It might be that you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, but if you haven’t, you’ll no doubt understand what Reddit is. Something you might not be aware of though is how to ‘win’ at Reddit, i.e., how to get Reddit upvotes.
Reddit is one of the most active communities online with over 250 million users & over 8 billion monthly page views. However, ‘Redditors’ tend to get very defensive when people come to their site to promote content.
This approach makes many people look at Reddit as a PR nightmare for companies. So the question remains, how do you use Reddit to create viral content, without having your brand and companies reputation brutally attacked?
By understanding how Reddit works, what users look for and understanding how to provide value genuinely, you may just unlock the secret to getting a huge amount of Reddit upvotes.
First, Understanding the Reddit Community
When it comes to an understanding of how to win on any social platform, you first have to understand how that platform works. With Reddit, it’s very much all about the community.
The good news is that you have over 50,000 active communities to choose from within Reddit. Each sub-Reddit or community has its own set of rules both unwritten and written.
First, let’s go through some Reddit terms to get you accustomed.
Glossary of Reddit Terms
Here are some of the most common terms you’ll see used throughout Reddit:
- Subreddit or sub – This is an individual forum within Reddit with its own set of rules, guidelines and moderators. Almost every subreddit is open and allow posting and commenting.
- Upvote/downvote – As you would imagine, this works similar to liking on Facebook, except you can vote both up and down using Reddit’s voting system.
- Sidebar – This is the menu on the side of each subreddit. It’ll typically include all of the rules and guidelines for each sub.
- Front Page – This is where you will see all of the trending posts on Reddit. If you’re not registered on Reddit, you’ll see the same as every other unregistered user. When logged in, however, you’ll see a stream of unique posts tailored to subs that you follow.
- Karma – The currency of Reddit, karma is where all of your internet points live. There are two main types of karma – comment and link. You gain ‘Link karma’ by posting new threads, and you acquire ‘comment karma’ by commenting and receiving upvotes.
- AMA – A simple abbreviation for ‘ask me anything.’ A thread where the person who started the post (often referred to as the OP / Original poster) answers questions for the community.
- TLDR – When you have a long post, you can abbreviate the post at the start or end of your post. ‘To long didn’t read’ gives you a summary of the post.
Now you understand the Reddit lingo a little better, let’s share what makes a Reddit post successful.
What the Best Variables for Success Are
When it comes to getting the most Reddit upvotes, there are a few variables you’ll need to consider before posting. Read below to begin to understand the secrets to success on Reddit.
Peak Hours for Your Reddit Sub
According to Stanford researchers who studied the engagement of 132,000 Reddit posts, there are peak hours for each Reddit sub, and understanding your subs audience could be a huge variable for success.
Especially when posting images, you have to know the best time to post. Generally speaking between 08:00 and 16:00 UTC which is midnight to 8 am pacific time.
Another thing you notice is a lot of people post content into multiple subreddits. This makes sense as often content you produce will be relevant to a wide variety of audiences.
Variety seems to be the spice of life and certain subs will favor certain types of wording. It’s worth experimenting with different subs and different titles at different times to see which gets the best responses. Some people even consider using managed IT services to help them hit all the peak hours if they aren’t working themselves.
Relevance Is King
The old internet adage that content is king is always going to ring true. The thing with content related to Reddit is you need your content to be relevant.
The reason people give you Reddit upvotes is if they are using that Reddit sub and find the content helpful or interesting. Don’t get me wrong you might find a post on ‘Happy Gandhi Jayanti Wishes‘ would work well on a /GandhiAppreciation sub, but would it work on a /Marketing sub? Probably not.
As well as being immoral it wouldn’t be relevant to the sub and would likely get deleted by the moderators swiftly, or worse you’d get a ton of downvotes.
Try to involve yourself in your sub and think about what your subreddit see’s as valuable. Then form your content around that goal.
Become a Real Reddit User
This is perhaps the most important rule for understanding how to get Reddit upvotes. Join the community and get involved.
By understanding what your subreddit is about, becoming a regular face in the community and by sharing real-life comments and examples you can really understand what works.
The added benefit of being a member of your Reddit community is if you see somebody asking a question which you can answer, this can lead back to your previous posts. If you’ve posted on Reddit something relevant to what the person is asking in a separate question, link it back to that post.
If the advice is solid, and the question is getting a lot of upvotes, your solution may lead people back to your original post and this can lead to more upvotes. Remember that being part of the Reddit community can lead people to see you as an expert or at least an avid contributor to your chosen niche.
This can have numerous benefits further down the line for both your business and potential opportunities that will come your way.
Don’t forget, viral content comes from understanding your audience.
Now You Know How to Get Reddit Upvotes; It’s Time for Action
Now you understand how to get Reddit upvotes; it’s time to take the theory and test it in the field. For more support and ideas on how to get the most out of Reddit, contact us directly for support.
