When I talk to people about repurposing their content onto social media and other platforms, they’ll list off Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and maybe throw in something new and on trend like TikTok.
What I rarely hear, though, is people wanting to repurpose onto Reddit. Sometimes it’s because they’re uncertain about how to approach it, other times it’s because they don’t even know what it is!
You might be surprised at just how big Reddit is, so I want to explain more about the platform, what you need to know before you include it in your content strategy, and share five ways you can repurpose your content for Reddit.
Here’s a short video about this week’s episode:
What is Reddit?
Reddit is a social news aggregation, content and community platform. When you find Reddit online its tagline is “ a network of communities based on people’s interests. Find communities you’re interested in, and become part of an online community!”
As of February 2020, Reddit is the 18th most visited website in the world, according to Alexa. That’s above Netflix, Instagram, Twitter and eBay. With over 300 million users, Reddit is rubbing shoulders with the other social media giants, but many people are unaware of it or don’t use it.
This might be because Reddit isn’t exactly like traditional social media platforms. Reddit is a bit like a hybrid of social media and forums. There are thousands of communities, endless conversations and a lot of genuine human connections taking place.
- Users don’t build profiles as such, they just create an account and start posting content (like articles, images, videos, and text posts) or comments
- The site is broken up into ‘subreddits’ — think of them like Facebook groups or hashtags, a way to group content around a specific topic. Users will join or subscribe to subreddits so they can see and share content about the things that they’re most interested in. You can get everything from “r/funny” and “r/news” to “r/lifehacks” (teaching ‘uncommon solutions to common problems’) and “r/BikiniBottomTwitter” (where users share Spongebob Squarepants memes…). Some subreddits have a small collection of subscribers, some have 20 million!
- Users ‘upvote’ and ‘downvote’ posts, meaning that popular posts snowball and are shown to more users and unpopular ones fade into obscurity
There are plenty of other details, but those three points explain the basics of how Reddit works.
Reddit has courted controversy since it launched in 2005, with a generally hands-off policy from the owners allowing subreddits to decide their editorial/moderation policies. That being said, the individuality of subreddits means different communities are largely unconnected and, as a result, being on Reddit isn’t a black mark against any user or company.
What to consider before posting your content on Reddit
I mentioned before that subreddits each have their own moderation and editorial policies, but there are some universal truths to Reddit.
Posting your content in a way that is clearly self-promoting, branded, or attempting to gain traffic/sales will go down like a lead balloon. Reddit has never been an ad-heavy platform, with most revenue coming from users making in-platform purchases and banner ads on the site.
If you don’t believe me, take a look at r/HailCorporate — a subreddit dedicated to calling out attempts at advertising and self-promotion!
This means you should focus on authenticity and honesty by sharing content in a way that is genuinely and primarily intended to give the audience value — not to benefit you.
Reddit can be a harsh place, so approaching it the wrong way could see you rejected by the subreddits you are part of or receiving negative attention for your brand. Be careful!
How to repurpose content for Reddit
Now that we’ve gone through the details and need-to-knows, we can talk about the fun stuff — repurposing your content for Reddit!
Hopefully you’re coming to understand that Reddit is a bit of a unique platform. As a result, I think it’s a great idea to really get to know the platform first. Sign up, contribute, find the right subreddits for you and become part of those communities. You’ll definitely find it interesting, and you’ll develop a strong understanding of what works in those communities and what they want.
Whatever content you are sharing, be honest that it’s yours. Don’t try to fake it by saying “Wow, I just found this thing randomly. Isn’t it cool?” People will see through it in a flash and that authenticity I mentioned earlier will be ruined.
So, how do you repurpose content to Reddit in a way that gives the audience value and isn’t forcing your content on them? I’ve got 5 ideas you can try:
- Share a clip of your podcast or video in which you are discussing a certain topic. Explain that you’re happy to answer questions about it and that you want to give people the chance to dive deeper into the discussion on Reddit.
- Share funny content like bloopers or outtakes. I’ve written a guide to repurposing your bloopers before, if you need some pointers! This kind of content is relatable, encourages engagement (either from people laughing at you or giving others the chance to share their own mistakes!), and is an inoffensive way of sharing your content with a big audience.
- Ask people what they would like to see discussed on a podcast, video, or blog post. E.g. “Which movies would you want to hear about on a horror movie review podcast?” In other words, use Reddit as a platform to start discussions and ‘repurpose’ those discussions into new, fresh content.
- Schedule an Ask Me Anything on r/AMA or your chosen subreddit. AMAs are an open Q&A, so if you are an expert in your field or have a unique perspective or story, you can share it in an AMA and answer questions. This is a great way to explain who you are and what you do to people, but it’s also great research for your own content. The questions people ask can inform what you create in the future. Alternatively, on your podcast, video, or blog, you can let people know that you are going to be on Reddit answering questions about this topic and let them know how they can join in the discussion.
- Repurpose your blog post and social media images onto Reddit and break your long-form content down into snackable, bitesize content which is perfect for Reddit. When people are scrolling through their feed, an eye-catching image is more likely to make them stop and pay attention than a few lines of text. You could even consider repurposing a video, podcast episode or blog post into an infographic and share that on Reddit.
Bonus tip!
If you have an established following already, you could end up having your own dedicated subreddit where your fans gather and discuss your content. You could create it yourself and have it as a sort of dedicated forum for your fans or it could be a kind of fan page.
For example, you can get anything from fan page subreddits for musicians with a few thousand members to YouTube creators using subreddits to curate submissions for their videos with millions of members.
Repurposing elsewhere
If you’re not ready for Reddit, that’s fine. It may be that it just isn’t the platform for you! It’s definitely useful for doing research into your subject area… or even for your personal interests. r/SpinClass has been a great source of inspiration and education for me!
If you’re looking to repurpose in places outside of the ‘usual’ social media platforms, I recommend looking to other platforms like LinkedIn or Medium. You can learn more about syndicating content on Medium and repurposing content on LinkedIn by listening to the episodes linked, or I’ve got whole chapters on them in the Content 10x book!
Originally published at https://www.content10x.com on February 20, 2020.
