What Is Reddit? Helpful Guide for Newcomers

What is Reddit? If you’ve spent a day or more on the internet, you’re likely to be familiar with Reddit. You might not have realised it, but you’ve almost certainly seen it. But what is Reddit, anyway? Reddit is a user-driven, social news website that presents content from the web. User-generated content provides the bulk of the material and is voted on by viewers to determine its quality. It is one of the most popular social community sites on the web. It fascinates a lot of people, but many others are unsure about how to use the site.

It’s not hard to see why Reddit is such a great place for marketers. You can ask questions, answer questions, find like-minded people, generate new ideas, or share your thoughts.

Trying to figure out how to get started with Reddit? In this guide, we’ve put together an overview of Reddit and how to make it work best for you.

An overview on what is Reddit

Reddit is best described as a news site with a personality. It’s made up of thousands of different communities called “subreddits” that focus on different topics, from video games to science. A subreddit can be thought of as a mini-community within the larger Reddit community. Every subreddit has its own rules and moderators, which help to keep discussions on topics free from spam or trolls.

For instance, if you go to the subreddit r/funny you will see an endless stream of funny pictures, GIFs and text posts. However, if you go to the subreddit r/politics you will find people discussing and debating politics. The topics of subreddits cover everything from sports to cute animals to movies and TV shows.

Trying to make sense of all the subreddits can seem overwhelming at first, but don’t worry! We’ll cover how you can find content that interests you.

What is Reddit and how does it work?

Reddit is a social news website with user-generated content. Registered users can submit links and texts to the website dedicated to a specific topic of discussion. The submitted links are then voted up or down by other users, with more popular links/texts being ranked more highly.

So, the main purpose of Reddit is to allow its users to discover and discuss new (and old) content on any given topic. However, there are also subreddits dedicated to specific topics where users can post their content as well as comment or vote on other posted content in that community.

Creating an account

Creating an account is not difficult. You just need to complete the registration page by filling in your username and password, as well as your e-mail address and password.

Subscribing to subreddits

Once you have set up your account, you may want to subscribe or unsubscribe from subreddits. Subscribing means you will receive all posts/comments within that particular subreddit via an e-mail newsletter.

Posting your first comment or the first post

The first rule for a new user is to do your homework. Before you post anything on Reddit, make sure to search the subreddit and read the rules. If you see something that you want to post, it's best to wait until you have something new or interesting to add. Make sure that what you're posting isn't already posted in the same thread. This will help prevent duplicate posts, which are frowned upon by Redditors.

Treat other Redditors with respect. Don't insult or troll anyone, even if they're being rude to you first. This is a big no-no on Reddit because it ruins the community and experience for everyone else. Think of it like this: Would you say that to someone's face?

Make the most out of your Reddit experience

Get active in the community. Reddit users love to see brands interacting with them directly, so create an account and start posting comments and content that is relevant to your niche. As you engage with the community, people will begin to recognize your username, giving you a chance to start conversations and push people toward your site.

Promote your content on other social platforms. One of the best ways to drive traffic from Reddit is by sharing it across other networks where you have an established audience, like Facebook or Twitter. When you link to your post on Reddit from another social network, use the "share" button instead of "edit," which will allow you to give it a custom title that fits better with its new environment. This way, when people click on it in their newsfeeds, they'll immediately know what they're getting into.

Use RES (Reddit Enhancement Suite). This browser add-on makes your experience much better by adding features such as being able to filter out subreddits from your front page and seeing multiple images/GIFs/videos at once, just to name a few.

Set aside an hour each day to browse through a specific subreddit. Each subreddit has its own unique culture and setting up an hour a day where you explore that culture will greatly improve your experience on Reddit. Find your favourite subreddits and subscribe!

Takeaway

After completing this guide, you would probably have a better idea of what is Reddit and its various components and how they work. Even just understanding the basics of Reddit could help you to enjoy the website that much more. And if nothing else, there are plenty of subreddits out there for virtually everyone, and now you’ll be one step closer to finding the ones that appeal to you.

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