Should My Company Invest in a Reddit Strategy?
Why founders should care about Reddit’s influence on LLMs and organic discovery.
DEAR STAGE 2: As SEO changes and Reddit continues to rank highly as an LLM data source, is it worth investing time in Reddit for organic growth? What’s the right approach? ~BUILDING A REDDIT STRATEGY
DEAR BUILDING A REDDIT STRATEGY: Reddit has been quietly climbing the SEO ladder for years, but the game changed when it was shown that platforms like OpenAI use Reddit content to train LLMs.
Up until very recently, “ranking highly on Google” was every company’s SEO goal. That’s still important, but just one piece. Now, companies need to find a way to embed their brands into the underlying data layer that powers the next generation of search and discovery.
To unpack this, I spoke with An Bui, currently the VP of Product Marketing at First Tech Federal Credit Union, with past experience in growth and digital marketing. At her previous companies, she built a Reddit strategy, and she offered to share what she learned, what worked, and what didn’t.
Here’s how to think about Reddit as a growth lever:
1. Reddit Is More Than Just SEO—It's LLM Training Data
As An put it, “Reddit’s value is no longer just about organic traffic. It’s about influence. The content that gets traction on Reddit becomes part of what LLMs ‘know.’” In other words, Reddit’s visibility isn’t confined to search results. Its data is actively shaping the outputs of tools your prospects are using to gather information.
That means your brand, your language, your product positioning—if surfaced authentically on Reddit—may become embedded in the models themselves.
2. Use Reddit for Real-Time Discovery & Testing
Before joining First Tech, An ran an experiment at First Republic Bank, a previous employer. An saw that Reddit was already providing organic quality traffic to First Republic. In fact, that traffic converted just as well as Google. But paid Reddit ads? Less effective. Why? The magic of Reddit is in its authenticity and community discourse—not in direct response marketing.
Instead of forcing traditional media, think of Reddit like a live lab:
Track product mentions to learn how people are talking about you (or your competitors).
Look for the “unknown unknowns”—customer questions or pain points that don’t surface in your own channels.
Engage quietly at first to understand language, values, and dynamics in the subreddit communities.
3. Think Long-Term: Build Trust Before You Sell
Reddit does not reward surface-level engagement. If your goal is to “go viral” or plug a product without context, you’ll be quickly downvoted and flagged.
An’s advice: “Trust is built over time. Lead with value. Comment and contribute long before you pitch anything.” Whether it’s a founder, head of product, or marketing lead, the person engaging should:
Be genuinely passionate about the space they’re operating in.
Share learnings, experiences, and questions transparently.
Contribute to discussions with consistency and humility.
An example? The founder of an investing app using Reddit to openly share lessons and product updates—not because it’s a growth hack, but because they’re part of the community they serve.
4. Start Small and Go Where the Community Already Is
When asked whether companies should start their own subreddit, An’s response was clear: “Start where the conversation is already happening.” Why? Because building a subreddit from scratch takes time, “karma” (how Reddit measures a user’s reputation), and patience—three things most early-stage companies don’t have in abundance.
Instead:
Spend a few days mapping relevant subreddits.
Observe: what gets upvoted, what gets ignored, what gets flagged?
Begin contributing meaningfully before posting anything brand-related.
Once you’ve built credibility, you might earn the right to share a link—or even create your own community space.
5. Don’t Outsource Authenticity
There’s no shortcut. Using Reddit successfully requires real humans having real conversations. It's tempting to pay someone to do this “at scale,” but it rarely works.
If you’re a founder short on time, identify someone on your team who lives in the problem space and empower them to represent the company in community. If no one fits that bill, reconsider whether Reddit is the right channel for now.
Reddit won’t deliver quick wins—but for early-stage companies who deeply understand their audience and are willing to invest in the long game, it can be a powerful engine for discovery, insight, and even shaping future AI outputs.
Thanks again to An Bui for sharing her perspective. If you’re looking for early traction channels that go beyond traditional paid media, Reddit might deserve a seat at the table—just come prepared to show up as a real human first.
Until next week!