that you must follow. It will be obvious if you are posting something for promotion purposes and it will be downvoted immediately. Don't try to create a "fake" meme by linking to a URL on imgur or a picture on your own website. For example, don't make a meme with text over a picture on your website and then link to your site with the text "click here". Don't share links from other subreddits without permission from the moderators. If you do this, you're going to get downvoted immediately. Don't ask for upvotes or tell people to "upvote if they agree". Really, just don't even mention upvotes at all. You will get banned from a subreddit if you post a link to an external website with the purpose of having people vote on it. If you want more information on this topic, check out this guide on Reddit Webmaster Central. Don't be a jerk – this isn't Twitter, so you may have to re-read that one over again before you understand what I mean by it. Basically, don't be rude in general in any way towards other users in the comments section. This may include arguing over semantics, using sarcasm or even asking questions that will be taken as condescending or argumentative. Don't use memes in your marketing unless they are relevant to the market

II: Body

So what does work? Here are some ideas.

Post relevant memes for your industry

If your business sells coffee, find memes that talk about coffee or relevant events in your industry. The same goes for any other industry you might be in. Post them in relevant subreddits and hope for the best!

Don't forget about image posts too! One image popular with redditors is the one above (link). You can also encourage people to "tell us your favourite xxx" or ask questions like "what's your favourite xxx?" (replace xxx with whatever you're selling).

Here is another example of an image post (link).

Participate in the conversation

You should comment on posts that are relevant to your industry or product/service, but don't go overboard (no more than 1 comment per day). Be sure to respond to any questions or concerns being raised by the members of the community. If you have good answers to questions being asked frequently, post them! They might become sticky comments or sidebar discussions on the subreddit which will be seen by hundreds of redditors every day!

An example of this can be seen in this post (link) where the author of this article participates in the conversation that happens after the post was made. The top comment is his reply to someone asking him how he got his information. He responds by saying he used this tool called Bitly, which also happens to be his business! This type of response is perfect because it encourages users to click on his username or website link at the bottom of his comment for more information about his business.

Giveaways/Contests/Promotions/Discounts/Coupons

This one is really tricky because if you aren't careful, you'll get yourself banned from the subreddit forever. It's best to get permission from the moderators beforehand or run your contest/giveaway/discount/coupon through another site like KingSumo Giveaways which allows you to create giveaways for reddit without getting banned by moderators.

Use /r/Advertising for advice on promoting on Reddit

Early last month, Reddit announced that they were going to release an official set of guidelines regarding self-promotion and advertising on their site and in their subreddits. As soon as this was announced, many subreddits banned nearly all self-promotion and many site owners began reporting that their accounts were banned without even knowing what they did wrong! Needless to say, there was quite a bit of confusion and panic in these subreddits and communities when this happened. Many were worried about losing their accounts and their precious traffic source when Reddit gave them no warning whatsoever about these new rules! So how do we keep our accounts safe when we begin promoting ourselves? Well luckily for us, one of Reddit's most popular advertising subreddits /r/Advertising has kindly published a list of frequently asked questions and answers (FAQ) (link) with tips for self-promoting on Reddit that we can use when we begin promoting our product or service on Reddit! These tips can also be used in other subreddits besides /r/Advertising such as /r/Entrepreneur for example (link). If you want your account to stay active and not be banned, make sure you read these carefully before beginning any form of self-promotion on Reddit! If you want help with any parts of this process, don't hesitate to contact us today through our website or give us a call at 1-866-918-9700!