Reddit is popular for several reasons, especially due to its exciting content. However, the platform also attracts several million users because of its interesting and easy-to-use functionalities. Many people use Reddit for marketing purposes, and the crosspost feature is a great functionality to gain traction on posts. Here is how to crosspost on Reddit to take advantage of the feature for your marketing or virality purposes.
Crossposting allows users to take a post from a community and share it with another. When you crosspost a post, the resulting post will include an embed of the original post and other vital information regarding the original post. This usually includes its original poster, community, and karma score on the original post. As a result, other Redditors can find the content’s original source while giving more exposure to the original content and its community.
How to crosspost on Desktop Reddit
To crosspost on Reddit via a browser, the first step is to identify the post you intend to share and the community you want to share it too. After finding the content, click on the share icon on the post. This will display some options, including “copy link,” “crosspost,” “embed,” and “share to chat.” Simply click on “crosspost.”
Clicking on “crosspost” will direct you to a different tab. Here, you will select the community you want to send it to. You can also edit the post’s title if you want the crossposted content to have a different title after you share it. Otherwise, the previous title will remain the title after you crosspost. Remember that the embedded post will include the former title regardless of whether you edit the title.
When you select the destination community, important information about the community will pop up on the side panel. This is to allow you to go through it and take note of its rules, helping you determine if the content you wish to share does not break any rules.
Likewise, you also get the chance to add new flares to the post to inform the members of the destination community. You can also mark the content as NSFW or inform the destination community that the post contains spoilers. After making the necessary adjustments to the post, you can either save it as a draft or post it outright.
On the old Reddit, crossposting is much easier as the option is obvious right from the home page, unlike the new design, which requires you to first click on “share.” Clicking on “crosspost” after choosing a post will display a small window. Here, you select the destination community and the new title of your crosspost. On the old Reddit, you can also crosspost to your profile instead of any new subreddit. When you are ready to post, simply click submit. The old Reddit does not provide the option to save drafts.
If you prefer to enjoy Reddit via the mobile website, you may be unable to crosspost there unless you request the desktop site. After requesting, you may follow the same steps as in the old Reddit desktop.
To request the desktop version, click on the three-line icon on the top right corner of your screen. It will reveal a panel that discloses your user name, link to your inbox, coins, premium, powerups, and your communities. Under these, you will find “settings.” Clicking on this will subsequently reveal a dropdown, including “dark mode,” “ask to open app,” “language,” and “request desktop site.” Clicking on “request desktop site” will redirect you to the desktop version of the old Reddit.
How to crosspost on your mobile app
Crossposting on Android and iOS apps is similar to crossposting on the new Reddit desktop site. You identify the post you intend to crosspost and click on “share.” Doing this will display a similar list of options, including “crosspost” for iOS and “Reddit crosspost” on Android devices. After that, you search the destination community, edit the title (if necessary), add flairs, spoilers, NSFW tags, and then crosspost.
Crossposting rules
You should know that not all subreddits accept crossposts. Likewise, you must already be a community member to crosspost there. Furthermore, ensure you crosspost content that is particular or relevant to the community you are posting in. Crossposting content randomly in several unrelated communities may be regarded as spammy, reflecting poorly on the subreddit you are trying to grow.
Tips for successful crossposting
Here are some tips to ensure the content you crosspost is successful:
Time
Crossposting content immediately or a few months after the original post’s submission is desirable. If you crosspost quickly, there is a good chance many users will see yours before the original. Likewise, If the post is a few months old, users will probably have forgotten about it and may upvote it again. However, if you crosspost a post that is only a few days old, users will probably remember it and not upvote the same thing again.
Relevance
Ensure that the content you are crossposting is relevant to the destination community. For example, reposting an interview of Kevin De Bruyne from r/Soccer to r/Cats will be unsuccessful as such a post will not be relevant. As such, many users will see such a post as spam, and you may be downvoted aggressively or banned by the mods.
Uniqueness
A unique post will be favorable as it will capture attention, especially if you crosspost quickly. However, if you crosspost an old post, try posts that are not particularly unique, as Redditors may not remember them anyway. As such, you should pick a post that was popular but not too popular.
Other general tips
In addition to the above tips, ensure that your crossposts are in moderation, especially if you are crossposting to the same community. Crossposting very often may also result in spam-like behavior, leading to aggressive downvotes or getting banned.
You should also avoid posts that members of the destination community may interpret as self-promotional. Redditors are usually averse to self-promotion and are more likely to discover it is crossposted.
Crossposting is a good way to get people talking in more than one community. If you want to hear what the users say, you can also use our social listening app, Notifier, to keep abreast of the conversation.