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July 13, 2017

Reddit as a PR Tool: 3 Tips

Do you read the “front page of the internet?” Reddit, a social news aggregation and discussion site, is one of the most visited websites in the U.S. with more than 3 million views per day. But with thousands of sub-categories and hundreds of millions of comments, how does a PR professional navigate this sea of content? Here are three ways Reddit can become your new favorite public relations tool.

1. Curates news so you don’t have to

Want to know what’s happening in healthcare news? There’s a subreddit for that. Capitol Hill? There’s a subreddit for that too. Redditors understand that no singular news source can tell the whole story, so they collectively elect the best source for every issue – giving you a snapshot of the hottest topics of the moment. Here are some of our favorite subreddits:

2. Reddit? I already read it

Where were you on April 9, 2017? Redditors were viewing a 34 second video of a doctor being pulled off an overbooked United Airlines flight. Reddit’s less formal description might be “where videos go viral” – for better or worse. It was Reddit who first publicized the video of the United Airlines passenger being dragged from his chair. It was Reddit who decided the Pepsi advertisement featuring Kendall Jenner was distasteful and offensive. The immediacy within Reddit’s mob mentality is very powerful, and those who regularly check Reddit will often see the headlines coming before they hit the major news outlets.

3. A forum fit for a president

Want to raise visibility of your brand or CEO? You don’t have to be famous to be featured on Reddit’s Ask Me Anything forum. While some of the most notable AMA veterans include Gordon Ramsay and President Obama, there are also much more obscure personalities as well, like a man who wore the Goofy costume at Walt Disney theme parks for more than 20 years, a former Chuck E. Cheese employee and a bear attack survivor.

If you think you have something interesting to share and would like to qualify for a Reddit AMA, there are a few guidelines. You must provide a Reddit username, date and time of the potential AMA session (it’s best to give 6 weeks prior notice), proof of who you are, and a brief bio. Then, the AMA subreddit moderators will determine if you’re worthy.

There’s no guaranteeing your AMA will rank at the top with the likes of Gordon Ramsay or President Obama, but the open platform of the Reddit AMA allows you to share your message with the masses. Just remember to be genuine – Redditors can smell spin or dishonesty a mile away (and will make sure you have to answer for it).

 

By Alex Boonstra