“Interacting with posts, photos, videos, upvoting, relevant comments and leaving your own comments will remain the most organic way to provide value to Reddit communities and build social proof for your brand.”
Dogecoin
You can gain inspiration from r/Doge. Doge is a cryptocurrency project that has been around for more than five years. It had a subreddit around two years ago, and it contributed to the project’s worth of $4 billion.
Bill Nye
Bill Nye is an icon for those who grew up watching his after-school TV show that explained scientific principles in the real world.
Nye has done several AMAs on Reddit, all of which have been used to promote something that he has done or accomplished.
But the key is that he does not stick to that promotion. When he says AMA, he means “ask me anything.”
SpaceX
To promote the launch of its BFR rocket, SpaceX had CEO Elon Musk host an AMA. Not only is Musk a chief officer who’s extremely knowledgeable about his product, but he’s also a major tech-industry thought leader.
Rather than posting this thread on a SpaceX subreddit, it was actually hosted on a broad subreddit called r/space.
This can be a great way to gain awareness from all space fans, rather than just Redditors who already follow SpaceX subreddits.
Because he’s regularly in the news for his work with space technology and autonomous vehicles, Musk might be incredibly interesting to people who follow r/space — even if they haven’t heard of him yet.
Source: Reddit
While you might not have someone of Musk-level fame on your company’s team, this is a good example of how SpaceX identified a subreddit where its biggest possible pool of Reddit fans could be. Then, they contributed to the community in an interesting and engaging way.
If you’re a business that wants to experiment with Reddit, you should consider posting interesting content that ties to your product or brand in a subreddit that’s broad, yet relevant to your brand.
For example, if you’re in the fashion industry, you could have your company’s clothing designer host an AMA in a fashion-related subreddit. Or, if you don’t have a team member who can host an AMA, you could ask a question in a post, such as, “What’s your favorite fall fashion?” and then respond to replies.
Audi
Audi took advantage of Reddit’s popular AMA thread while using the site’s streaming feature. They created a web series where celebrities answered Redditors’ questions while speeding in Audi’s latest car.
At the time, the streaming feature was still pretty new. The auto company made a brilliant play of leveraging the novel of streaming and pairing it with the general community’s favorite content piece.
Not every person that engaged was probably into cars, but alot of people sure love watching celebrities in crazy situations.
Toyota
In the Formula 1 subreddit, Toyota promoted a video showcasing two Supras racing it out. While the content wasn’t specifically about Formula 1 cars, it was still pretty relevant to the community’s interests: souped-up cars going fast.
The video told a story of racing and competing that spoke directly to the subreddit’s participants. If it had been a more straightforward ad, it probably would have been rejected pretty quickly.
Instead, because Toyota chose a niche subreddit that had a singular interest in fast cars, it was received very well.
Maker’s Mark
Source: Reddit
Maker’s Mark took a shot at posting an actual ad, but they did it smart. They used the r/ads subreddit and targeted the Reddit community specifically.
With “Let it Snoo” as the tag, the bourbon company made a joke about the site’s alien mascot, Snoo. It made users chuckle instead of groan, which is why many deemed the ad as “ok” and acceptable.
Maker’s Mark did their research and aimed to engage the community on their level. It clearly worked in their favour.
Spotify
Another great example of sourcing customer feedback from comments and replies, Spotify was able to create a unique campaign.
The streaming platform asked several questions pertaining to songs and the feelings attached to them. Redditors found the line of questioning intriguing, connecting different emotions to different songs. Eventually, they had compiled a playlist of over 10,000 submissions.
Spotify took all of the positive brand engagement and turned it into several Reddit-inspired playlists. It was such a great strategy that they won Reddit’s “Community Brand of the Year 2014” award.
Nordstrom
Source: Reddit
Nordstrom started their own subreddit where users can discuss products, seek customer service, and share experiences with each other.
This might not seem like a big deal, but with 472 members dedicated to talking exclusively about Nordstrom on the page, the company would likely consider it a win.
Their bold move has made it clear that there is space for brands and businesses on the platform if the priority is user engagement.
Nordstrom doesn’t use their subreddit to just push ads and make sales. They tune into their customers’ needs and foster a sense of community.
