Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Every day, over 50 million users log on to Reddit to join conversations worldwide.
Reddit is often considered the "epicenter" of all things viral on the internet. Tons of content that become popular on other social media platforms tend to originate from Reddit.
However, marketing on Reddit is complicated. Groups on Reddit tend to have strict rules about marketing and self-promotion that can get you banned quickly without the right etiquette (or "reddiquette").
That's why we wrote this guide on how to use Reddit for your real estate marketing. Keep reading to learn more!
Reddit is made up of several groups or subreddits. Each one has its own theme where conversations can take place. Each post is user-generated content that other Reddit users can upvote or downvote.
If certain posts or submissions get upvoted a lot, they move into the "hot" category and get featured more on the website.
This works on both the main page of Reddit and the subreddit page itself. If your post does get "hot," it can lead to a massive increase in views and followers on Reddit and possibly traffic and conversions for your website.
With that said, it's not easy. There are hundreds of thousands of submissions every hour. And although there is a huge opportunity to market your real estate website, subreddits have very strict rules about self-promotion. If you don't follow these closely, you could find yourself getting banned.
Like any other platform used for marketing, it's important to understand who is using Reddit so you can tailor your marketing strategy to it. Here are some important statistics:
If your target audience spends a lot of time here, building a Reddit marketing strategy could be incredibly impactful for your business.
As we mentioned earlier, the Reddit community is incredibly finicky when it comes to spammers. Every single subreddit has moderators that are looking to keep the sanctity of their groups protected.
Simply put — follow the rules, and don't be too obvious with your marketing. Getting banned from a subreddit or even getting your account banned from Reddit is one thing, but it could even lead to getting your website being prevented from ever being posted on the platform again.
This could be a huge problem for your business, so make sure you follow the rules. Here are some tips to avoid getting banned:
The two most important points are to add value and don't be overly promotional. Reddit is made to have authentic conversations, and they can sniff a marketing scheme from a mile away.
If they suspect something, they can easily go into your posting history to see if you're just using Reddit to get more business.
Even though there are many ground rules to cover when it comes to using Reddit correctly, it can still be a great source of traffic when used correctly. Let's take a look at several strategies to keep in mind when using Reddit for your real estate business.
Opening an account on Reddit is easy, but making it look credible is a bit harder.
If you want to be successful on other platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, you'll need to make it look authoritative and trustworthy. However, Reddit is a bit different.
Redditors don't like accounts that look overly professional, promotional, or marketing-centered. You'll need to engage with other Redditors as a real person with valuable advice and opinions to build credibility.
Once you start joining conversations and creating value for others, your karma points will rise. The more points you get, the more visible your profile will become. This will lead to higher engagement, better lead generation, and eventually more sales and conversions for your business.
A rule of thumb would be to build your karma to around 1,000 points. Once the Reddit community trusts you, you can continue with your marketing strategy.
Reddit is a goldmine when it comes to finding market research about your target audience. In fact, many marketers head straight to Reddit first when they want to find out more about a particular audience.
You can find:
The best part about this is that you don't even need to intervene or join the conversation — you can simply listen. Hearing exactly what your target audience is talking about can help you get a better sense of what you're doing right and where you can improve.
Use these conversations to adjust your strategies. If you want to go one step further, you can use social listening tools to help you bring all the conversations into a single platform.
This is the most valuable advice you can get for building your Reddit reputation — give valuable advice. Redditors want to see content that is helpful and worth reading.
They need to trust you, and in order for that to happen, you have to be yourself. To do this, join subreddits that you are actually interested in and join in on conversations where you can help other people out.
This can include topics about:
Redditors will often check your profile to see the things you talk about. When they see that you are providing valuable information (and that you're a real person), you'll be able to build their trust.
In other words, prioritize giving valuable support rather than selling. By doing this, you can quickly become a trusted authority in a thriving hotspot where all of your customers hang out in.
Once you build trust, you can finally start building strategies to integrate your business as well.
If you are already part of a bigger brand or are an authority figure in your niche, a great way to flex your influence is to hold an AMA — and "ask me anything."
These sessions have long been a cornerstone of Reddit. They are a great way to engage organically with fans and people in the community. You can answer people's questions, which will allow you to show your personality, showcase your expertise, and connect with new people.
Companies often hold AMAs when they are promoting or launching a new product.
The key to AMAs is to go back and forth in a friendly conversation instead of constantly promoting your product. Remember, Redditors love real people that have authentic and valuable information to give.
Right now, there are almost 3 million subreddits on Reddit, but only around 130,000 active communities. With that said, even if they are active, it's important to find ones that are relevant to your business.
Currently, there are three main subreddits that real estate investors and landlords use: r/landlord, r/realestateinvesting, and r/realestate.
r/landlord, as the name suggests, is a subreddit created by landlords for landlords. They talk about the latest news, personal rental issues, and ideas from other landlords on how to deal with certain problems. It's important to note that these posts get filtered by location, so it can be a great way to get perspective on your specific area.
r/realestateinvesting focuses on all aspects of real estate investing. This can include property rehab to property management. You can find advice on investment practices and monthly discussions here.
r/realestate is much broader than r/realestateinvesting. Both investors and homeowners talk about news and discussions here. However, it is much less moderated and has a reduced focus on landlord issues, which means it might not be the best community for rental property owners.
That's everything you need to know about marketing your real estate business on Reddit. Although it may take some time to build trust on this social media platform, it can be well worth your time in the end.
However, Reddit is hardly the only place to market your business. Check out our other articles on real estate marketing now!
