6 Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Reddit

Many brands like SpaceX, Toyota, Nordstrom, and The Economist market themselves on Reddit. While there’s no concrete count on how many advertisers are there, data shows Reddit generated $510 million in 2022 from its advertising business.

The platform has been working to increase its advertiser appeal, and it is working. Reddit’s ad business grew by 112% over the past two years. If you want to utilize this platform’s millions of users, use this guide to discover how to use Reddit for marketing.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Marketing with Reddit is possible with its paid ads and organically.
• Reddit lets you interact with niche markets to understand them better.
• Engagement is key to winning Redditors, and feedback is crucial to cater to them better.

Growing a Business Using Reddit

Big advertisers spent 31% more on Reddit in 2022, the same year Reddit introduced “Reddit for Business”, a website that offers tons of insights and tips for potential clients looking to buy 

Reddit ads.

Effectively advertising on Reddit can help you achieve your business objectives. But first, you must understand how Reddit works. If you want to know how to start a business with the help of Reddit, familiarize yourself with the two options for marketing: Paid and Organic.

Paid

Reddit has two types of paid advertisements: Takeover ads and promoted posts. Takeover ads are a managed service, meaning Reddit helps you handle them. They can appear on the whole site, certain pages, categories, etc. On the other hand, you create promoted posts yourself and they are shown in users’ feeds based on their interests.

There are four Premium takeover packages available:

• Reddit Takeover
• Front Page Takeover
• Category Takeover
• First View

Organic

Organic marketing with Reddit differs significantly from other social networks like Instagram, wherein business account posts are expected to appear in people’s feeds. On Reddit, you must locate and interact with the niche community forums, a.k.a subreddits based around a subject (such as r/TattooDesigns or r/Meditation). Almost any industry or niche has dedicated subreddits. Within them is a list of user submissions overseen by the subreddit’s moderates.

By producing engaging Reddit content, you can communicate with people from all walks of life. Here are the advantages of using Reddit for advertising purposes:

Reach a Wider Audience

With 70 million daily active users worldwide, Reddit is undoubtedly an excellent place for reaching a wide range of demographics. Each subreddit caters to a particular interest and demographic. This makes it possible for businesses to connect with highly targeted audiences.

More than 3 million specialized subreddit communities and 100,000 subreddits are active. Sure enough, at least one subreddit is related to the industry or niche(s) your brand is linked to. 

There are even R-18 subreddits frequented by millions of users. OnlyFans creators have caught onto this and diligently promote their pages there. In fact, the market is so large that a whole sub-industry of tools like Social Rise that cater to these creators on the platform was born.

Talk about finding a niche for any business on Reddit!

Identify Target Markets and Pain Points

Setting goals when advertising helps reach your business objectives, but knowing your audience will show you how to get there.

Before doing any advertising on Reddit, you should do the following:

1. Learn your target market by determining the topics they find interesting. Research their interests, expectations, and dislikes. Reddit’s targeting capabilities are interest-based.
2. Use the information in the first step to browse relevant subreddit communities filled with your target customers. For example, businesses that sell crochet kits designed for beginners may find success with subreddits like r/CrochetHelp or r/crochetpatterns. Upon your Reddit search, you can navigate these in the “Communities” tab.
3. Investigate what kinds of posts receive the most upvotes and comments and use that information to produce content that appeals to your audience.

You can also estimate the size of your target audience by researching subreddits that align with it. This is especially useful if you are going to use paid ads.

Ads are shown to Redditors based on the topics they interact with. The app targets and displays ads to those who:

1. Subscribe to a specific subreddit.
2. Visit a certain subreddit.

However, if you want to generate organic traffic, the key is to engage in the said subreddits.

Engage with Communities

Reddit’s community-based structure allows you to target customers’ niche profiles. However, not all businesses are successful with paid ads on the platform. Below is how to advertise on Reddit for free by growing organic traffic. You may do these things regardless of the industry you are promoting.

Join relevant subreddit groups and make your subreddit later

When starting on Reddit, you can create a subreddit immediately. But it makes little sense since you’re the only subscriber. Meanwhile, there are subreddits with thousands of members talking exactly about what you have to offer.

But certain communities have minimum karma requirements for posting, so you may not be able to post there immediately. 

You’ll have to earn “karma,” which is the system of rewards for producing good content. Your karma count is like your Reddit reputation. 

Share Interesting Yet Useful Content

One of the best ways to promote on Reddit organically is to curate and share valuable content. Although self-promotion is generally disliked by Redditors and removed by moderators, there is a way around this problem. 

Redditors like it when you contribute valuable insight to a topic or spark a discussion. They want your story but not your product, so you must share it to get them to like you. Go around and engage with communities relevant to your industry.

Use casual language, and don’t be afraid to add creativity. Hang out in subreddits your target market frequents and carefully read its rules, as some subreddits don’t allow marketing at all. 

Getting more upvotes gives your profile a better chance of being visited, as more people will see your post. Keep uploading thought-provoking posts and results are bound to come.

Host an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) series

Reddit’s AMA subreddit is one of the most popular subreddits. In fact, this year’s most upvoted post is an AMA session, with Keanu Reeves garnering 320,000+ upvotes. Get involved in discussions and respond to questions in your AMA. You’ll earn their trust and gain credibility as an expert in your industry.

If this is your first time organizing an AMA, start small by looking for users trying to establish their name or those who might be interested in your community (e.g., journalists covering issues that your community finds interesting).

Get Feedback and Suggestions

Sometimes, Redditors might not appreciate your Reddit marketing—they will ensure you know that. For instance, Picsart, an online photo editor, hosted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) with founders answering questions.

We work at PicsArt, the leading mobile photo editing app! Ask us anything. by u/PicsArt in r/IAmA

Although there were some genuine responses, it mostly didn’t go well, as the post was flooded with Redditors complaining about ads on the platform. Here are some of the replies:

Comment by u/mariawatsonnn from discussion in r/IAmA

Comment by u/Swichts from discussion in r/IAmA

Another AMA gone wrong was from the American actor and narrator Morgan Freeman. He posted this on Reddit using the account u/OblivionMovie.

I am Morgan Freeman ask me anything by u/OblivionMovie in r/IAmA

While digital marketing trends show that influencer marketing is one of the more recent trends, and its global ad spend is rising, Redditors are not fans. The above post was clearly just an advertisement that instantly infuriated the audience. 

Redditors said it is almost definitely a marketing team, not Freeman himself, as the responses were short and generic. Here are some of the replies:

Comment by u/DarkLasombra from discussion in r/IAmA

Comment by u/KingBeetle from discussion in r/IAmA

The above Reddit ad examples are both situations from which to learn something. There is always a chance that your first Reddit marketing campaign won’t be a success. If you want to know how to use Reddit effectively, listen to criticism and make improvements for the future. That is better than becoming defensive or sinking deeper into a pit of shame.

Conclusion

Reddit is the tenth most popular website in the U.S., and it’s still growing due to its booming advertising business. While it is not a place for direct sales, there are always ways to approach Redditors properly.

Participate in conversations, ask questions, offer entertainment, and share your experiences with the community for better success. You won’t be able to take advantage of Reddit’s full marketing potential unless you build a rapport of mutual trust and understanding with Redditors.

FAQs

By Max Chekalov