It's all digital

Reddit and what it can do for your business

By Emma Fitzpatrick, Garden Media Group

Reddit is one of the most powerful websites and social communities on the internet, though you wouldn’t guess it by looking at their website design.

Last month alone, there were more than 55 million unique visitors. Pretty impressive. 

Making it on the home page of Reddit is the new equivalent of making it on the front page of The Washington Post. Plus, Reddit fame will very often translate into even more stories in traditional media sources. 

What is it?
Before we get too much further, let’s establish what Reddit exactly is. Reddit is an online social media community where users post and vote on content, anything from questions to news articles to music videos to photos of adorable animals. It’s called “the front page of the internet” with good reason. With each vote, the content moves higher and higher up in the stream. Basically, the more votes your article gets, the more eyeballs see your content.

To keep the massive content base organized, there are hundreds of sub-Reddits for specific categories. With more than 3,000 highly active sub-Reddits, you can find one to connect with individuals who share virtually any passion you have. And yes, there is a sub-Reddit for gardening, as well as pages for farming, botany, canning, bonsai, flowers and one called “what is this plant.” If Reddit users like your content, you’ll see a major boost in traffic to your garden business website or blog. 

Why use it?
When President Barack Obama was running for re-election in 2012, he participated in a live half hour Q&A on Reddit’s widely popular “Ask Me Anything” session. More than 1.8 million readers subscribed to the thread, and more than 12,900 comments and questions were posted. Obama was able to answer both serious and informal questions while showing his personality.

Reddit users are notorious for preferring genuine brand interaction, so having a brand representative write using a script is not going to work here. Plus, the highest percentage of users on Reddit are between the ages of 18 to 24, with no kids, and have some college or graduate school education.

Tips to make Reddit powerful for your business

1. Valuable content
   As already mentioned, Reddit users are not fans of speaking with a brand representative. Post relevant content that your target audience and fellow sub-Redditers will truly be interested in. Reddit is not the place to post content that only serves your brand. 
    
2. Find a sub-Reddit that relates to your business and post in it
   If your garden product solves a problem that benefits multiple sub-Reddits, try posting in separate, relevant sub-Reddits like gardening or bonsai. You can also help answer questions in the “what is this plant” group. Providing advice and truly engaging with fellow posters goes far. Make sure, just like on Facebook or other social media pages, that you keep up with your posts and reply quickly.
    
3. Fresh, focus first
   Reddit is focused on timely, fresh content. Meaning, Reddit is a great platform to discuss industry news with fellow visionaries. If you have a press release or event that is relevant, you can try posting it. But, as mentioned in tip No. 1, don’t do this too often. Also, stick with the topic you are knowledgeable about and have a company focus. Only post a cute cat photo if that feline happens to be residing at your garden center. 
    
4. Customer service
   While Reddit is more of an online community, it still falls under the umbrella of social media. Customers have come to expect that when they have a great or sub-par experience with your brand, they can connect with you on social media. Your brand can try to create a specific sub-Reddit designed exclusively to answer customer service questions, though this is not as common as Facebook and Twitter yet. Here, you’ll be able to give timely answers in a genuine way.
   
    

Around the Web

Breathe easier
The National Indoor Plant Week took place Sept. 15-21 this year. It was established to promote the benefits of live plants in interior spaces. Public awareness campaigns include touting cleaner air, noise reduction, stress reduction and fun giveaways. Check it out online or on Facebook and see photos of this year’s events around the country and how you can get involved next year.
www.nationalindoorplantweek.com

Contain yourself
Check out the Cornell Horticulture blog (http://blogs.cornell.edu/hort) for winners of the annual Kathy Pufahl Memorial Container Design Competition. Part of Cornell’s Floriculture Field Day, the competition has raised more than $10,000 for inflammatory bowel disease research at Mt. Sinai Hospital during the last 10 years. The contest is in memory of Pufahl, who founded Beds and Borders Inc. in Laurel, N.Y., who died in 2003. Donald Horowitz of Wittendale’s Florist and Greenhouse in East Hampton, N.Y., won the ‘unlimited’ division (pictured).

Tonic with no gin?
From the Plant Delights Nursery e-newsletter: A heads up for gin and tonic drinkers out there to perhaps stock up. It seems that a new fungal blight (Phytophthora austrocedrae) is following in the footsteps of the famed Irish potato blight and threatening junipers in the U.K. where many of the berries that provide the flavor to gin are sourced. So far, the fungus is limited to the U.K., where losses have reached nearly 70 percent of the crop, but EU producers are concerned since there are no plant movement restrictions within the EU.

— Tony Avent

From Twitter

Jaymi Heimbuch @JaymiHeimbuch
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All gardeners live in beautiful places because they make them so. #garden #quote #beautiful

Preservation Tree @PresTreeServ
The 1st fruit tree planted in America is still alive! 383 years! via @TreeHugger WOW http://ow.ly/ohpYd

agardenlife @agardenlife
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Hort Americas @hortamericas
This is a great image for those interested in #Orchids! http://fb.me/2kFRPhIbg

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Hope you get to meet Molly the Newfie on the garden tours today! #grandgardenshow #dog pic.twitter.com/eX7XGlAslz

UW Horticulture @UW_Hort
Thoughts for Food: Partnerships & Prosperity - Hancock Research Station http://ow.ly/ogU3O #UWExtensionANRE

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Giving a gift of flowers will lighten up your life as well as your loved ones. http://bit.ly/1f6WxEu pic.twitter.com/nwXP5vLpCM

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As fashion designers turn to petals, florists are becoming an important element of the industry’s creative ecosystem. http://ow.ly/nv395