Reddit is another social network that is massively underutilised as a marketing platform and a traffic generation tool. Noy only that, snippets of content from Reddit are now starting to appear in the search engines.
What is Reddit?
Reddit is a social news aggregator platform that encompasses a massive collection of user-generated content on a diverse range of topics and niches. It's the 7th most visited website in the world.
According to Search Engine Journal, Reddit is..
- No. 3 site in the U.S., No. 7 globally
- 330 million-plus monthly active users (MAU)
- 44 percent of the total MAU are on mobile apps / the mobile web
- 79 percent of users are between the ages of 18 and 34; that number is 58 percent when talking mobile web and mobile app users
So, you can see Reddit is a popular place and it's a place that you should explore if you're looking to grow your website traffic.
What Are Subreddits?
Subreddits are dedicated to different topics and niches and range from basic to specialized topics. Reddit members use the platform as an internet forum or community where members post content and others either up-vote or down-vote the content.
Getting Started on Reddit
1. Create a Reddit account
This is super quick and easy to do. I didn't have access to my old Reddit account, setting up a new one took less than 2 minutes.
2. Join subreddits that are connected to your niche
When you've joined, Reddit will ask you to choose some subreddits. I jumped into the memes one straight away, and then I found the blogging and passive income subreddits.
3. Participate in the subreddits
Participate first before posting brand-related content. Give before you post a link to your content. Some of the subreddits don't allow your own links, but remember you can add them into your profile and people will see them there.
4. Familiarize with the subreddit rules
As I mentioned above, there are rules in subreddits, and when you join one they're on display in that particular subreddits sidebar. In the blogging subreddit you have to be a member 3 days and have 3 karma points before you are allowed to post. You can still answer questions though.
5. Identify the type of content subredditers value
Sometimes it's a detailed answer (you might use blog post material for that), other times it's a link, and sometimes it's a mix of both with your personal experience blended in. You only get to know this by observing the community, and the posts that get the most upvotes.
6. Strive to build positive karma (up-votes)
Karma is the upvotes that Redditers use to show their appreciation of the content. When you have enough Karma you can start your own subreddit. You will also find the more that you have, the more valued your content is; you start to become an authority in their community.
7. Use a social listening tool
If you find the Reddit community addictive (I looked first thing this morning to see where I could comment) then using a social listening tool to listen out for brand mentions and questions will be beneficial.
Remember Reddit Ads
Reddit ads are very economical to buy. They start at $5 a day for a thousand impressions (how many times your ad is shown). Marketers apparently don't like Reddit for ads as they feel it doesn't generate leads. Ouch! Communities are not about what you take from them, but what you give. When I do Reddit ads I'll be sending them to my pillar posts to boost my traffic there. Remember, you can also retarget your website visitors with Facebook ads, so sending people to read your content and not optin, isn't a bad option. You just need to have a strategy in place.
Pros & Cons of This Method
Pros:
- Make new connections and help people
- Gain traffic back to your website
- Repurpose your content to help others
- Gain ideas for content
Cons:
- You might offend the community with marketing content
- It's addictive
Conclusion:
Content that earn the highest votes are featured on Reddit’s front page and have the potential to go viral. When incorporating Reddit into your site’s traffic generation strategies, it is important to understand the platform’s guidelines, as well as best practices in order to optimise its traffic generation potential.
To this end, always strive to understand the type of content and activities that are bound to boost traffic.
Additional Resources:
SArah x
