Reddit marketing mistakes to avoid in your social media strategy

Reddit is inherently easy — suppose old-school web boards. And regardless of — or maybe due to — that simplicity, it may be overwhelming. I can’t inform you what number of rabbit holes I’ve discovered myself browsing down, solely to appreciate I’ve misplaced a ton of time or that I’m not doing what I got down to do.

Whereas the time misplaced to the scroll can really feel like simply one other social platform, considering of Reddit like LinkedIn or Fb is a mistake, particularly whenever you put in your advertising and marketing hat. Whereas Reddit has a TON of social media advertising and marketing potential, it wants a selected technique that will help you construct belief along with your viewers — and keep away from feedback like “Good advert, Bro.”

I’ll take you thru errors to keep away from whereas promoting on Reddit so you’ll be able to present up authentically and benefit from your model presence on Reddit.

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Reddit Advertising and marketing Errors to Keep away from

Entrepreneurs are beginning to take Reddit critically and with good cause. Social media platforms are more and more unpredictable. Reddit exhibits up close to the highest of most Google search outcomes, and over 101 million folks use Reddit day by day.

So, what precisely does it imply to take Reddit critically? In our 2025 State of Marketing report, 57% of entrepreneurs surveyed plan to take care of or improve their funding in Reddit, and eight% plan to begin utilizing it for the primary time.

The indicators are clear — when you have the time and finances, Reddit is price a glance, particularly with folks placing a rising emphasis on genuine advertising and marketing. In our 2025 research, 28.78% of entrepreneurs reported creating content material that displays model values as a prime technique in 2024, and that quantity is holding sturdy in 2025.

Reddit suits proper into that shift. However earlier than you dive in, ensure you learn the room and keep away from the largest pitfalls.

Mistake #1: Treating Reddit Like “Simply One other” Social Platform

I’ve to say, utilizing the phrases “Reddit” and “social media” in the identical sentence doesn’t fairly really feel proper. Regardless that it predates most social platforms we use right now and is inherently social, Reddit doesn’t have the identical polish that involves thoughts after I consider social media.

My good friend Jenn Prochaska, a copywriter and model messaging specialist, made me snort out loud when she described Reddit as “Metallica earlier than The Black Album” as a result of it feels rather more underground than mainstream.

Once I interviewed Bryan Grover and Martin Ceisel — each B2B writers and entrepreneurs — for an article exploring Reddit user demographics, they each independently referred to as it the “Wild West.”

Suffice it to say, Reddit is just not constructed for fairly photographs or look-at-me type advertising and marketing. As a substitute, communities anticipate you to tug up a chair, sit down, hear, and share one thing actual.

So, don’t copy-paste your Instagram or LinkedIn technique and suppose it should work. Redditors need you to carry worth, not shamelessly self-promote.

As Roshni Shaikh, product marketer and GTM strategist, shares, “Platforms like Reddit are the final corners of the web the place we are able to discover genuine experiences that aren’t shadowed by social media’s flaunty nature.”

What to do as an alternative: Lurk within the communities the place you need to have interaction, get a way of what’s anticipated, and create a selected technique to construct genuine connections.

Mistake #2: Poorly Timed or Irrelevant Engagement

I caught up with Garrett Gottlieb, founding father of Pulse, a instrument designed to assist manufacturers market on Reddit by genuine conversations. He shared that timing is every part on Reddit, and that “notably on high-engagement posts — being among the many first commenters vastly enhances visibility and impression.”

However, being first to remark doesn’t do you any good in the event you’re participating with the mistaken conversations. Gottlieb, like others I’ve talked to, provided phrases of warning: “Redditors rapidly detect and dismiss inauthentic promotion, so providing actual, significant worth by related conversations is essential.”

Gottlieb is fixing this downside by making certain his platform “makes use of superior logical operations (to filter out irrelevant discussions, pinpointing not simply good communities however the good locations to have interaction” so manufacturers might be more practical of their conversations.

What to do as an alternative: Whether or not you employ a instrument that will help you “hear” and discover the best conversations otherwise you do all of it manually, ensure you hit the best mark and discover the best thread.

Mistake #3: Ignoring Subreddit Guidelines

Reddit seems to be just like the Wild West, however each subreddit has guidelines, and so they’re strictly enforced. What flies in a single group may get your publish eliminated and go away you downvoted into oblivion elsewhere.

Moderators take their roles critically, and so they’re not the one ones paying consideration. Put up the mistaken content material, and the group will roast you. As a substitute of chucking rotten tomatoes at you, they’ll ensure that to humble you.

That stated, most communities on Reddit are likely to worth considerate dialogue. As Prochaska explains, even when folks disagree, the tone tends to remain extra clever and respectful, particularly in comparison with platforms like Fb. However that larger customary additionally means there’s much less tolerance for off-topic posts or low-effort content material.

What to do as an alternative: Earlier than you publish, learn the principles. Lurk a bit. Higher but, remark earlier than you create authentic content material. It builds goodwill and offers you a way of how issues really work.

Mistake #4: Lacking Out on the Context

Reddit feedback aren’t remoted questions or opinions. They’re a part of threads and even bigger ongoing conversations. At a minimal, don’t soar in till you’ve learn the total publish. Doing so is a rookie mistake, and with out the context, no matter you share might land flat and kill your credibility.

If you happen to’re utilizing Reddit for market analysis, don’t take one remark at face worth. The total context may help you higher perceive your viewers and the way they really feel concerning the subject at hand.

What to do as an alternative: Whether or not you’re utilizing Reddit to market your online business or utilizing it to achieve market insights, gradual your roll. Learn the unique publish and scroll by the feedback. If you should, ask some clarifying questions. A considerate strategy shall be rewarded.

Mistake #5: Ghosting a Dialogue

Once I’m speaking about any advertising and marketing technique, particularly e-mail or social media, I usually inform folks to keep away from hit-and-run conditions. Whereas I’m normally explaining the significance of consistency and never solely exhibiting up when it’s time to promote, it applies to Reddit advertising and marketing, too.

The precept is similar — domesticate relationships by providing worth. If you happen to drop a publish after which promptly abandon ship, by no means returning to the feedback, folks take discover. Issues occur, but when failing to stay round and have interaction turns into an ongoing situation, I can promise you that you simply’re sending the mistaken message.

What to do as an alternative: Acknowledge that Reddit is just not normally a quick-win area. It’s concerning the lengthy recreation, so you’ll want to take part.

Mistake #6: Blatant Shilling

All over the place you flip, you’re bombarded by advertising and marketing messages. So, consider me after I say that Reddit customers have seen all of it. And they don’t seem to be right here in your advertising and marketing funnel. In case your content material feels like a pitch, Redditors will downvote it earlier than you’ve completed your sentence.

The truth is, in our latest Reddit survey, customers stated faux natural posts are their #1 advertising and marketing turnoff (49.5%), excess of apparent promotion (20.4%) or irrelevant content material (18.4%). It’s not simply what you say — it’s how trustworthy you’re being about your intentions.

“If you happen to’re being promotional, you lose credibility on Reddit as a result of folks need to hear about uncooked and actual experiences, not orchestrated posts from entrepreneurs,” says Shaikh, and she or he shared an instance of this thread the place a consumer requested for profession recommendation.

As a substitute of promoting something, the host shared her private expertise. She was trustworthy, particular, and didn’t attempt to steer the dialog towards her firm.

What to do as an alternative: Put up like an individual. Everybody I’ve spoken with echoes this recommendation. Concentrate on being a helper first, delivering precious insights and experiences. If folks need extra information, they’ll take a look at your profile (which you’ve optimized, proper?).

Mistake #7: Cherry Selecting Conversations

That is two-fold. If utilizing Reddit for market analysis, don’t choose and select. Ensure to get the entire image as an alternative of specializing in the items that greatest suit your narrative.

The identical goes for taking part. It’s tempting to solely have interaction in threads that serve your model targets. However Reddit communities are too good for that. If you happen to’re solely exhibiting up when it advantages you, folks will discover.

In the end, sure, Reddit has some folks on the perimeter. Nevertheless, keep in mind that it’s stuffed with people who find themselves there to share, to not rank on Google. You’ll be able to be a part of them.

“Reddit conversations usually embrace folks with deep experience who establish their credentials. It’s usually extra knowledgeable and balanced than a easy Google search, and even the information, as a result of these folks aren’t commenting for Web optimization,” says Prochaska.

What to do as an alternative: Take a wide-angle view, whether or not you’re researching or participating. If you happen to’re mining Reddit for insights, look past the handy quotes and recurring complaints for patterns and outliers.

And whenever you’re taking part, present up with the identical curiosity and contribute the place it counts.

Mistake #8: Not Being Clear

Reddit doesn’t tolerate fakes, and that features your profile. Attempting to fly below the radar with out disclosing your model affiliation may really feel like a sensible method to keep away from damaging publicity or downvotes. Nevertheless, it’s one of many quickest methods to lose credibility.

In keeping with our Reddit consumer survey, 61% of customers stated a model feels most genuine when it clearly identifies itself. Transparency ranked larger than even offering precious insights (54%) or actively taking part in dialogue threads (47%).

What to do as an alternative: Be clear about who you might be and who you symbolize, beginning along with your profile. You don’t want to steer along with your model each time you remark, however don’t cover it, both. Transparency is the primary constructing block of belief on Reddit. With out it, even your most useful contributions can really feel manipulative.

• Constructing authority and credibility in a specific niche.
• Constructing word-of-mouth buzz.
• Getting beta testers and genuine suggestions (even when it’s brutally trustworthy).
• You’re prepared to point out up constantly, not simply publish and disappear.
• Mining actual market analysis information.
• Placing your finger on the heartbeat of trade discussions (and utilizing that info to create content material).

“Reddit is highly effective for sharing reporting, storytelling, and micro-doses of perception,” says Shaikh, who explains that all these posts are usually essentially the most actual, which is what customers crave.

She goes on to recommend that companies take into account beginning communities or subreddits across the issues they’re fixing. In different phrases, in the event you can’t discover a area, create one.

As a result of a number of folks I talked to are copywriters and entrepreneurs, many use Reddit for getting a deeper understanding of a subject or for message mining. It presents unfiltered language straight from folks’s mouths.

Due to the anonymity, they don’t censor themselves. In contrast to Web optimization-optimized Google outcomes or polished LinkedIn feedback, Reddit provides you the actual stuff: questions, frustrations, and moments of readability in folks’s personal phrases.

“Reddit is a good supply for thought technology. I’ve been capable of look over the discussions in some related subreddits to seek out frequent questions folks ask. Along with answering them on Reddit, they’ve impressed posts I can share on social media,” says Nikita Morell, copywriter and messaging strategist for architects.

Reddit is just not a shortcut.