The Marketer’s Guide to Reddit

The Marketer's Guide to Reddit - featured image

Reddit is a social media and news aggregation website that ranks content based on a voting system. People worldwide post content (usually links, but also original content), and other users can “upvote” or “downvote” posts, pushing the most interesting content to the top.

It’s a place where you can find groups of like-minded people. Reddit calls these groups subreddits, and they cover different topics, including niche interests, politics, hobbies, and thousands of other topics people want to talk about.

Since its launch in 2005, the site has become one of the most popular social media sites with millions of monthly active users.

Its engaged, passionate community is just one of the reasons you should consider marketing on Reddit. However, the site has a tough stance on self-promotion, which makes marketing tricky, and it’s easy to fall foul of Reddit’s strict guidelines (including the unwritten rules.

That means you need to take a more strategic approach that focuses on conversations and providing helpful or interesting content.

Before we cover how to create ads, let’s talk about Reddit marketing etiquette so you can get it right.

Reddit Marketing Etiquette

Start with the basics by reading Reddit’s page about self-promotion and what’s allowed and what isn’t. Once you’ve read that, look at the “Reddiquette” page so you can see Reddit’s main rules.

The list includes:

using original sources when sharing stories
looking out for duplicate content before posting
being considerate in the way you speak to other users
reading the full guidelines for a community before contributing

You also need to be clear about why people use Reddit. According to Signity Solutions, Reddit users are looking for answers or entertainment. If you can offer either, then it’s worth contributing to the conversation. Just don’t try and sell anyone anything.

If you need ideas, there are plenty of ways you can avoid falling into overly promotional material, like:

posting survey results
creating subreddits around your brand
adding relevant content
being active in the Reddit community

Reddit is a massive site with thousands of subreddits. Each of those subreddits has its own rules, moderators, and culture. Whichever subreddit you join, take the time to familiarize yourself with the sub’s etiquette and what’s acceptable.

Above all, if you’re not sure, ask before posting something. Redditors are there to help and guide users.

Reddit Advertising Policies

Reddit’s advertising policies cover quality, style, URLs, and landing pages. Below are the basics you need to know for each section.

Video Advertising

Video advertisements must be high quality. That applies to the audio, visuals, and text. Make sure content is relevant and suitable for a wider audience. Also, the spoken language should be targeted for where you’re advertising.

Reddit allows mature-rated media. However, it needs to comply with the relevant rating laws for each country, and videos containing “shocking, graphic, or profane content” should be labeled as such.

Additionally, Reddit doesn’t permit videos that include strobing or flashing.