Reddit Is Appearing in Google Everywhere. Should Your Brand Be On It?
Reddit Is Appearing in Google Everywhere. Should Your Brand Be On It?
One year ago, you were posting on Reddit anonymously to get product reviews and niche advice. Nowadays, it is appearing in the 3 most popular results of nearly anything you are searching. You are not imagining it; if you have Googled something recently and looked at a thread in one of the many Reddit sub-brands appearing first on the page over more reputable sites.
The algorithm of Google made the content of forums, and in particular Reddit, the top of the search results, which boosted Reddit to the third most noticeable site in the Google search, and increased its search traffic fourfold.
This is game-changing to content marketers. Here’s why it matters:
Reddit is trusted by people. 90% of all users note that they trust Reddit to learn about products and brands, and 27% of Redditors are more likely to buy a product they have discovered there than on other websites. That is an unbelievable signal of trust, something that most branded content is not able to rival.
The key aspect about marketing on Reddit, however, is that you can not treat it as you would any other platform. The community will destroy you if you do. Promotional posts are downvoted. Apparent brand accounts are called out. There can be no better way to lose credibility than by the use of salesey language.
Radical helpfulness is what works in Reddit. Get into subreddits where your knowledge is actually applicable and respond to questions with no agenda. Share wisdom, information, and actual insight. Be yourself, be a brand secondly, do not be a brand, visibly.
Brand mentions are the long game here. Once actual individuals in niche groups begin promoting your product or content without being prompted, such mentions appear in searches. Such an earned position is better than a paid placement.
Reddit is not the right platform for every brand. However, when your audience is on it, and that is likely to be the case, not being on it is tantamount to giving up visible ground to your competitors who first crack the code.
The fact that Reddit has climbed to the top of Google search rankings has made it a very influential discovery platform for brands, but it also requires a completely new marketing strategy: no longer is it a matter of promoting your brand in a traditional way, but rather of achieving “radical helpfulness” through actually answering questions, sharing knowledge, and engaging with specific subreddits in a genuine, non-sales-oriented way. Since consumers trust discussions between their peers and are more likely to make a purchase based on a recommendation from Reddit, “mentions from actual people in the community are worth exponentially more than any ad or branded post,” but brands that try to use Reddit for obvious self-promotion purposes risk alienating their audience and losing their credibility.