How To Include Reddit in Your Content Strategy

Start (and Continue) on the Right Foot

The best way to make something work for you is to thoroughly understand how it works. With Reddit, it’s extremely important that you start off on the right foot because some details are impossible to change. Take your username for example: once you’ve registered one, you’re stuck with it. There’s no going back and adjusting it to be more conducive to the image you want to present, so be sure that you brainstorm ideas and get suggestions before choosing one. Also, you’re able to build up what’s referred to as comment or link “karma,” but if you decide to change your username and open a new profile, none of your accumulated history will be associated with the new account. This karma is what your position in the community is based on, so beginning again means literally starting all over.

Another aspect that can greatly affect your success on the site is the fact that every time you make a comment, post something or submit a link, a permanent record is stored. Your history will be visible on your profile page, making it vital that you consider each move you make carefully in order to avoid offense or regret.

What to Do Now

Once you’ve come up with a dynamite username that lets users know who you are and what you’re here for, start exploring the site. You’ll find endless articles, videos, forums and pictures, all with votes and comments from fellow community members. You can post your own content, ask questions of the public or post interesting information you’ve come across. While you can interact with others all day, your main goal here is to post your own content and promote your business and website. Unfortunately, this is much more difficult than it may be on other sites. The way to do this is by following certain best practices to get your posting to the “Front Page.” There are several aspects of posting that will improve your rankings and earn your more visibility.

• Peak curiosity with your title. While you may not be used to being too outrageous with your marketing, doing so with your Reddit content can mean a much greater chance that your posts will get read. Keep things classy, but don’t be afraid of posting cliffhangers and overdramatic titles.
• Don’t be salesy! This will get you exactly nowhere in Reddit. If you join and post pieces full of sales pitches, you won’t get ignored, you’ll get destroyed. Many marketers seeking to include Reddit in their content strategy have done so without respecting what the members of the community come for and have been flagged as spam, abused and berated by commenters. Avoid this situation and be sure you’re striving to share interesting information instead of just self-promoting pieces.
• Mold your content marketing to fit the leading topics. Science, music, politics, religion and fitness are just a few of the topics that rule the Reddit content world. Interesting facts and stories are also popular, so try to figure out ways you can incorporate your business and site into these posts without blatantly advertising.
• Plan out your pieces. This isn’t the place to throw on hurried, subpar content that may get a few hits on Google. If it’s not good, users will vote it down and your karma will be affected. Always make sure you’re putting adequate effort into your work to increase your popularity.
• Utilize Reddit advertising. By promoting yourself through this service, you’ll be able to enroll in an ad campaign that will put your content marketing at the front for all to see.

Since Reddit is unique from other social sharing sites, it requires an entirely different content strategy and can be intimidating in the beginning. By making sure you have solid Reddit content and positive interactions, you’ll be able to increase your following and your karma at the same time.