Reddit is the largest free online social media in the world. However, since it’s a very large site, they have over 10 million users which mean that every day there are a lot of people searching and discussing many different topics. A recent study by Harvard Business Review indicated that “Reddit has become an important part of our lives not only because of its vastness and sheer size but also because Reddit can be used to produce new insights about society and human behavior, making it an interesting source to study how we interact with one another” This shows the importance Reddit offers in order to understand human interaction. Even though the company doesn’t disclose specific data on their business, they do reveal a lot of information which includes data about their clients, such as “what people read, visit, post, buy, rate, etc.
Reddit’s popularity is driven by the fact that it enables users to express themselves freely without fearing any consequences of doing so. So, even if you’re really careful not to engage in bad or dangerous content, sometimes you’ll get good comments to your page. The amount of time and efforts we spend daily online isn’t all bad. And when people use social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook, they aren’t looking for anything serious. People want to be entertained. It will get more difficult as we move towards artificial intelligence and automation; however, even though Artificial Intelligence might make the social media platforms disappear, this technology may be helpful. A 2016 McKinsey & Company report suggested that businesses and governments should consider using AI and other technologies to monitor social content, detect toxic posts, or flag misleading comments. The idea behind these programs is that humans could use computers or robots to filter out unwanted comments and find valuable feedback. In my opinion, Reddit provides the perfect platform for the development of algorithms. As the founder of Reddit, Craig Newmark, stated in 2015, “There should be no doubt that I believe big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence and the internet of things are going to be essential tools for both positive change and negative change, but while we make massive technological progress, a greater proportion of individuals will remain stuck in the status quo. We cannot continue to build services using old models. If you choose to remain stagnant, then you will die.” I don’t think anyone wants to live like this. How do they feel when their friends talk about something completely unrelated? We need to use these tools so that everyone is engaged. Nowadays, Reddit has almost 80% of user base, almost half of active users are the ages between 18-29, and almost 70% of them are women. These stats indicate us that the community is diverse in terms of age and gender. This shows that Reddit is a suitable place to develop solutions for problems related to marketing. Now, let’s see what Reddit can offer for marketers.
Redditors have the right to self-moderate their own forums. So, if you want to reach a large audience on Reddit, you need to create valuable content. One of the ways Redditors support creators of such content is creating subreddits which include links to useful information and even the option to donate to the creator. There were some examples of such subreddits including learn python, machine learning, puzzle, and so on. Many people post a list of questions that they are interested in answering and get back positive responses from others. But, many of these subreddits would also include comments from trolls, who try to put down other users. What are the factors responsible for this? Well, this kind of trolling seems to be popular among those seeking attention. Therefore, once a person gets enough votes, he or she becomes a target for trolls. Another factor comes into play as well; Redditors are likely to reply to the work of others. So, often when someone creates a piece of content, he or she puts forward ideas but doesn’t get any response. To attract attention, the writer can include some of his or her personal thoughts which seem to fit together with the piece of content. More than simply posting a link to your web page, there is much more to do. As mentioned above, your work should answer people’s questions, answer the existing knowledge gaps, or introduce new ones. Don’t just write about random topics writing for Reddit is like talking to strangers for hours. You need to figure things out. So, you need to come up with unique and valuable content, which will draw an audience to your story.
Also, remember that in Reddit culture, we value individualism that means we encourage the readers to speak up their opinions. Furthermore, you should give credit to your co-authors (even if the comment is deleted). Remember that, being polite is a great signal that you take on board your ideas seriously. Be courteous. Also, if you want to develop a following, the most effective strategy is reading other writers work. Read books and articles. This helps to enhance your understanding of their ideas as well as develop your skills
