Throw a rock at Google or any LLM these days, and you’ll hit a Reddit post. (You’ll also be putting a target on your back come the robot uprising, but that’s for another newsletter.)
Reddit owns an absolutely massive chunk of the search and discovery game right now, but many brands are (rightfully) terrified to step foot there.
So I set out to find how HubSpot’s own marketing team is playing this game.
What I found was the strategy that earns us an average of 11,000 branded mentions each month.
The Elephant in the Subreddit
Let’s address the elephant in the room first: Most of y’all reading this don’t have your own subreddit devoted to your company, so I get it if you’re skeptical that our advice will be relevant.
But if you know anything about Reddit, you’ll know that outside of that walled garden, being a well-known brand is actually a disadvantage. Redditors can be mean, bro.
“When you do it right, Reddit is an opportunity to build trust with customers at scale,” says Jenny Sowyrda, HubSpot’s senior manager of Community Programs & Engagement. “When you do it in the wrong space, you will get your head chewed off.”
So, uh, why are we doin’ this again?
Earning Your Seat at the Conversation
“As access to customers declines through traditional channels, what we see is that peers just want to talk to each other,” Jenny explains. “And what that looks like is going to third-party places, such as Reddit, Quora, even LinkedIn, and trying to have human-to-human conversations.”
To put it more bluntly: Marketers killed search and social with overoptimized corporate crap, so audiences turned to places where they could share real experiences with real people.
Trying to regain some of that trust, Google and other answer engines began to pull results from those third-party places.
“All of that goodness is getting pulled into LLMs. So how you show up in those spaces is ultimately going to be many customers’ first impressions. The more you engage in those spaces, the more opportunity you have to define how you show up in LLMs.”
The Way We Do the Things We Do
Mechanically speaking, this strategy is extremely simple, but I cannot stress this enough: Read Jenny’s advice before trying this for yourself. Otherwise, at best, all your hard work may be deleted. At worst, you’ll get the sickest public roasting of your life.
Step 1: Make a branded account.
Set up an account in your company’s or founder’s name. While you could use an employee’s account to increase authenticity, what happens if that employee moves on?
Step 2: Set up Reddit Pro Trends.
Reddit’s own free Trends tool allows you to track your brand name or even relevant industry keywords and see what users are saying about them.
“Regardless of what your industry is, I guarantee there’s someone talking about it on Reddit,” Jenny says. Her team will track keywords like “HubSpot,” “CRM,” or “sales software” to find relevant conversations.
“It’s a very digestible way to understand where your audience is spending their time, so that you’re engaging in the right places.”
Step 3: Set up a social listening tool.
If you’ll also be monitoring other social sites, like Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn, it’s worth considering a dedicated social listening tool. This’ll allow you to track trends and conversations across platforms and save a helluva lot of time.
“We use Sprout Social to keep an eye on how HubSpot’s being mentioned across subreddits.”
(A quick disclaimer: Sprout Social is a HubSpot Connect Partner, but this is not a partner placement or paid ad. Jenny is of sound mind and body and uses Sprout of her own free will.)
Step 4: Join the conversation.
It’s time to share your expertise! Answer questions. Share tips and tricks. Give your honest opinion. Have fun, but don’t go overboard.
“You don’t want to be blasting Reddit with lots of replies, so spend your coins wisely,” Jenny advises. “Jump in where you have the most value to add.”
Jenny’s Rules for Reddit
Jenny is one of the most genuinely helpful human beings I’ve worked with, and those are three qualities that you’re going to need: Being genuine. Being helpful. Being human.
In her kindness, she’s shared her rules for Redditing and keeping your head unbitten.
1. Remember you’re a guest.
“When you go into a subreddit, treat it like you’re the plus one at a wedding where you don’t know anyone. You have to be on your best behavior. Be polite. Ask the rules. Don’t make assumptions.”
Each community (or “subreddit”) will have their own rules and culture. Be sure to read those, in addition to Reddit’s general rules.
2. Be up front about being a brand.
Don’t try to hide the fact that you’re representing a brand. Redditors will literally dig through years of comment history to out suspected imposters.
That doesn’t mean you need to start every comment by declaring your affiliation, but don’t pretend to be unbiased.
When in doubt, Jenny uses an intro like: “Hi, I’m Jenny. I work at HubSpot. I have an opinion on X, Y, Z. This is my opinion, and that’s not just because I work at HubSpot.”
3. Don’t act like a brand.
Just because you represent a brand doesn’t mean you are one.
“Whether you’re responding through a branded account or not, act like a human. Don’t act like a brand. As soon as people get an ounce of ‘You’re selling something,’ they’re automatically not going to trust you.”
If you need it, a non-exhaustive list of tips for acting like a human:
- Don’t speak in the royal “we.”
- Give your actual thoughts and opinions, not your legally approved message.
- Write like you speak.
- Sign off with your real name.
“The more that people realize you are just a person, the more respect you’ll get.”
4. Introduce yourself to the mods.
Every subreddit will have their own team of volunteer moderators. These are the folks with the power to nuke your content or even your account.
“If it’s a space where you’d like to be intentionally present, it’s a lot easier to do if you introduce yourself and get their permission.”
This doesn’t have to be anything complicated. Just a quick DM to say, “Hi, this is who I am. This is what I’m doing. I don’t want to break your rules, so if I am, please let me know.”
“You’d rather just be told no than have your content continuously removed,” Jenny adds.
5. Teach, don’t pitch.
“This is Community 101, but you really only want to comment when you have unique value to add. If you don’t, then it’s not your conversation to join,” she cautions. “For all brands, make sure you’re showing up value-first and human-first.”
For example, Jenny might step in when someone asks questions like: How do I get started with a CRM? Do I need sales analytics? What the heck’s a DMP?
But even then, it’s only to share helpful information. This is not the time to launch into a sales pitch.
“Once you build credibility and trust, when you say to someone, ‘Have you checked this out?’ or ‘You’re struggling with this, let me help you’, that’s a moment to represent your brand in a very positive light.”
And even though it seems like a one-on-one interaction, “that one-to-one post is going to be seen by hundreds, if not thousands of people.”
6. Don’t spam links to your brand.
“The less linking out you do, the better. Any blue text automatically makes Redditors more suspicious.”
Instead, try to put more value and more information into your replies, rather than linking out to guides, resources, or product pages.
If the topic is bigger than one comment can hold, ask if the user would like you to privately send a resource through direct message instead.
And when you do link out, Reddit’s own self-promotion guidelines state: “A general rule of thumb is that 10% or less of your posting and conversation should link to your own content.”
7. Don’t inject your brand into the conversation.
“If we’re doing our jobs right, we’re not putting HubSpot into the conversation,” Jenny says. “But if HubSpot’s already mentioned, we might go in and say, ‘I can validate that. If you want to learn more, let me know.’”
So, in the example where someone asks about CRM software? That’s still not a valid reason for her to barge in and start pitching HubSpot.
But Jenny does caveat that you should jump in to correct misunderstandings.
“If there is misinformation, we do want to chime in and say, ‘That’s not true,’ or, ‘This is more up-to-date.’”
8. Build up good karma.
In Reddit terms, “karma” refers to your reputation score, earned by users upvoting or downvoting your posts and comments.
Your karma can impact your reach, and even your ability to post or reply, so — just as in real life — it’s important to maintain good karma.
“Building karma is a big part of the Reddit experience, and transparency paves the way for that.”
To build up your karma, “start by responding to [other people’s posts], as opposed to posting your own thing. Try to find conversations you can chime in and add your two cents on. Again, if you’re the plus one at a wedding, you don’t want to be the one opening the dance floor.”
Jenny cautions that creating your own posts or asking your own questions is not for beginners.
“That’s the Black Diamond ski trail. If you’re going to ask questions in an external subreddit, you want to have your karma built up and you want to have a conversation with the moderators.”
9. Thank your fans and boosters.
When people naturally say nice things about your brand, or share helpful information about your products or services, Jenny recommends sending a quick DM “just letting them know we see you. Thank you for the work you do.”
And while you never want to create the impression that you’re paying for public opinion, if you notice superfans that talk about you a lot, it’s okay to send a token of thanks.
“You can also say, ‘We’d love to send you a t-shirt!’”
10. Give it time.
Jenny warns that Reddit is definitely not the place for quick wins or trying to game the algorithm.
Everyone wants that runaway viral post that hits the front page, drives tons of traffic, and makes your whole C-suite stand up and clap. (And that CEO… was Albert Einstein.)
“That’s the edge case,” Jenny says. Reddit marketing is more about “consistently showing up, talking to folks, and building those relationships. And after about four to six months, I would say you can expect to see results.”
11. Focus on mentions and retentions.
So, if it’s not the place for quick wins, how do you know if it’s working?
“The two ways we look at success are mentions and retention. The North Star to keep an eye on is: Are people talking about you? It means your brand awareness is spreading.”
“The second question is: Are you saving customers through Reddit? We have situations where folks are bringing us their frustrations, and we’ve been able to keep them happy.”
12. Be cautious, but don’t be afraid.
“On Reddit, it’s a lot harder to undo your mistakes, so being cautious is the best way to move forward. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. But don’t be afraid.”
If you keep a human-first approach and follow Jenny’s advice, you’ll be creating goodwill for your brand and sending positive signals to LLMs.
Sprout it out loud.
Hey, listen, I was serious when I said this wasn’t a paid ad or a partner placement, but I still have a job to do. Did you know that you can integrate Sprout Social with HubSpot to automatically share data between your CRM and your social listening tools?
Here’s how to connect the two tools:
- From your Sprout account, navigate to Account & Settings -> Settings -> Integrations
- Click Connect under the HubSpot icon.
- Click the pencil icon.
- Click Add New Account and follow the instructions.
Rewarding yourself with another coffee is an optional sixth step.
