How To Use Reddit for Business

Reddit is a website with two reputations.

For Redditors (as its users are called), it's a good way to keep your finger on the pulse of the internet, participate in open discussions around shared interests, get answers from highly engaged niche communities, and, of course, perpetuate memes.

For outsiders who haven’t learned how to use Reddit, though, it might seem like a haven for snark and sarcasm, where anonymity runs rampant and users commit to weird inside jokes and try to one-up each other for upvotes.

Reddit is an entirely different world compared to TikTok, Instagram, Twitter or wherever else you might spend your time online. So in a way, Snoo—Reddit’s iconic alien pictured in this post’s header—is a fitting mascot for this strange, wildly popular community-based website. 

But there are plenty of reasons to put some time into learning how to use Reddit.

With 52 million daily active users and a $10 billion valuation, Reddit is the 16th most popular social media platform and considers itself “the front page of the internet.”

Reddit is also where a lot of viral content gets early traction, where celebrities and interesting people open up and tell the world to “ask me anything,” and people come together to talk about every topic under the sun.

There is a subreddit for (almost) everything—from r/Fitness for exercise and nutrition enthusiasts to r/CatsStandingUp which is literally just a bunch of pictures of cats … standing up.

This subreddit isn’t even among the top 100 weirdest things you’ll find on Reddit.

Once you get past the complicated-looking interface, understand the basics of how “sharing” works on the platform, and get to know its nuances, Reddit can add a lot of value to your life and—despite being generally averse to marketing—to your business.

Understanding the basics of Reddit

The first thing you need to understand is that Reddit thrives on anonymity, but it's kept in check by transparency.

Reddit thrives on anonymity, but its kept in check by transparency.

Using your real name or birth year in your username is strongly discouraged unless you plan to invest in your own personal brand. Speaking and engaging freely with others is how you get the most out of Reddit. That’s because other users can easily see your entire posting/commenting history, which makes it easy for the community to police itself and gauge how authentic a person is based on past behavior on the site.

Creating an account is easy enough. All you need is a username and password—you only need to enter your email if you want to verify your account for long-term use.

For this reason, it’s not uncommon for users to have one or two “main” accounts that they rely on and several “throwaway accounts” that are only used once or in certain situations.

Once you’ve signed up, you'll be automatically subscribed to several popular subreddits, like r/videos and r/gifs, but should also search for and subscribe to other subreddits you want to be a part of based on your interests.

Subreddits are niche communities within Reddit—each with its own rules, subscribers, and posts—indicated by r/subreddit (based on the URL structure: reddit.com/r/subreddit).

You can sort all the posts within a subreddit by Hot, New, Rising, Controversial, and Top submissions.

If you’re interested in handcrafts, you might join r/somethingimade or r/crafts.

If you run your own business, maybe you’ll weigh in at r/Entrepreneur or r/smallbusiness.

If you’re into cooking, you’ll probably check out r/Cooking or r/AskCulinary. 

If there’s a subreddit you want that doesn’t exist (though that’s unlikely), you can even create your own subreddit.

Learning the language of Reddit

On Reddit, people tend to be fluent not only in “internet speak” but also terminology that’s specific to the platform. There are a whole host of terms and abbreviations you’ll end up learning over time.

Here’s a glossary of commonly used Reddit terms to help you navigate this strange new world—many of which will be covered in greater detail throughout this post:

Reddiquette: Understanding the rules of Reddit

Online etiquette is important wherever you post online. But it’s even more important on Reddit, where it’s easy to hide behind anonymity and engage in bullying, spam, and sneaky self-promotion.

You can read up in full about Reddit’s own guidelines, or Reddiquette, but it boils down to one simple rule:

Aim to contribute value with every action and consider the community first.

When you post something, ask yourself if it’s relevant to the subreddit and do a quick search to see if it’s already been posted there.

When you upvote, downvote, or comment on someone’s post, consider how it’s benefiting the greater good of the subreddit.

You’ll quickly realize that commenting and sharing on Reddit is very different from, say, Facebook.

Posts and comments need to add value—posting the same thing someone else has posted or commenting with “That’s hilarious” or “Cute dog” won’t get you upvotes, but something new, witty, insightful, or educational will. 

Each subreddit also has its own rules and guidelines, which you can find on the right sidebar.

These rules are enforced through a combination of:

• Manual moderation via the subreddit’s moderators 
• Automation via moderator “bots” that flag posts that break certain rules
• The subreddit’s community via the downvoting and reporting system

It’s best to assume each subreddit is different from the next and to take some time to get to know the rules and posting behavior of each one before contributing. Ignoring the rules can get your post deleted or get you banned from the subreddit.

Posting and commenting on Reddit

Posting and commenting on Reddit is how you get upvotes that lead to karma, which is Reddit’s way of quantifying the contributions of each user.

There are two types of submissions you can make on Reddit (although certain subreddits might limit themselves to just one or the other):

• Post: Expand into a text-based post that you can format and add links to to provoke a discussion.
• Image: Share pictures with a title to convey an idea. 
• Link: Take visitors directly to a webpage or piece of content when they click through on your post.
• Poll: Get an opinion on anything and encourage Redditors to vote. 
• Talk: Host events, AMAs, hangout, and connect with other Redditors through live audio.

You can submit these from the “Create a post” page on your subreddit and clicking Post when you’re ready to publish. 

Before you submit, however, be sure to use Reddit’s search feature to make sure you’re not reposting an existing post (Redditors frown upon this). You can find tips here on how to get specific with your searches.

Timing, the text you write, and the subreddit you submit to all play a role in gaining traction on Reddit. Get enough upvotes and comments in a short amount of time and your post could end up at the top of the subreddit and then eventually the front page of Reddit, where millions of people will see it.

How to build up your Reddit karma quickly

Since Reddit embraces anonymity and having multiple accounts is common among users, the karma system is how Reddit establishes credibility. The more karma you have, the more seriously Reddit will take you. But there are two kinds: post karma and comment karma.

You get post karma for the upvotes you receive on posts, and comment karma for the upvotes you receive on your comments, so it’s a good idea to be active in the comments of your own submissions and in posts by others. You can also lose karma if your individual posts or comments are irrelevant and get enough downvotes for the count to fall below zero.

There’s no easy way to build karma on Reddit. You’ll need to consistently contribute to the platform in meaningful ways.

However, there are strategies to help you get going: 

• Make a list of very niche subreddits that you’re in a good position to contribute to because you’re an expert or enthusiast. Then go to the New tab and see if there are any relevant questions you can answer.
• Go to r/AskReddit and ask or answer questions for post and comment karma.
• Make an effort to incorporate Reddit submissions into your regular day-to-day browsing. When you find something worth sharing, post it on one of the highly active subreddits on this list, wherever it would be most relevant.

Free tools to improve your Reddit experience

To help you see more success with your posting on Reddit, I highly recommend the following free tools to up your Reddit game.

Reddit Enhancement Suite. (A must!) This Chrome extension improvesReddit, making it easier to format posts and letting you quickly check up on specific users. It basically gives you some of the features of the premium Reddit Gold membership and more for free.

Notifier. This app helps you reach mentions on Reddit. Get alerts when someone mentions your brand name or related product terms. Once you receive an alert, you can quickly respond to the conversation and change the way Redditors see your brand. 

RedditMetis. A Reddit user analysis tool. Analyze your Reddit accounts statistics, including top posts and activity. 

Later for Reddit. Find the best time and day to post to a specific subreddit and schedule your posts to go out at that time. This is invaluable insight for giving your posts the best chance of getting seen.

Redditlist. Discover the best subreddits for your business based on recent activity, subscriber count, and 24-hour growth. 

Together, these tools will make it easier for you to do well on Reddit.

How to use Reddit for businesses

Reddit’s community puts a lot of effort into protecting its integrity. Users will go out of their way to vet suspicious activity by browsing an account’s posting history to gauge its authenticity.

Reddit generally hates shameless marketing, self-promotion, URL shorteners, and anything that makes you seem like you’re only using Reddit as a place to sell your products or services. If you want to understand the level of disdain Redditors have toward this behavior, just look at r/HailCorporate.

But that doesn’t mean Reddit can’t be useful for business owners. Redditors trust the platform when it comes to helpful information about products. Some 90% of people who use Reddit for research reportedly trust the product information they find more than information they find on other sites. 

While you might be tempted to use your anonymity to drop a sneaky link to your products in, say, r/shutupandtakemymoney, there’s a chance this could backfire on you and harm your company’s reputation.

Once you’ve built up some karma and a decent posting history, you can begin harnessing Reddit to grow and improve your business. Let’s look at what types of content you can publish on the platform, whether you’re a startup or an established business. 

1. Pay for Reddit ads

Recent data revealed that Reddit purchase journeys result in deeper research sessions, nine times faster purchase decisions, and 15% more spending compared to other social platforms. 

Advertising on Reddit is probably among one of the safest ways to market your products on Reddit. With Reddit ads, you can target people based on the subreddits they’ve subscribed to, which lets you get in front of some very specific, super-passionate niches. 

Keep in mind that Reddit advertising operates on a cost-per-impression (CPM) basis rather than cost-per-click (CPC), which you might be used to with Facebook ads or Google Ads.

2. Promote deals in the right subreddits

There's a subreddit for everything, and that includes deals. If you've got a discount code or are running a sale, you can share it in communities such as r/deals, where savvy shoppers tend to hang out.

3. Customer service and community management

Brands both small and large should consider monitoring Reddit for brand mentions and replying to them. There are a lot of people on Reddit asking about potential purchases, airing complaints about companies, and talking about other things you’ll want to keep an eye out for. A community management plan can lead to higher engagement with Redditors and more sales. 

4. Post something interesting (that happens to do with your business)

Reddit might not like marketing, but it does like authenticity. For a lot of entrepreneurs, their business is an extension of their life and it won’t come across as inauthentic to share it in certain contexts.

Take a look at how Findlay Hats did it (and as a result made $28,000).

5. Do an AMA if you have a compelling story

You can raise your company's profile and build your personal brand by doing an AMA on Reddit. Post in r/AMA, or find a relevant post and comment on it with “I am the CEO of ______. Ask me anything.”

AMAs are conducted by regular folks, like this car salesman, all the way up to Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple. As long as you can position yourself as someone with unique insight, Reddit will have some good questions to ask. 

6. Curate viral content

Reddit is an endless source of good content. By subscribing to the subreddits that relate to the niche you’re selling in, you’ll get a steady stream of top quality content to curate: articles, videos, GIFs, and more.

7. Hire local or remote talent

Like any social network, you can also use Reddit to find and hire specific talent. If you’re looking for someone who lives near you to hire full time, you can post about the job in your city or region’s subreddit (e.g., r/Toronto, if you're hiring in Toronto). Or you can post in the subreddits dedicated to the skills you need (e.g., r/copywriting, if you’re looking for a copywriter).

8. Market research and feedback

Depending on the subreddit, you can ask its subscribers to give you feedback about your website or product idea. Be careful and transparent about doing this in non-business-related subreddits, especially when you are a new user.

When in doubt, ask for feedback in business-related subreddits such as r/Entrepreneur.

9. Run a contest in a subreddit

Running a content can engage a subreddit in a way that contributes value. If you want to run a contest or giveaway, you can reach out to the mods of a subreddit (you can find them in the sidebar) and work out an arrangement.

Prizes could be your products, Reddit Gold, or some combination of the two.

Reddit marketing examples

Thirty 48

Sport sock manufacturer Thirty 48 is a great example of brands using Reddit with respect for their users. The brand posted a giveaway in r/Fitness, a physical fitness subreddit, which offered participants a free pair of its socks of choice, chosen at random.

Thirty 48 got pre-approval from the subreddit moderator, a volunteer who manages each community, and ended up giving everyone in the subreddit 15% off. Giveaways are common on Reddit. If you choose to run one, be sure the moderator approves before launch. Otherwise, they can remove your post and shut down the giveaway. 

degardo

Another common way brands use Reddit is to get feedback. You can ask for feedback about your store, products, or branding. D2C German retailer degardo simply posted in the r/ecommerce subreddit asking for feedback on its Shopify store. 

This was a simple ask that garnered useful responses. Redditors quickly commented with their thoughts on degardo’s Scandinavian look and products. They even left advertising tips and asked thought-provoking questions about shipping and sales. 

For new entrepreneurs, feedback from peers in the ecommerce space is invaluable. It can help you make strategic changes to your store that can result in more leads and sales. 

Gymshark

British fitness apparel and accessories brand Gymshark decided in 2015 to create its own subreddit, r/Gymshark. In the thread, people have posted to talk about the brand’s products, sizing recommendations, fitness training centers, and other support questions. 

Reddit is a great place for Gymshark to create a community of fans. The channel is authentic. You can view both good and bad reviews about products. If a potential customer sees a gleaming review about a Gymshark product, they may even buy it online. 

Noom

Noom is an award-winning weight-loss app designed by psychologists. It’s scientifically proven to create sustainable results and change your eating habits for the better. When choosing a place to advertise, it choose the r/Fitness subreddit, which has over 9.2 million members. 

Using Reddit ads, Noom can reach a passionate, targeted audience and promote its product. The brand uses relatable copy, focusing on community members’ desire for healthy habits, and an eye-catching graphic that encourages users to act with a Take the Quiz CTA. 

Ledger

Crypto hardware wallet Ledger has a branded subreddit (r/ledgerwallet), similar to Gymshark. However, the brand uses its subreddit, with over 84,000 users, as a customer support channel. The team responds to product questions, posts updates about crypto scams and cyber attacks, and more in its subreddit.

Besides responding to queries, Ledger’s customer success team also hosts Q&A sessions and leaves the audio recording for newcomers to hear anytime. 

Reddit is best when you put the community first

When I first gave Reddit a try, I was put off because I didn't “get it” and couldn’t find any substance on it because I didn’t know how to find it.

But once you’ve subscribed and contributed to a few subreddits and understand how to find the discussions you want, it becomes a great source of value in your life, where you can freely ask your questions to a community of enthusiasts, learn new things every day, and contribute front-page-worthy posts.

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of how to use Reddit.

Reddit won’t always make sense. It can be hard to familiarize yourself with the site when every subreddit has its defined rules and inside jokes, each carving out its own unique corner of the web. But that’s what makes it so great.