Reddit Description, History, Features, Influence, & Controversy
Updated on 24/04/2025Navigating Reddit involves finding subreddits of interest, joining discussions, and engaging with the community through comments and contributions. She keeps our team up-to-date by researching and writing about the latest AdTech trends and creates our publisher newsletter. With a background in academia, Ely is passionate about making complex industry topics clear and engaging for readers. Abide by subreddit rules and contribute positively to the discussions.
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The majority of people use Reddit for personal interests only, with 56.3% saying they never use it professionally. You’ll need to enter your email, create a username and password, and then you’ll be all set. You can use Reddit via its official site and mobile app, but there are many alternative Reddit apps and websites that offer a better experience.
- There are many specialized discussion boards on the internet, but if you are looking for a one-stop-shop then it’s hard to look beyond Reddit.
- The sources we used for this information is posted at the bottom of this article, but basically, we’ve pulled information and statistics from a number of polls and outside research.
- These include advertising, premium memberships like Reddit Gold, and awards that users can purchase to highlight specific posts or comments.
- She likes that there’s more moderation now because there were some “really disgusting subreddits,” but she also misses some of the specificity and smallness of the old days.
In a way, that’s a good thing—it helps to keep Reddit separate from the rest of your social life online, and that anonymity is necessary for online safety. It does mean, however, that tracking basic details about Reddit’s users and their characteristics has to be done through outside research. The sources we used for this information is posted at the bottom of this article, but basically, we’ve pulled information and statistics from a number of polls and outside research. You can also use the platform for deep-dive posts to uncover “question keywords”. In this regard, the platform’s high audience engagement offers a key advantage to digital marketers. The study also noted that Reddit users are nine times faster at deciding on purchases compared to other social platforms.
It’s a space for learning, sharing advice, asking questions, and staying updated on the latest trends and news. It’s also worth noting that the majority of users on Reddit either never post or rarely post, instead choosing to browse or “lurk” on their favorite networks. This is similar to any website with a commenting system, though it’s likely that Reddit has a higher ratio of active users to lurking users. According to the latest data on Reddit uses, staying updated with news and the latest events is the top reason people are on the platform.
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Yes, Reddit keeps a list of your recent searches, which you can view by selecting the search box at the top of the platform. This history is stored on the website, app, and possibly your browser. It’s essentially an open Q&A session where users can ask you anything about your brand, powertrend expertise, or industry. “If this is exactly what you’re talking about, and I think it answers your question or offers some insight, I wouldn’t hesitate to drop the link,” Ceisel says. Grover was much more resistant to seeing a brand share the link, whereas Ceisel and Fortune were more open to it. When I talk about any type of marketing campaigns, I coach people to avoid “hit-and-run” or “ding-dong-ditch” moments.
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That said, I’d argue that most content marketing is a long game, too. By consistently demonstrating you know your stuff, people in your target audience can see that you’ve got the chops to solve their problems with your product. In fact, this is Martin Ceisel’s strategy on the subreddits he uses professionally.
Being banned from a single subreddit only prevents you from posting on that particular forum, you can still browse even when banned. Plus, you can still submit to other subreddits on the website. Yes, you can definitely get banned from Reddit if you are a spammer or attempt to use the platform to spread hate and negativity. If you follow the rules of each subreddit and are a friendly person, you have nothing to worry about. Some subreddits even allow you to add a personal flair that will appear alongside your username. For example in r/nfl, you can set your flair to be your favorite team so whenever you submit everyone knows who you support.
Be mindful of the rules specific to that subreddit, as some communities may have guidelines about post length, content type, or self-promotion. Reddit’s homepage, or the front page, is composed of the most popular posts from each default subreddit. The default list is predetermined and includes subreddits such as “pics,” “funny,” “videos,” “news” and “gaming.”
He also suggests poking around to learn more about the moderators and who they are. The more transparency in the details, and the more established the subreddit, the more trustworthy it is as a resource. Additionally, 47% feel that brands engaging in discussions like regular users boost their credibility and trust factor. Some subreddits have wikis or FAQs that can help you get acquainted with the basics. Check the right sidebar or above the view options for these before nfp in trading you start posting.
- Reddit has become an important source of breaking news on the Internet.
- Reddit’s user base is a melting pot of demographics, making it one of the most inclusive platforms on the internet.
- Pulling from the same Pew Research poll that has been used throughout this article, we can see that US-based Redditors tend to be of all different income levels, spread out on all three levels measured by Pew almost evenly.
- There have been numerous controversies over the years about individual subreddits and their influence over events, such as the January 6 U.S.
- If the subreddit of your dreams doesn’t yet exist, you can make it yourself.
MOST POPULAR
Finally, we took a look at what Redditors use the site for, and what type of content is most popular on the site. Overall, these numbers follow the United States general population fairly closely, with an increase in white non-Hispanic users and other non-Hispanic users, and a decrease in Hispanic and black non-Hispanic users. There’s no widely available information on the ethnicity of Reddit’s non-US based users, so for now, this is the best we have to go off.
Posts asking for recommendations offer a number of opportunities for you as a marketer and a consumer. So keep an eye out for people asking for advice, recommendations, or solutions. This goes hand in hand with adding value, but it’s slightly more nuanced. “Fundamentally, that’s how Reddit works — the community democratically chooses the course correction and lets people know what’s welcome and what’s not welcome,” says Ceisel. I’ve found that the most effective copywriting uses the same words your audience does to talk about their problems.
Know that “fake” or staged posts work against you.
“I have noticed more brands posting and pretending not to be a brand, and it’s really obvious for people who have been on Reddit for a while. And it’s annoying.” In terms of moderation, it’s not perfect, but no one can even agree on what perfect is. If it wants to keep growing — and be on the public markets — there’s a level of maturity that is necessary. As much as WSB was treated as fringe at the time, it became much less so, especially after the media caught on.
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But if you want to know what people really think — about products, brands, trends, or industries — Reddit is where you’ll find the unfiltered truth. Click the Save button on any post or comment to keep it for later. Click Profile under your username at the top-right to get access to all your interaction history, including saved content. You might see various icons that appear next to posts or comments. This is related to the paid Reddit Premium service, where you can purchase coins and use them to give awards to posts. It’s not necessary by any means, but when you see that, you’ll know someone paid money to award them.
Just make sure to use the strategy judiciously so you’re not overly promotional with each post you share. This article offers an overview of Reddit’s basic functionality and describes how the platform can be successfully and effectively integrated into a digital marketing mix. It’s a space for everything, from in-depth debates on world events to lighthearted communities focused on hobbies or humor. Reddit is primarily used as a space for sharing how to buy, sell & trade monero for beginners content and participating in conversations about virtually any topic imaginable. If you tell them you didn’t read the rules or you didn’t know about something, they may reinstate you.