If you are anything like me, you are a little unsure what these three sites are and how they can function as useful marketing tools for your business! Before doing some research I was in that same boat. The only one I have had experience with is Pinterest (which is one of my favorites!!), but I had no idea how businesses could benefit from joining.
Thankfully, I have found some helpful tools and tips for clearing up some of that confusion. Hopefully you are more aware after reading this post!
What is Reddit? This is the first question I had to ask Google. According to Google, “Reddit is an American social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website.” Essentially, it is a social media site where users can discuss and even vote on content that other users post.
How can businesses use Reddit successfully?
The Social Media Examiner blog shared a great post on 6 Ways to Use Reddit to Grow Your Business. I have summarized their ideas into the 6 corresponding points below.
- Use the site to engage and interact with your followers, rather than push your marketing message at them again.
- It is a great tool to hear, address, and respond to any customer service or product problems.
- It is a discussion and networking site…so NETWORK!
- Share current news and keep an updated calendar with events and promotions coming up.
- Use the site to perform interviews with people in your company. It allows your followers to feel more connected to the community and the brand as a whole.
- Create a strong community on your site.
Reddit is definitely a unique social media platform, but with the right strategy it can be a very useful marketing tool for your business.
Pinterest is one of my favorite sites of all time! I love the creativity and inspiration that fills my newsfeed when I check it. However, I had never really considered how it could be of much use to businesses until the last year probably.
Almost every photo you come across on Pinterest is linked to a blog, website, or specific brand. The site can be a great way for companies to share their own creativity and inspiration with their followers.
Tailwind Blog shared an excellent list of 32 Do’s and Don’ts for Your B2B Pinterest Strategy. I would love to share all 32 because the list was really insightful and gave some great tips on some ideas I never would have thought about. However, I am going to limit myself to sharing my top 2 Do’s and top 2 Don’t from the article.
Do!!
- Do pin vertically. Long vertical posts take up more space on the newsfeed and tend to get better traffic than smaller posts.
- Do spy on your competitors’ Pinterest boards.
Don’t!!
- Don’t use hashtags.
- Don’t be afraid of being silly! Pinterest is meant to be a fun site.
I thought the no hashtags was really interesting because even though I am not a big fan of hashtags in general, they are often really helpful and encouraged on other social media sites.
Tumblr
Tumblr is another social media site that I am not super familiar with. However, after reading Irfan Ahmad’s article on 10 Ways to Be a Smarter Tumblr Marketer, I can see why it can be a useful social media site for businesses to be active on.
Why is that?
“Did you know that 90 percent of Tumblr users say they have been inspired to buy something that they found in their Tumblr feed.” 90 PERCENT. That’s crazy and is a no brainer as to why businesses need to jump on board.
Tumblr seems to be the “hipster” social media site. In order to be successful, the article shares these tips to keep in mind.
- Reinforce your brand’s overall aesthetic
- Publish exclusive or vintage content
- Write captions that captivate the audience’s attention
- Showcase your fans’ photos and posts
- Positivity, humor, creativity, & transparency: these are Tumblr’s strongest connection points for its users
The site is colorful, engaging, and full of creativity. The primary audience is the millennial generation. If you are seeking to reach that target group, Tumblr might be a great place to expand your marketing and social media efforts.
Jessa's Thoughts 
I like how you explained what the social media sites where before showing how they could benefit a business.
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Reddit really is a great tool for interacting with others, albeit in an anonymous setting.
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