Any site that has 164 million unique visits on a monthly basis should be on the radar for SEO professionals and online marketers. However, for many people, Reddit is often overlooked as a tool for businesses due to the clamour around Facebook, Twitter and, to a lesser extent, Instagram and Pinterest.
In fact, Reddit has plenty to offer anyone looking to increase their online following and give their brand a boost.
Reddit in operation
Reddit isn’t as streamlined as some of its competitors and this is one reason given by marketers for avoiding using the platform.
The avowed main purpose of Reddit is to allow users to submit links, interact with online communities and have questions answered via a platform of message boards. The content can also be “upvoted” by users, which means the position of the site can be influenced. This is a great opportunity for those willing to create interesting content and creative article writing.
When content is upvoted enough times its reach can cover hundreds of thousands of Reddit users, which can offer opportunities to direct traffic back to anywhere else.
Big names
As examples of what can be done on the platform, the activities of many big-name companies provide great case studies.
Amazon uses Reddit to engage more closely with customers via special promotions and offers that run from time to time. Car maker Ford used Reddit in 2012 to launch the FordPiDayChallenge campaign aimed at involving its own workforce in setting challenges to Reddit users based around a time-sensitive set of mathematical problems.
Energy drink brand Red Bull is well known for innovative marketing campaigns that cover a wide range of sports and leisure activities, but it is also well known on Reddit for reaching out to, and interacting with, fans of the brand and the events they promote.
How to promote a business
Reddit can be used to promote a business of any size by clever use of the tools it has to offer.
Subreddits play an important role in the workings of the platform and help users find what they are searching for quickly. Niche topics and products can make good use of effective subreddits by simply applying analytics data based around clients’ questions and enquiries.