{"id":10827,"date":"2018-05-30T14:58:27","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T19:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/article\/\/"},"modified":"2018-05-30T14:58:27","modified_gmt":"2018-05-30T19:58:27","slug":"want-to-build-your-brand-on-reddit-build-your-karma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/want-to-build-your-brand-on-reddit-build-your-karma\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to build your brand on Reddit? Build your karma"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nReddit<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>The final frontier of marketing.<\/p>\n

Subject of a thousand how-to articles, home to 330 million monthly <\/span>users and where brand stories go to die. <\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been a R<\/span>edditor<\/span> since 2011, and there\u2019s <\/span>a ton of <\/span>misconceptions out there about what the site is, what it isn\u2019t, and what that means for<\/span> marketers. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Most articles on Reddit marketing<\/span>, for instance,<\/span> start by discussing the mythical creature known as the \u201caverage R<\/span>edditor<\/span>.\u201d You <\/span>might <\/span>know the stereotype: young, liberal, gamer, <\/span>smokes a bunch of <\/span>pot, atheist, rebellious but loyal, computer-savvy, fluent in memes. Post content <\/span>this hypothetical fellow likes, because naturally<\/span>\u00a0it\u2019s also a fellow, and watch your blog traffic skyrocket. Or not. There are entire subreddits <\/span>dedicated to mocking<\/span><\/a> failed, tone-deaf attempts at Reddit marketing. <\/span><\/p>\n

What the failures all <\/span>have\u00a0<\/span>in common <\/span>was viewing R<\/span>eddit as a resource to be used, <\/span>instead of a <\/span>community to<\/span> be joined<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

See, the problem with marketing on Reddit is that R<\/span>edditors<\/span> hate marketing<\/span>. Which makes sense, b<\/span>ecause Reddit isn\u2019t a marketing platform. It\u2019s an interlocking web of self-organizing communities called <\/span>subreddits,<\/span> each founded, moderated and populated by R<\/span>edditors<\/span>. Some of the larger subs have millions of members. <\/span>Smaller ones have hundreds<\/span>. <\/span>But each <\/span>of them, to the people who frequent it, feels like home <\/span>\u2014 and <\/span>nobody likes being solicited door to door. <\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m proposing <\/span>a different wa<\/span>y.<\/span> <\/span>Let\u2019s call <\/span>it karma-driven marketing. <\/span><\/p>\n

In short, the central premise is that, i<\/span>nstead of positioning yourself outside of <\/span>the Reddit <\/span>community as an expert, you actively participate in that community, providing value, content and input. Over time, <\/span>that builds <\/span>the reputation of your brand. What you put into the community, the community give<\/span>s<\/span> back. <\/span><\/p>\n

And t<\/span>he most important part of joining any community, real or virtual, is understanding <\/span>what <\/span>you\u2019re joining. Reddit marketing requires<\/span> time<\/span>, which makes finding the right match important. <\/span><\/p>\n

What the heck is karma, and why should I care?<\/span><\/h3>\n

The first thing you need to understand about Reddit is that there is no single, monolithic site called Reddit for you to post on. Reddit is a content aggregator. Users make posts on the individual subreddits, where rankings are determined by \u201cupvotes\u201d and \u201cdownvotes,\u201d <\/span>before <\/span>another algorithm determines how the combined content of all subreddits you\u2019re subscribed to <\/span>shows up on <\/span>the front page.\"\" <\/span><\/p>\n

New users see what are\u00a0<\/span>known as \u201cdefault subs,\u201d a constantly shifting list of communities <\/span>chosen by R<\/span>eddit <\/span>admins <\/span>to define its core experience. How well your posts and comments do is based on how many upvotes they get, <\/span>building <\/span>what\u2019s known as \u201ckarma.\u201d That’s a magical\u00a0<\/span>Internet points system useful only for measuring how active, successful and \u2014 this is important \u2014 legitimate a <\/span>particular user<\/span> might be. <\/span>As <\/span>a new marketer on R<\/span>eddit, the first barrier you\u2019re going to run into is that <\/span>posts and comments <\/span>made <\/span>by <\/span>a brand-new account are immediately <\/span>subject to greater scrutiny<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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There are ways to get around that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be open about your brand affiliation but neutral with your advice<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you want to build a brand on Reddit, you need to be open about your brand. That means making it part of your username, like <\/span>PsyonixDave<\/span>\u00a0or <\/span>JoeFromGoPro<\/span>. Companies routinely send marketing interns onto Reddit to make \u201chey, guys, OMG, have you seen Product X?!\u201d posts or wax poetic about the virtues of this brand or that. These attempts almost universally backfire. Redditors can smell marketing the way dogs can <\/span>fear, and<\/span> they react similarly. <\/span><\/p>\n

The solution? Don\u2019t hide. Don\u2019t pretend. Be honest about who you are, who you\u2019re associated with and what your role is. There are two benefits to this approach: <\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. It builds credibility.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Your contributions can help build a positive brand reputation even when you aren\u2019t actively marketing the brand.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Every time \/u\/<\/span>MarketingGuyFromProductX<\/span> helps another user out with tips, tricks or advice, Product X gets some love. Especially when the advice doesn’t have anything to do with Company X\u2019s product.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Subreddits: Bigger isn’t always better
    \n<\/span><\/h3>\n

    It used to be that brands would just post their campaigns in \/r\/reddit.com, a catch-all subreddit that no longer exists, to reach as many users as possible. Now you have to choose a <\/span>particular subreddit<\/span> <\/span>in which to participate<\/span>. That means doing a bit of research<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Many sites provide searchable <\/span>lists <\/span>of <\/span>the top <\/span>subreddits<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>But it\u2019s not as simple as, say, searching \u201cphotography<\/span>,\u201d seeing that \/r\/photography has 579,573 subscribers and posting there<\/span>. The larger a sub, the<\/span> higher the volume of posts<\/span>, and the harder it is to get noticed. If you do get noticed, it\u2019s much easier to go viral. Certain users <\/span>have made<\/span> careers out of that<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0but if you\u2019re looking to build a long-term brand reputation, smaller<\/span> <\/span>subs are a <\/span>better <\/span>place to contribute content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    A <\/span>good rule of thumb: R<\/span>un promos in <\/span>broader <\/span>subreddits, <\/span>actively participate in tightly\u00a0<\/span>focused <\/span>ones<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>At all times, though<\/span>, <\/span>look for <\/span>communities where you can add <\/span>value. What this means depends on your <\/span>particular brand.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Get to know a subreddit before you start participating<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Each subreddit is unique. The customs, etiquette, attitude, accepted behaviors, jokes, memes, jargon\u00a0<\/span>and <\/span>posting guidelines vary by community. What will get you to the top of one subreddit will get you banned from another. The first thing you want to do, before you post anything, is look at the subreddit rules. Promotions are banned outright by most subreddits but, again, that\u2019s not <\/span>what you, as a karma-driven marketer, are generally looking to do. <\/span>You\u2019re looking to participate, as a <\/span>fellow R<\/span>edditor<\/span>, in communities<\/span> organically interested in what you have to offer.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

    Once you\u2019ve selected a couple of subreddits to focus on, get to know the etiquette. Read the rules<\/span> on the sidebar<\/span>. <\/span>Go through <\/span>the top posts. Identify power <\/span>users<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span> make a point of <\/span>productively interacting with <\/span>them<\/span>.<\/span> Think of it as moving to a new city. Before you make a sales pitch to your new neighbors, you want to make a few friends\u00a0<\/span>and <\/span>get a sense for the community you\u2019re joining. <\/span><\/p>\n

    When you participate, focus on adding value, creating content and <\/span>demonstrating expertise. <\/span><\/p>\n

    By this point, you\u2019ve got a fresh account, chosen your target communities and \u2026 what? What\u2019s a marketer supposed to do? <\/span><\/p>\n

    The basics are simple<\/span>. I<\/span>f you\u2019ve done social media, they\u2019ll sound familiar: add value, <\/span>create <\/span>content,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>interact with the community. On Reddit, that means replying to questions with useful advice; being friendly to newcomers who might <\/span>need guidance;<\/span>\u00a0and <\/span>creating <\/span>guides, tutorials and other unique content.<\/span> <\/span>The goal, in all things, is to serve as the human, Reddit-friendly face of your bran<\/span>d. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Above all, don\u2019t be a shill. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Reddit.\u00a0The final frontier of marketing. Subject of a thousand how-to…<\/p>\n

    Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,4],"tags":[3],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thinkerventures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}