{"id":5583,"date":"2021-02-04T21:23:31","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T02:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/responseblog.wpengine.com\/?p=5583"},"modified":"2023-01-25T12:09:41","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T17:09:41","slug":"why-your-brand-shouldnt-use-reddit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/responseblog.wpengine.com\/2021\/02\/why-your-brand-shouldnt-use-reddit\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Your Brand Shouldn\u2019t Use Reddit"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Reddit audience is unique, powerful, and vocally passionate. It has its own culture, language, and nuances within each of its micro-communities. It\u2019s shown its immense power to <\/span>move markets<\/span><\/a> and make congress take notice, to <\/span>change lives<\/span><\/a>, and to <\/span>help people find some quick, helpful advice<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reddit is often a sacred space. People open up, share what drives them, what they\u2019re embarrassed about, their dark secrets, the things they love, where they\u2019ve been wronged, and information they may not even share with those closest to them. Because of that the community protects its own.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the <\/span>18th-most-visited website in the world and 7th most-visited website in the US<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> 23% of Reddit\u2019s audience isn\u2019t on Facebook, 47% aren\u2019t on Instagram, 52% aren\u2019t on Twitter, 65% aren\u2019t on Snapchat, and 69% aren\u2019t on Tik Tok.<\/span><\/a> 58% or Reddit\u2019s users are in the coveted 18-34 age demographic, they spend an average of 34 minutes in the app daily, there\u2019s over 52 million active users, and one of the most used platforms for people looking for reviews. Take a look at Google\u2019s suggestions when searching for a product or brand and you\u2019ll most likely see \u201cReddit\u201d in the suggested searches.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It sounds like a marketer\u2019s dream. But there are plenty of <\/span>case studies of brands trying to participate or advertise on Reddit and getting it wrong<\/span><\/a>. You may be asking, \u201chow can I successfully use Reddit for my brand?\u201d You shouldn\u2019t. Instead, ask yourself a different question – \u201cwhat can we contribute to Reddit?\u201d Reddit is built on give before take. Trying to extract something from the community before you\u2019ve made a contribution is one way to increase the likelihood that you\u2019re going to find your brand somewhere it doesn\u2019t want to be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, should you just take the safe route and not have your brand participate or advertise on Reddit? Not necessarily. But you need to set your brand up for success. First, be completely honest with yourself about your brand. What are the weak points and how are you addressing them? Are there any issues with the industry you\u2019re in? Negative incidents in the brand\u2019s history? Try and poke as many holes in your brand as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve taken stock of any weaknesses, then see where you can add value to any of the communities that may be relevant to your brand. This doesn\u2019t mean comment on someone\u2019s post who’s looking for a recommendation about the category you\u2019re in. Instead, think of the areas where your unique position and knowledge may help someone out. Maybe it isn\u2019t obvious, but start with observing. Being on Reddit isn\u2019t about exploiting it when you need it, but a long term commitment. For example, maybe you\u2019re an alcohol brand. Look for the sub-Reddits that surround the industry. Maybe it\u2019s micro-distillers or those wanting to get in the business. Find ways you can help. Maybe offer up one of your master distillers for a conversation with someone who has questions. Or get some quotes from your recruiters about what makes candidates capture their attention. Just add value to the conversations where you can and don\u2019t expect anything in return.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reddit has tried to make its platform friendlier for advertisers over the years. It\u2019s expanded targeting and tracking capabilities, is <\/span>reaching out to brands and agencies<\/span><\/a>, while having it\u2019s sights set on $1 billion in ad revenue.\u00a0 You can play it extra cautious and disable any commenting on your ads. You can even check out <\/span>Reddit\u2019s community on advertising<\/span><\/a> (very meta) to see the successes and challenges of those currently using their ad platform. But the best approach for any brand is to stop thinking about being a marketer or advertiser, and start thinking about being a community member. Then, maybe you\u2019ll find why you may be deserving of Redditor\u2019s support.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember, if you’re thinking “how can we use Reddit?”, reframe the question. Words matter and even if your intention isn’t to exploit the platform, by reframing the question you’ll start to ask yourself the right questions.<\/p>\n

Summed up best by Lauren Osini in an <\/span>article on ReadWrite<\/span><\/a>, \u201cRedditors don\u2019t want to advertise for you, they want to talk to you. If you can\u2019t work with moderators, be authentic, and make time, it doesn\u2019t matter how important you are.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Reddit audience is unique, powerful, and vocally passionate. It has its own culture, language, and nuances within each of its micro-communities. It\u2019s shown its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":5585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-grid"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/responseblog.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-brett-jordan-5437588.jpg","yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n