Reddit is a site like no other. Calling itself “The Front Page of the Internet” it has become a behemoth of random, engaging information — and is highly addictive. It’s also a place where marketers lurk, hoping to send articles viral and manipulate the ever-watchful Redditors into promoting their brands or buying their products…
In order to do this successfully, they will have to blend in to the crowd. They will build up a profile by engaging with random topics, hoping to gain karma so that when they do post marketing materials, it slides under the radar. So, if a marketer just stumbled across Reddit for the first time, what should they know? How can they quickly build up comment karma? How can they build an account that is powerful, and could end up earning their company serious business? And what should true Redditors be on the lookout for?
10. Posting news as it breaks
This can be a sure fire way to get massive upvotes — but you have to be quick. You are competing with hundreds of thousands of people. Get it right and your account could be made overnight.
9. Starting a subreddit
Noticed a niche not yet exploited? You can start your own subreddit and act as its moderator. This will expose you to the community and give your own posts in that subreddit a bit of a natural boost.
8. Post a picture of Yosemite National Park (Preferably with “Half Dome” in it)
I don’t know why this keeps happening… It seems like every day someone posts a picture of Half Dome and it heads straight to the front page. Perhaps there is something special about Yosemite, or perhaps it is an in-joke I don’t get. Either way, this park is Reddit gold-dust.
7. Adjust your politics
Like Trump? Well… you may want to tone that down. Reddit is a left-leaning environment and anything vaguely right wing gets shot down pretty quickly. More than once I’ve heard Reddit referred to as a liberal fascist utopia, so you may want to make sure you avoid anything that 20-something IPA-drinking, designer-beard wearing hipsters might disagree with. Or do what you want… it’s a free country.
6. Post a song that everyone likes but hasn’t heard in ages
Whether it’s 6 Underground by Sneaker Pimps or Steal My Sunshine by Len, there are a whole lot of songs out there to choose from. Get the right one and you could be heading to the front page.
5. Post a picture of your hot grandma
I will never understand why people flaunt this publicly. It seems that sometimes, while cleaning out the attic, people find an old pic of their gran or grandpa and realize that they kind have the hots for them. They post it up for the whole world to see, and people upvote it big time, amazed that good-looking people existed in the 1940s. The mind boggles!
4. Mentioning the band “Tool”
Ah yes, Tool. Anyone who has lurked around Reddit’s music threads for a while will have seen this name pop up. Whenever a topic like “Best Albums Ever Made” or “Best Band Ever” pops up, you would do well to mention this band or one of their albums. You will be upvoted to infinity by their hardcore fans. I’ve genuinely never heard their stuff but I mention them once a week to keep my karma healthy.
3. Be a genius
This can’t be understated. Have you ever had a truly genius thought or observation. Head over to Showerthoughts and post it up. You may find that people start to like you.
2. Loose a ton of weight/Look better after coming off drugs
There have been cases of people literally showing pictures of themselves from 10 years earlier, claiming that they lost weight over six months and are now looking great. These always get upvoted, so you can see why someone might try this. Do you do drugs? Reddit upvotes might be a good reason to stop. Just don’t forget the before and after pic.
1. Be helpful
There it is. The №1 way to get more karma is to try and be helpful. Could a topic use a link to an article to further explain the subject to newbs? Post it up. Is there someone looking for advice on something you know about? Send them a reply. But most of all, is there something you can actually share with the world that will brighten people’s days or prove useful? If so, Reddit’s the place for you and you should gather karma just fine.
Did I miss anything? Let me know…
