If you have a website and have tried to improve your online presence, you’ve probably already figured it can become a real headache to get anywhere when it comes to generating any new traffic or sales right? To add fuel to the fire, it doesn’t really help when it seems like there’s a new Google update or social media craze every 5 minutes!
Before you read any further, I want to make it crystal clear that this isn’t a blog that preaches we have all the right answers, we simply want to highlight some of the less conventional platforms out there than CAN help market your small business.
Join us on our joinery as our Cheshire web agency explore social news platform Reddit and provide 4 reasons why Reddit could help grow your online presence within a digital community.
What is Reddit?
Founded in 2005, Reddit is a social news platform that allows users to discuss and vote on content other registered users have submitted. To help prevent spamming, registered users can vote content submissions up or down which will then determine their position on the sites pages, with the most popular featuring at the top of a category or also known as “subreddits” which can feature as far as the front page of the website.
When posting, you will quickly discover that there two different type of posts. The first is links that simply direct users to external websites or text posts which are hosted on Reddit.
As of 2016, Reddit, coined as the “front page of the Internet”, ranked #25 in the most visited website in the world with over 234 million unique users on a monthly basis.
4 reasons why Reddit can help grow your online presence
Let’s say you are a local clothing store, if you were to start promoting your new seasonal autumn range right now, you’ll quickly learn that Reddit users are NOT big fans of self-promotion, in fact users will do everything in their power to dislike your post. The trick with Reddit it, it’s a fantastic platform for a number of different things, just not online marketing.
#1 Customer Service
We have entered an era where customers now expect to be able to ask customer service type questions directly to brands on social media and get an instant response. Having instant access can make a very happy customer with good customer service but can also have the reserves effect it’s poorly handled or not responded to in a timely fashion.
Brands such as Microsoft and X-BOX have actually hugely benefitted by creating a sub-Reddit (A Category) dedicated to specifically aimed customer service questions from their customers. With technical support on hand to answer questions, giant brands such as Microsoft and X-BOX not only benefit from word-of-mouth by offering great customer service, it also encourages Reddit Users to communicate on similar questions if they know how to resolve them or have experience similar issues. The end game here is customers are talking about your brand!
#2 Great Content Generation Ideas
For those of you who write content for your website, I’m sure like me, you have experienced writers block on what topic you want to cover next right? Well Reddit can actually be a resourceful nugget of information to help get those ideas rolling…
Subreddits (AKA categories) related to your industry or topic of choice can be very easy to search for once you get the hand of navigating around Reddit. Simply search for your industry, topic, or even choice of keywords and see what other Reddit users are talking about. Monitor the questions and comments they interact with and get a feel for what type of response certain types of content gets.
#3 Ask Me Anything
Without question, one of the most popular features on Reddit is certainly ‘Ask Me Anything’! Similar to how a press conference is conducted; an AMA is a subReddit (Category) that simply prompts other users to ask questions about any topic. AMA’s are open to all Reddit users and are based on a simple question and answer system. Numerous high-profile celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger up to President Barack Obama have all conducted AMA’s in recent years.
So how does AMA relate to your business? Well it’s a very unique platform to talk about anything related to your business or industry. For a local bakery, it could be a great way to talk about some new recipe ideas or perhaps away to generate some feedback on a new product or service.
#4 Setting up a Calendar
Another feature that sets Reddit apart from other social media sites is the impressive calendar feature. Although this may not benefit some businesses, those that run regular events can share news and reminder users of upcoming events related to your business.
By setting a calendar up in your SubReddit, users and followers of your business can see always remain in the loop and can also share any events or news to other members.
The Reddit Verdict
If you decide to give Reddit a shot, I would highly recommend you don’t overload your account trying to sell your products or services, as a Cheshire web agency I don’t think our type of products or services would be well received, but by asking opinions on a new layout in the right SubReddit would be very beneficial.
Much like every other social media platform, it takes to time to build up followers and likes so creating a community will not be any different. However, if you want to share products or services and want to gain opinions from other users, Reddit is the perfect platform to help grow your online presence.