Friday 20 September 2013

Reddit as an entertaining marketing tool

Reddit as an entertaining marketing tool

I am addicted to Reddit, and I don’t feel ashamed, aggrieved or upset with myself over that fact.

I have been hooked for about a year now and have never felt so up-to-date with the world’s news. For example, I had a quick ‘hit’ of Reddit this morning and learned that the remaining members of Monty Python sang “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” at Graham Champman’s funeral.  Hilarious.

Also, a sheep named ‘Shrek’ was unshaved for 6 years and produced enough wool for 20 large men’s suits in one shave! Amazing.


Reddit is full of these pointless but entertaining stories but fear not, the site is actually very systematic. Delve into the world of sub-reddits and you can find blogs, thought provoking questions, pictures, videos or articles on any real topic you may be interested in.

This is where you can learn, educate and share experiences with others. It is also where Reddit’s marketing potential comes into its own. The unique way in which Reddit operates – a public voting system (upvote/downvote) that provides the reader with an idea of interest and content. The more upvotes, the higher the post will go and, the higher the post, the more potential readers.

Using this user curated voter website effectively, you could see your posts or blogs reach the front page of Reddit.  If that happens, tens of thousands of Redditors could read, comment and vote on your articles. A huge interactive demographic that provides honest, quick and informed feedback.

Get your post onto the correct sub-reddit and there you have it, thousands of potential customers providing (free) market research for whatever you may be posting about.

So what are the basic guidelines when posting on Reddit:

The 10% rule

The 10% rule relates to links or content posted. We all want to hear a demographic of information, not one person’s point of view so try to find sources of information from a range of sites, do not repeatedly post links from a specific site. Posting more than 10% of the same link will see the Administrators on your back and you may lose your account.

"It's perfectly fine to be a redditor with a website, it's not okay to be a website with a Reddit account." - Reddit’s self promotion page.

Reddit is about originality and not about self-promotion. Stories of interest is what people want to hear, not what can your company do for mine – check out the ‘reddiquette’ here.

Be active within the Reddit community

Due to the huge success of Reddit there are now thousands of sub-reddits, communities of people based around different topics.

To be successful you need to exploit related sub-reddits and be an active member of the community, posting your thoughts, questions or ideas (remember NO self-promotion).

Each sub-reddit has its own rules so pay particular attention to each one. They can be found down the right hand side of each page.

Don’t promote your submitted links

Once you have submitted a link, LEAVE IT!

Do not ask your Twitter or Facebook followers and friends to up-vote as this will pollute the accurate Reddit content, plus, you would be breaking Reddit rules and you do not want to be on the wrong side of Reddit!

“You should not ask for votes on Reddit, even on your Twitter or blog or forum – it will get your account banned, and in extreme cases can get your domain banned”.

Have fun!

If you follow the rules and use Reddit for its intended purposes there is no reason for you to find yourself on the wrong side of the law.


It’s a social media site after all, packed with entertainment, useless or not, it’s there to entertain you, so be entertained!

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