If you’re marketing on a budget, it’s worth it to try to build an audience for yourself on social media. When we think about social media marketing, we tend to focus on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, depending on the demographic you are seeking to connect with. These are all social media sites driven by image and video, which is perfect for the visual beauty that independent garden centers offer their customers. But have you considered Reddit, home to 52 million daily users and 430 million users who log in at least once per month?
Content marketing is all about adding value to your products. Consumers can shop anywhere, but they choose you because you have not only the products they want but the education your posts provide, or the community they find on your social media, the values your brand espouses, or just the beauty of your photos and videos. Reddit gives you the opportunity to provide all of the above to potential customers.
Organized into groups called subreddits, Reddit allows users to post text, pictures, and videos, comment on posts, upvote helpful posts, and downvote unhelpful posts. It’s a great way to find like-minded people who share your interests. And if you’re an expert in a particular field, it’s a great way to establish yourself as an expert and gain an audience.
Most subreddits frown on self-promotion, but that shouldn’t stop you from joining a community and helping gardeners and houseplant keepers solve their problems. Self-promotion without value-added content is poor practice on any social media platform. When you become a valued member of a community, others will seek out your post history on your profile, and they’ll find the link to your website. It’s like writing a blog, but without having to lure an audience to your website. And if you do keep a blog, you can rewrite and repost your best reddit comments there, just like you would repost a video from TikTok to your Instagram. For reference, r/houseplants, the community where members can show off their plants and get advice, has 1.7 million members. r/gardening has 5.3 million members of all skill levels.
You can also create your own community. If you’re not primarily an ecommerce business and mainly serve your local community, building a reputation in one of these global forums might not help you much. But you could start a “[your city] gardeners” subreddit and bring together people in your area, establishing your expertise and authority among people who might actually come to your store. If social media is about building community around your brand, Reddit is a great place to do it.
