Reddit Marketing Done WRONG: What Are You Risking???
Marketing shortcuts to Reddit are both illegal and damaging your reputation
Reddit got marketers’ (and SEOs’) attention about two years ago when it happened to be in the overlap of two major intent-based channels:
Organic Google search (as Reddit threads rank for just about any commercial and branded query)
LLMs (as ChatGPT uses Reddit for training data and frequently cites Reddit threads as sources for answers).
As commonly happens in our industry, most businesses started looking for shortcuts to Reddit visibility.
Here’s what they are doing wrong and why it is inevitably going to backfire:
>>> JOIN us to discuss this LIVE!
1. Posting fake reviews, and the legality of that
Or rather illegality of that….
Here’s how most agencies approach Reddit marketing:
They buy comments from anonymous accounts recommending a certain brand
They sponsor new posts from fake customers describing their great experience with the product
Not many businesses realize this is not just unethical, but it is also illegal. FTC made it quite clear:
Brands cannot post fake reviews, including AI-generated reviews.
Businesses can’t sell or buy reviews.
Individuals must disclose in their review if they are connected to a business.
No selling or buying followers, likes, or views on social media.
There’s an easy form allowing consumers to report businesses that are doing any of the above. It is no joke.
Any agency trying to sell you these services essentially encourages you to break the law.
2. Reaching out to moderators requesting to remove negative threads
This is #1 request from businesses contacting us for Reddit reputation management services: How do we delete those negative threads?
Well, this is a great way to make those mods very angry.
Not only will they likely ban your account from the subreddit, but they will also make the issue public, damaging your reputation even more.
Here’s one example of a huge subreddit making sure businesses that attempt to remove negative threads or sponsor positive reviews are well-known:
After a thorough audit, I can recommend reaching out to mods carefully if both of these conditions overlap:
The product has changed, and the thread no longer represents the current state of things. Make sure to prepare all the documentation, change log, etc., explaining how the situation has changed.
The overall sentiment is neutral. Sometimes, some brands are so notorious inside some subreddits that whatever you say will result in the situation getting even worse.
And even in this case, I never recommend asking the mods to remove a thread. It should always be phrased something like “Is there any way to update this thread, as we took a lot of effort in fixing our products to address the listed issues?”
3. Trying the “influencer marketing” approach
Some brands attempt to “hire” well-established Redditors and mods to promote their products on Reddit. This, again, is something that can backfire and cause serious reputation management issues, even when you are open to doing it legally, i.e., allowing them to disclose the affiliation.
Reddit is not like other social media networks you are used to. The path to becoming a mod is very long. You have to be very passionate about the topic to end up a well-known user inside a popular subreddit or a mod.
These passionate people will likely treat any attempt to sponsor their reputation as an insult. And they will likely be very vocal about that.
Doing Reddit marketing right is not just more effective in the long run; it is also the only way to keep your brand safe. Establishing a transparent business entity on Reddit builds trust that no money can buy.
If you are considering marketing on Reddit, ask us how to do it properly!