Reddit is considered lousy for being a breeding ground for snarks, rants, and mees. The sarcastic comments aside, this social platform has over 100,000 communities, known as subreddits. And it's one of the few places where the original anonymous user can turn into a source steady for your content.
Tracking them down can be an adventure. The platform prides itself on privacy and its members are guard it drastically.
However, you can break through the curtain and get to interviews with experts who can give your content credibility. This is the flexible way your investigators can find, vet and interact with them on Reddit.
Penetrate @ Reddit's veil of anonymity for one-on-one interviews with the experts who've made your #content authoritative, #TeniHallums via @CMIContent says. Click to Tweet
Go niche on subreddits
The miracle of Reddit is, if you can think of it, there's probably a community built around it. This is the perfect place to research confusing topics and come up with content ideas new .
As you explore, remember that the more specific the subreddit, the more likely the experts will be there. These digital water coolers get people talking about their industry and common interests.
Since there are thousands of subreddits to sort through, it can be difficult if you're not familiar with the platform.
Here are a few places to start looking:
Search for subgroups
Instead of starting with Reddit's homepage thread, dive deeper into the forum's subgroups. Search for a generic term for your topic to see an overview of the communities associated with that topic. From there, you can identify niche subreddits that are relevant to your specific areas of interest in the topic.
In this case, let's use "technique" as the general theme and switch to "community and users" in the search results:
Now we can skim the various subcategories and describe the engineering related community. Each group has thousands of people talking about everything from troubleshooting design press mechanisms to debugging lines of code.
Ask me anything (AMA)
The subreddit r/IAmA stands for “I am one” while AMA means “ask me anything.” It provides professionals, public figures, and working professionals a platform to answer questions from fellow Redditors.
You can also find these people elsewhere on the site. Since Reddit's interface can be a bit unintuitive, a few extra steps need to be taken to identify them. For example, let's look at r/Finance:
Type “AMA” in the search bar and review the results page:
You might be tempted to click on the r/AMA, but don't. This leads to a separate and unrelated community. Instead, click “show results from r/Finance” to view AMA posts in the financial community.
Consult your expert
Other social networks expect you to show your name and photo, Reddit does the opposite. Users can choose to remain anonymous, allowing them to freely share opinions without any personal information attached. (The same trait can also be a negative since they don't need to defend their opinion.)
But some Redditors share their identities and even post links to their websites or other social content. When I needed an expert in intellectual property and trademark law, I sought out an attorney who had conducted an AMA on the subject.
Whether or not the person has shared their identity on Reddit, it's a good idea to start analyzing whether the potential source is trustworthy before reaching out.
Before making this attorney interview request, I used these questions as a starting point to research her background:
- Have they responded to posts related to their expertise or industry?
If you want to see a user's comment and post history, click on their profile name. From there, you can start examining the types of content they're interacting with.
- How did they respond to posts and questions from other Redditors?
Look for patterns in how they respond to other questions related to their profession, industry, or the topic you're covering. Their comments should provide consistent, relevant, and insightful information.
- Do they have any certifications or credentials listed in their posts?
This question is specific to AMA posts. Communities like r/IAmA ask users to create posts that provide proof of their expertise:
The r/IAmA subreddit asks posters to share their credentials, notes #TeniHallums via @CMIContent. Click to Tweet Pay attention to how they talk about themselves and their experiences. Also, think about how this information and perspective will enhance your content:
- Do their posts and comments lead you in the direction you feel? audience What will benefit from?
- Do they have any suggestions? tools resource or strategy meaningful to explore or refer to?
- Do they provide any figures any not? Or data you can look at more?
Once you know the person's identity, you can also research them off the Reddit platform using LinkedIn search on Google, etc.
In the trademark attorney's case, she linked to her credentials in the AMA post. She also talks about her company, certificates and case law in separate topics. At the time we spoke, there was no question of her expertise in this area of law.
Contact to request an interview
Most subreddits have rules for how their members should interact with each other. Some completely ban users from posting overly promotional or spammy comments.
Instead of commenting on a public thread to connect, send a direct message. Since you're asking these people to come out from behind the curtain and reveal themselves, it's important to establish trust from the start.
Contact potential sources on @Reddit via direct message, not comment in a public thread, advise #TeniHallums via @CMIContent. Click to Tweet See what this first message should include to increase your chances of scoring interview:
- Identify your title, company website, or publication name.
- Mention their Reddit post(s) and explain why you're contacting them for an interview.
- Tell them about the type of content you plan to produce and how you will use their quotes.
- Give them some format for the interview (video call, email, Reddit messenger, etc.)
- Be specific about how much of their time you need.
TIP: If they don't respond, don't use any of their comments or insights into your content. Anonymous, unverified sources are unreliable.
Anonymous, unverified sources are not trustworthy, #TeniHallums said via @CMIContent. #ContentMarketing Click to Tweet After you wrap up your interview, make the experience as seamless as possible and leave the door open for future communication with your source.
TIP: If the original potential source is anonymous, make sure to research them once you find out their identity. Make sure they are who they look like. Check out their websites, social media profiles, or do a Google search.
Use reliable sources
As content marketers, we have a responsibility to our audience to use every means at our disposal to provide valuable information. To do that, identifying and connecting with trusted sources is a must.
If you've overlooked Reddit in the past or never thought of it, now is the time to take a look at it. When used intelligently, the platform can be an invaluable resource for discovering niche communities and connecting with people who are passionate about your topics.
Cover photo by Joseph Kalinowski / Content Marketing Institute
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