5 Ways to Start Driving Traffic from Reddit

For those who’re a enterprise proprietor or marketer, you’ve most likely seen a bunch of Reddit leads to search outcomes, and also you may be questioning what the deal is. For those who don’t know, Reddit is the web’s collective unconscious, a platform the place of us from all walks of life can go to speak about their experiences, submit content material, and find out about matters that curiosity them.

Due to its relative lack of construction in comparison with different social media platforms, Reddit doesn’t get a ton of affection amongst enterprise homeowners trying to promote their services and products. And that could be a big missed alternative. As a result of when used appropriately, Reddit can critically buoy your advertising efforts and turn out to be a invaluable stream of income for your corporation.

On this submit, we’re going to debate exactly that. Let’s stroll via how Reddit works, then discuss 5 methods you need to use to drive traffic from this distinctive platform.

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With over 500 million customers, Reddit is probably the world’s largest dialogue board.

Variety of previous, present, and projected Reddit customers by 12 months. 

You’ll be able to separate Reddit’s worth props into three primary buckets: social information aggregation, content material ranking, and dialogue. All of Reddit’s content material is user-generated, which means customers create their very own posts, a lot of which include hyperlinks, pictures, and movies.

These posts are organized in user-created boards referred to as “subreddits,” relying on their matter or theme. Subreddits sometimes embrace matters like expertise, information, films, and gaming, however actually, a subreddit may exist for just about any topic possible.

Right here’s an inventory of Reddit’s key options:

1. Subreddits. As talked about, these are particular person communities inside Reddit, every devoted to a selected matter. They’re denoted by the prefix “r/” adopted by the subject title, r/memes, r/dankmemes, and r/WatchPeopleDieInside (we advised you, there’s a subreddit for all the pieces.)
2. Posts and feedback. Posts inside subreddits embrace textual content, hyperlinks, pictures, and movies. Customers then touch upon these posts to create threads.
3. Voting system. Reddit makes use of an upvote and downvote system that permits customers to “price” content material. Posts and feedback with extra upvotes seem increased on the web page, growing their visibility, whereas these with extra downvotes turn out to be much less seen.
4. Karma. Customers earn karma factors when their posts or feedback are upvoted. Karma serves as a tough measure of a person’s contributions to the neighborhood.
5. Moderation. Every subreddit is moderated by a group of volunteers who implement community-specific guidelines and Reddit’s general content material insurance policies. They’ve the authority to take away posts, ban customers, and handle discussions inside their subreddit.
6. Reddit Gold/Premium. Reddit affords a premium subscription service referred to as Reddit Premium, which gives an ad-free expertise, entry to a non-public subreddit, and different perks.

The principle draw of Reddit is exactly that: it’s open. So long as customers comply with the foundations of a given subreddit, they’re allowed to submit candidly about no matter matter intrigues them. For that motive, folks not solely flock to Reddit for community, however to search out unfiltered solutions to questions that they could not have the ability to discover anyplace else on the web.

Posing a query on Reddit is like posing it to an unlimited, digital front room of events. The reply might not all the time be what you need, however you’ll get no scarcity of opinions.

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Due to its numerous person base and big selection of content material, Reddit is an especially well-liked platform for discussing present occasions, sharing private tales, and looking for recommendation. Relying in your vertical and enterprise, meaning it will possibly additionally be an especially invaluable platform from which to drive site visitors.

And, not solely that, however Google’s recent algorithm update has made Reddit much more outstanding on the SERP. Many queries now include a hyperlink to Reddit or a “Discussions and boards” part that sometimes consists of hyperlinks to subreddits.

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Now that you already know what Reddit is and why it’s a giant deal, let’s discuss 5 methods you need to use it to drive site visitors to your web site.

1. Discover the subreddit the place your prospects are partaking

Let’s say you’re a roofing firm in California. You wish to discover potential prospects who’re actively trying to find roof replacements or companies. In all chance, you’re going to have a troublesome time discovering a subreddit the place owners are simply speaking about roofs. Why? As a result of roofs on their very own are usually not all that fascinating.

That mentioned, a fast Google seek for “roofing california reddit” exhibits that there are some fascinating subreddits upon which you, because the enterprise proprietor, might lurk to seek for prospects:

The primary itemizing here’s a submit inside a subreddit referred to as r/Roofing. The discussion board description reads as follows: Greetings! This sub is for questions, fascinating pics or movies and tales about roofing. We welcome roofers, handy-people, owners and anybody else who’s roof-curious.

As a roofing contractor, that is going to be a very fascinating subreddit to hang around on. Granted, the group doesn’t consist completely of householders (i.e. potential prospects), however even posts from different contractors may help you glean details about the competitive landscape, pricing, and different helpful data that may win you enterprise.

2. Be helpful first; promote second

Most subreddit moderators are extraordinarily cautious of customers who’re simply within the thread to advertise their services and products, and rightly so. As such, should you hop proper right into a dialogue with a hyperlink to your web site, and should you do that a number of instances, you threat not solely alienating your self from the dialogue however getting banned altogether.

Breaking the foundations is a surefire method to get banned from the sub, and nearly all of subreddits include guidelines prohibiting “extreme self-promotion.” However guess what? You’re not right here to advertise your merchandise anyway. You’re right here to be helpful and present worth. 

Identical to a door-to-door salesman, your job once you enter the subreddit is, initially, to assist folks. Utilizing our roofing instance, that implies that if a client needs some assist pricing out a job, you don’t bounce proper in and supply them a quote and ask for an appointment.

As an alternative, you would possibly attempt giving them some perception into why the quotes they’ve gotten look the way in which that they do, how you would estimate their roof should you had been doing the job, and why you’d cost that a lot for the job. At that time, if the home-owner likes the worth you could have offered, he’s more likely to comply with up with one other query, at which level you may supply to have a name or come out for an in-person appointment.

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3. Put up your personal content material

The important thing to driving site visitors from Reddit is being an engaged person. Being an engaged person doesn’t imply leaping into the platform each few weeks to submit a hyperlink. It doesn’t even imply answering questions each every so often with a invaluable tip. It means being regularly concerned in, and contributing to the subreddits on which your prospects are having discussions.

You wish to be seen as a invaluable member of the neighborhood. Somebody who has expertise and credibility in your vertical, and who folks can flip to when they’re searching for solutions. Probably the most simple means to do that is by posting your personal content material, slightly than merely commenting on the posts of others.

Posts like this AMA (Ask Me Something) present customers that you’re a devoted member of the neighborhood first, and a enterprise proprietor second. That you’re not afraid to be seen main a dialogue about your vertical, not simply taking part in or commenting on one.

Constantly submit your personal helpful content material, and also you gained’t ever must promote your services; prospects will ask you for them.

4. Give your services and products away

As we talked about firstly of this submit, Reddit is the web’s collective unconscious. Its superego. And if there’s one factor the ego loves, it’s free stuff. The concept that you, the patron, are worthy of receiving one thing of worth in change for completely nothing.

For those who’re going to advertise your services and products in a subreddit, internet hosting a giveaway, sweepstakes, or contest is probably the best means to take action. This technique permits entrepreneurs to deflect the ailing will sometimes proven to customers who self-promote whereas igniting a aggressive curiosity amongst potential prospects.

For those who’re a service business, this might imply freely giving a free inspection or a reduction on one in every of your companies. For those who’re an ice cream store proprietor, it may imply going to your native subreddit and posting a two-for-one particular. For those who’re an ecommerce model, it may imply driving site visitors to an exterior landing page, the place customers can enter their names and electronic mail in change for getting into to win a present bundle out of your model.

Nevertheless you select to offer your services and products away, you may relaxation assured that doing so will make it easier to drive invaluable site visitors and publicity for your corporation.

5. Domesticate a following

If you will discover the precise subreddit, you’ve already found your audience. However until you’re identified locally, you haven’t but captured your viewers. And should you haven’t but captured your viewers, they’re not your viewers.

If you wish to domesticate an actual following on Reddit, it’s good to be a thought leader. Thought leaders like Jason Calanicas and Elon Musk use Reddit to develop their manufacturers by being thought leaders. They run corporations and have enterprise pursuits, however they use Reddit as a way of swiftly rising their engaged viewers.

Pop over to Jason’s Reddit profile and also you’ll see that he’s not simply posting about his podcast. He’s actively partaking in quite a few discussions on a wide range of matters he’s enthusiastic about.

Why would a man value $100 million spend his time perusing subreddits? One, as a result of he enjoys being part of the discourse, and he has a wide range of pursuits.

However two, it’s as a result of he understands the ability that Reddit affords thought leaders in terms of viewers cultivation. The flexibility to pop right into a thread at any time and supply a related reality, opinion, critique, or piece of recommendation, is what makes Reddit such a singular and helpful platform for content material creators and types alike.

Visitors on Reddit belongs to probably the most engaged and inventive

There you could have it, in a nutshell. If you wish to drive site visitors from Reddit, it’s good to be considerate, engaged, and inventive.

Keep in mind to submit your personal content material, be helpful above all, and provides away your services and products. Observe these methods to a tee, and also you’ll see the rewards many instances over.