Reddit

#SXSWi 2014 Recap: Reddit: You’re Doing it Wrong

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#SXSWi 2014 Recap: Reddit: You’re Doing it Wrong


Reddit is an online community that is completely user-driven. Posts and images are separated into subreddits based on various topics. Rohit Thawani, the Director of Digital Strategy at TBWA\Chiat\Day and Garrett Tillman, the Senior Social Media Manager at Trulia, kicked off the fourth day of South by Southwest Interactive 2014 by talking about all the ways that brands mess up (and kick ass!) on Reddit, which gets millions of visitors per day.
Thawani and Tillman gave several tidbits of information that could help in industry or vertical, which mostly included things that brands shouldn’t do. The overarching theme to their advice was for brands to be genuine and not try to hard. Regular redditors (Reddit users) will be able to tell when an account is fake or representing a company. Easy giveaways included posting memes with their own products featured or trying to post content with accounts that are only one day old.
Reposts of the same content, using hashtags (which aren’t clickable or used on the site), trying to use hip lingo that isn’t in Redditor vernacular in several different sub-reddits was also a dead giveaway that it was a brand or company account trying to be something they aren’t.

The Reddit Community

Knowing the community is one of the main things to having a successful Reddit presence as a brand or company. The common Reddit age range is 18 to 40, with the majority being male, according to Thawani and Tillman. Besides not using awkward language as mentioned above, brands trying to hard shows that:
¨You don’t know your community. This has no bearing, no meaning to the users of Reddit.¨
Again, knowing what interests the Reddit community is crucial, as is being open and honest. Sponsoring a post on Reddit is recommended for brands because it shows transparency that this is a post by a brand and they aren’t trying to hide anything.
One such example was Nissan, who created a post stating that they were from the Nissan marketing team and were new to Reddit. They told the community about their plans for selling a Nissan Versa on Amazon and what they thought. This lead to a discussion about the craziest things that redditors have seen on Amazon that they want, like horse masks or celebrity pillowcases. To further engage with the community, the Nissan team started buying the things users mentioned and shipping it to the people who wanted it. This generated great engagement and a positive experience for Reddit users, especially since Nissan wasn’t necessarily asking for anything in return.

Be Playful

Thawani and Tillman also recommended being playful and quirky on Reddit as a brand. For example, a redditor posted an angry image and message of his Fathead order, which was supposed to be a Tom Brady wall decal. Instead, he got Tim Tebow. Fathead saw the post and immediately overnighted the original customer every single Fathead of Tom Brady, which he then posted about it (unprovoked by Fathead).
Tillman stated that content like this shows that a company has done it right:
¨You know you’ve done it right when people from the community are organically posting or posting in other places your company hasn’t.¨

Other Reddit Marketing Tips

Here are some other tips that the panel gave us, in bullet form:
  • Follow these subreddits: Heil Corporate, Shut up and take my money, Circle Jerk (NSFW, what the community is sick of talking about), Expectations Versus Reality (advertising versus actual products)
  • Recommended tools, plugins: Reddit Enhancement, Metareddit, Reddit Visualizer, Reddit Investigator (look up information on Reddit users, use with discretion)
  • Look at trending topics and what people are talking about and jump in to make it awesome (Wordbank is a good example where a zoo could have jumped in, or an animal artist)
  • Lurk, then engage (take baby steps), and if you fail, redeem yourself

Main Takeaway

¨This is a community of specialists. People have obsessive interests…Redditors view Reddit as a safe place where they can go and be themselves. When brands try to intrude, they take it personally.¨

5 Common Marketing Message Mistakes You Need to Avoid

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5 Common Marketing Message Mistakes You Need to Avoid

The task of encapsulating what you stand for via the perfect marketing message is a daunting challenge. You need to appeal to your target demographic by creating a clever statement that encompasses your brand’s identity and clearly conveys what you can offer.
Many businesses have the tendency to compromise their goals in creating this all-important message. The message can become too boring— and sometimes buried or lost, by focusing more on the business’s agenda and less on the customers’. At worst, a business can even alienate the very audience it is trying to court.
But the real question here is: Would you rather be remembered as an epic fail or something wonderful?
Social media marketing can be a minefield of terrifying traps seemingly designed to keep you from the wonderful. So, here’s a bit of disaster prevention for you; a list of some of the more typical social media marketing fails you’ll want to dodge while you’re building a reputation for your business online.

Messaging is Lost In Transition

The problem with most US-based businesses is once the message goes international, not enough thought is paid to how the intent will translate, literally or figuratively. This can result in a marketing campaign that lands with a resounding thud on foreign shores. In more extreme cases it can even be offensive.
For instance, when Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) launched its first franchise in China, the famous slogan “Finger-lickin’ good” was accidentally translated to “We’ll Eat Your Fingers Off!” which certainly frightened customers.
It may sound great in one language, but if translated mechanically and without cultural context, it can be fatal for your business.
Another example is when Coors translated a slang phrase “Turn It Loose” into Spanish, which turned out to be an expression that meant “Suffer from diarrhea.” For that, Coors left a unintentional and perhaps unforgettable mark on its Spanish audience.
And Parker pens got the attention of their foreign female customers when the popular slogan, “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you,” was translated for a Mexican ad as “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”

Not Humanizing Your Message

Don’t forget who it is you need to hear your message. To generate a message with impact, you’ll need to understand how it can be meaningful to your target audience. You want to create a “pull.” Building a connection with your prospects is way better than simply handing them the information, right? By doing so, you let them figure out how your products and services can be valuable to them.
From The Nielsen Global Survey of Trust in Advertising, it was cited that a high number of respondents resonate more to humorous (47%) advertising messages, closely followed real-life situations (46%).
3 5 Common Marketing Message Mistakes You Need to Avoid

Good Deed Gone Bad

Another thing brands should avoid is using charity or any tragic event as a promotional opportunity. Exploiting cancer, AIDS, poverty or sensitive issues can only put a dent on your reputation.
It is utterly wrong no matter what angle you choose. There should be an adequate application for sensitivity.
AT&T also felt the “burn” when they tweeted a post regarding the 9/11 tragedy. It wasn’t well-received by their followers and caused them to delete the post. The same goes for Kmart, after sending a tweet meant to pay respects for the Newtown shooting incident in which they mistakenly [and shamelessly] plugged a promotional hashtag #SMH.
Of course, it also pays to be attentive if you’re going to use trending topics. Celeb Boutique committed an embarrassing fail when they connected a trending hashtag with their same-named product, apparenntly unaware that it was about the Aurora shooting.

Not Being Sensitive Enough

Highlighting gender differences can be a funny way to create loyalty for your product. However, if not executed with the right amount of sensitivity, that approach can have the opposite effect.
One harsh post from the Abu Dhabi distributors of Subaru recounted a terrible accident and attributed it to women. It clearly wasn’t a brilliant idea, so they apologized after being heavily criticized by social media users.

Using Social Media Features Incorrectly

Since the dawn of social media marketing, countless companies have attempted to get exposure via social media sites. Some have been successful, some, not so much…
Reddit’s “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) wreaked havoc when Academy Award Nominee Woody Harrelson hosted one— and it remains infamous in Reddit history. Apparently, the users weren’t happy with Harrelson’s AMA chat and got the impression that the movie star was just using the site to market his project. Collective criticisms were aimed at Harrelson and his upcoming movie.
Hashtags Gone Wrong— When McDonald’s Twitter campaign, #McDStories, meant for users share nostalgic memories and experiences in McDonalds, it took an unexpected turn when users started to share unfortunate and horrific tales instead.
You know there is something bad bound to happen with Automated Tweets/Responses. An infamous example is when AmericanAir replied to every tweet even unpleasant ones, consequently blurring sincerity and attentiveness on customer feedback.
To sum it all up, one of the keys to building—and maintaining—a successful brand is knowing and catering to your audience. The truth is, there’s real potential to do crash-and-burn damage in every marketing campaign. However, taking the time to get to know who you want to reach, what you want to say, and how it will be best received, can help you get your message out while avoiding any dents or dings to your image.