Part of our work at OGS Media with Reddit is making it easier for brands to get on the platform the right way: transparent, authentic, and really connecting with your audience. Some of that happens through our partnership, working with various teams at Reddit, testing new features, and sharing insights from the brands we’re currently managing.
Another part of that is through hosting Ask Me Anything (AMAs) like the one I did last week on r/RedditForBusiness.
The questions that came in reminded me why this work matters. After nearly two decades on the platform and working with brands like TikTok, Purple, and Asurion, I see how brands are genuinely trying to figure out Reddit. The AMA drew questions from marketers across industries, from early-stage startups to enterprise brands, all working to understand how to show up authentically.
Let me walk you through the biggest themes that emerged and what actually works on Reddit.
The Biggest Mistake Brands Make (And Why It Happens)
Multiple people asked variations of the same question: “What’s the biggest mistake brands make when they first start marketing on Reddit?”
“Most brands find Reddit through their online marketing teams. They see that Reddit is showing up in Google search results or they see it in LLMs. But when looking at who should give Reddit a try, it still ends up landing in their online marketing teams. Online marketers have been held to ROI numbers for so long, it’s how they look at their engagement on Reddit.
There’s an interest in being on Reddit because it’s popular and important, but there’s not enough time spent understanding why Reddit is important and that’s what I think is the biggest mistake brands make.”
The root problem? Brands need to understand what makes Reddit so powerful in the online user’s journey, how subreddits operate as individual communities with their own rules, culture, and expectations. How the journey to learning and making decisions is as important as the outcome.
When one marketer asked how to avoid the anti-promotional backlash, I explained:
“As for the line between contribution and self-promotion, I think that’s often more of a feeling than a line. It takes understanding the community, what they expect and need, what they appreciate and what they despise. The best marketers know how to ‘read the room’ and know their audience, start with being helpful first, and wait for that moment when what they have to offer is what you’re asking for, so that they’re never selling you something, but rather helping you out with a solution they just happen to have.”
Why Traditional Social Media Strategy Fails On Reddit
A marketer with years of experience asked why traditional social media approaches don’t translate to Reddit success. The answer gets to the heart of what makes Reddit different:
“It really comes down to a large segment of the world wanting to engage in conversation, versus just watching streams for updates and entertainment.
It was long after social media really came out that marketers started really looking at it for the exposure and traffic it could drive. This created two avenues: a megaphone to share information and customer service.
Neither of these helps people who are on a journey to learn something, engage in conversations or discussions around a topic of interest, or to find a solution to a problem they need solved.
Traditional social media doesn’t work here because it is not about conversation, it is about promotion and marketing.”
The fundamental shift brands need to make? Stop thinking about Reddit like Facebook or LinkedIn with stricter rules. Instead:
“Start thinking about Reddit like a networking event, a cocktail party, a social event. How would you approach and engage with an actual event, versus posting content on a social media platform.
It simply comes down to the intent.”
Reddit operates more like walking into a conference where each subreddit is a different breakout session with its own culture, expectations, and unwritten rules. You can’t just grab the microphone and start pitching; you need to listen, contribute, and earn your place in the conversation.
This understanding leads directly to what actually works on Reddit.
The Do’s And Don’ts For Reddit Success
When asked for the top do’s and don’ts, I broke it down to the essentials:
Do:
“Really become a Redditor:
- Find communities that you are a good fit to belong to (from the Redditor point of view).
- Focus on engaging and helping Redditors through discussion.”
Don’t:
“Give this task to your marketing team (well, not only your marketing team).
- Treat subreddits like categories.
- Focus on KPIs outside Reddit.”
That first “don’t” surprises people, but it’s critical. Here’s the thing: Marketing teams are trained to chase quarterly numbers, to show immediate ROI, to justify every dollar spent. But Reddit operates on relationship timelines, not campaign cycles.
When you hand Reddit to someone who’s measured on conversion rates and cost-per-click, they’re going to treat it like another performance channel. They’ll miss what actually matters, the compound value of becoming part of the conversation, of genuinely helping solve problems, of building trust that turns your brand into the solution people recommend when someone asks for help six months from now.
The real ROI on Reddit isn’t in the traffic you drive this quarter; it’s in becoming the answer that shows up in Google searches and AI responses for years to come because you took the time to build authentic authority in your communities.
How Long Does Reddit Success Actually Take?
This came up multiple times, so here’s the realistic timeline:
“Some of our clients see Reddit become their primary funnel within three months. Some rank with their content prominently within 30 days. Some show up everywhere in LLMs inside six months. Some clients get information that changes their whole business within three months. One very large brand turned around its brand sentiment in about nine months. So it is just dependent on what impact means to you.”
But the general rule: Six to 12 months for meaningful impact, assuming you’re doing it right.
The Product Promotion Question Everyone Asks
One of the most practical questions was how to succeed without actually selling products. I responded:
“Overall, the premise is you don’t sell products on Reddit. You solve problems. Help people with their actual problems, and they’ll ask what you recommend. That’s when you mention your solution. However, some communities do want product posts, like fashion or deal subreddits. It depends on what you’re selling. But the smart move is be helpful first, then run ads where people need your product. You get conversions from ads plus trust from being genuinely useful.”
This is where a lot of brands get tripped up. They think “no selling” means they can never mention their product. That’s not it at all. It’s about context and timing.
What Startups And Enterprise Brands Both Need To Know
Interestingly, questions came from both ends of the spectrum, pre-launch startups and established enterprise companies. The answer was the same for both:
“I think that the pathway for every brand, early stage, prelaunch, or established, should be about understanding what their audience on Reddit really needs from them, what their customers journey through Reddit looks like, and what the opportunities are for the brand to connect with those customers at the right time, with the right conversations, and with the intent to help them move through their journey to completion.”
The process is the same regardless of company size. It takes time, it takes commitment, and it informs the brand what their customers actually need, what they think about the industry, the brand, and its competitors.
The Authenticity Challenge
When someone asked about responding to criticism, here’s the reality check:
“What I will say, is that arguing and getting defensive almost NEVER works. Remember you and the people you are talking with are humans, so what would you do in real life? I never think it hurts to give a quick and honest apology (through DM if needed). Something human. People soften when they realize they are talking to another person.”
This ties back to the networking event concept. If someone called you out at a conference, you wouldn’t start arguing with them in front of everyone. You’d handle it like a human being.
What Should Brands Do In Their First 90 Days On Reddit?
Another practical question that came up was what brands should actually focus on during their first three months on Reddit. Based on our work with enterprise clients, there’s a specific methodology that works.
The biggest temptation for new brands is to jump in and start posting immediately. That’s exactly backwards.
Month 1: Foundation And Discovery
The first month isn’t about your brand at all; it’s about becoming a genuine Redditor. We have our clients’ team members join communities related to their personal interests first. Love cooking? Join r/cooking. Into photography? Find your camera subreddit. This isn’t marketing; it’s learning how Reddit actually works.
Simultaneously, we’re conducting what we call “deep audience immersion.” Before posting a single thing, we spend weeks analyzing subreddit discussions to understand what your audience actually cares about. We map user journeys, identify pain points, and document the language and tone that resonates within each community.
During this phase, we also establish your brand subreddit as a “home base” and create one to two employee accounts for future engagement. But these accounts don’t engage with business topics yet. They’re building karma and credibility in personal interest areas.
Month 2: Authentic Engagement Begins
Month 2 is when we start engaging authentically within your industry communities, but still not promoting anything. Team members begin participating in discussions where their expertise adds genuine value. The key is engaging as knowledgeable individuals who happen to work at your company, not as company representatives.
We’re also developing content during this phase, but it’s all based on real user conversations we’ve observed. Every post, comment, and engagement has a purpose rooted in solving actual problems we’ve seen discussed.
Month 3: Strategic Content And Smart Timing
The third month is when content strategy kicks into high gear, but it’s informed by everything we’ve learned. We map high-traffic discussions and ensure your brand is present when it matters most, without being intrusive.
We call this “smart engagement timing,” appearing in conversations not because we’re pushing an agenda, but because we genuinely have something valuable to contribute.
The Results
This approach works. One client, Devicie, went from relative obscurity to authentic industry credibility within their first quarter. They saw a 2,000% increase in Reddit visibility, 528 total upvotes across community-driven posts, 271% growth in meaningful conversations, and enterprise leads sourced directly from Reddit engagement.
But more importantly, Reddit became an engine for their entire business strategy, informing everything from product development to sales conversations.
The 90-day approach isn’t about quick wins, but rather building the foundation for long-term success that compounds over time.
The Investment Question
Multiple people asked whether Reddit should replace other marketing channels. Here’s the perspective:
“I don’t know that I would ever put all my eggs in one basket, but I would say that for me, and for a lot of people I know in the SEO space, Reddit is a very important investment to make. The largest impact you can have to search right now in my opinion, as well as for LLM search, is to have high quality problem solving discussions that include your brand on Reddit.”
And when someone joked about trends we’ll cringe at in 10 years, the response was simple:
“Questioning whether Reddit is a good investment to make for your brand.”
What This All Means
The questions from this AMA reinforce what I’ve been seeing for years: Brands know Reddit is important, but they’re approaching it with the wrong frameworks. They’re trying to apply Facebook advertising logic to a platform that operates more like a collection of professional associations or hobby clubs.
The brands that succeed on Reddit understand this fundamental difference. They show up as humans first, experts second, and companies third. They solve problems instead of pushing products. They invest time in understanding communities instead of treating them as advertising categories.
Most importantly, they recognize that Reddit success isn’t about gaming the system; it’s about genuinely participating in it. That takes longer than running ads, requires more nuance than posting content, and demands more authenticity than most marketing teams are used to providing.
But for the brands that get it right? Reddit becomes more than a marketing channel. It becomes a competitive advantage that’s incredibly difficult for competitors to replicate.
If you have questions about Reddit marketing, feel free to jump into the original AMA thread or connect with me on LinkedIn, where I post most of my Reddit thoughts.
More Resources:
Featured Image: Courtesy of r/RedditforBusiness
