Reddit is a large group of forums about all kinds of topics – a one stop for entertaining discussions online.

Acting as the front page to the internet, it is the best platform to detect trends and news on a wide range of subjects, from pop culture, technology, science, media to music and many more. If you are looking for information about a specific topic, or answers to your questions – be they about technology, grammar, or psychology – you’re almost sure to find the answer there! 

The latest figures show that Reddit has about 430 million active unique users each month, which makes it the 7th most-visited site in the United States and 19th in the world.

A hub for linking content from other platforms, Reddit is a great place to create discussion posts around different topics of interest using text, images and even video content. Highly curated and full of great niches, this platform ends up acting a little bit like an old-school forum, offering a highly customizable user experience to everyone.

The intricacies of Reddit forums

Reddit operates as a collection of forums and subforums. It is divided into several directories called subreddits. These are specialized forums which are referred to as r/”topic”. 

There are more than 130,000 active subreddits. You can read and participate in all of them freely, except for private subreddits, which require you to go through an admission process. You can also subscribe to the open subreddits, so that their most popular posts appear on your personalized Reddit front page.

A subreddit is like a niche forum – each subreddit has a focus topic and, for the most part, tries to stick to it. You can think of subreddits as high individual and personalized websites. That’s how unique each subreddit can be! Although subreddits all live on the Reddit domain, they are entirely customizable and have varying types of community members.

Users can use a subreddit to create new posts on a specific topic. These can be questions and requests for help, but also informative news articles, images, and videos. From humorous and creative contributions to controversial discussion topics, there is an array of conversations users can engage in. Each subreddit attracts a certain kind of individual. 

How to become a subreddit moderator

These Reddit forums are like gigantic group discussions so, naturally since we’re all just imperfect human beings, there has to be some kind of regulation that these subreddits adhere to. Moderators are human volunteer users who help ensure that these communities remain fun, engaging, interesting, organized and safe places for edifying conversations. 

Users have to be deeply interested in the topic to be even interested in being moderators. One can become a moderator either organically or formally, but one thing that’s always required is passion. You can become a moderator by using one of these strategies: 

• By subreddit creation: when a user creates their own subreddit, they automatically become its moderator. Creating a subreddit is a good way to show initiative as an authority in whatever industry you work in. 
• By making a request: You may notice that a subreddit you’re interested in is unmoderated. If so, you can make a request to become its moderator through r/redditrequest. 
• On invitation: when other moderators notice that you’re a proactive user in their subreddit, they may invite you to moderate it with them. 

The duties of a subreddit moderator

The moderators are tasked with fulfilling various duties:

• Keep an eye on your communities and checking the feed for deviant activity.
• Approve publication submissions, curating the subreddit for quality and relevance.
• Remove users from the community if their behavior threatens the cohesion of the subreddit.
• Ban spammers to preserve the subreddit’s integrity.
• Promote other group members and make them new moderators.
• Answer questions for new users.
• Provide “clear, concise, and consistent” guidelines for their subreddits.
• Lock threads and comments that have been addressed and completed.
• Delete problematic posts and content.

In addition to these more technical tasks, moderators can guide the look and purpose of their subreddit as well as the types of content in their communities and have a positive impact on all of their subscribers’ Reddit experience. The reddit moderator can assume a certain authority by facilitating the community’s discussion. 

How to gain authority on Reddit

There are several ways you can position yourself as an authority as a Reddit moderator – it’s all about taking initiative!

Creating a subreddit: Make sure to pick a category that closely aligns with your industry and expertise so that you can lead valuable and insightful discussions that can display your specialties and what you’re already an authority on. 

Actively engage with community members: Another way to come across as someone of authority in your industry is to reply to the comments and inquiries of other as a moderator. When people know they can trust your responses, it makes you a trusted source! 

Use the sponsored link: Turn the sponsored link into a point of discussion by using it to engage redditors who comment and offer even more insight or advice. That way, the sponsored link becomes more than a gateway to traffic and possible conversions; it’s a way to gain valuable authority for career advice and a great branding opportunity.

Create highly specialised content: Typically, the more “niche” a subreddit becomes, the less popular it is, but the more attractive it is to more high quality people. Popularity on Reddit generally dilutes the content quality of that subreddit: too many people means not enough focus. When subreddits are in the 1,000 – 50,000 subscribers area, they are easier to moderate, have more in-depth content, and a generally higher content quality. It also means that, as moderator, you are in charge of a highly specific and high quality subreddit, which leads to you being seen as a true authority in your field, rather than simply a policeman trying to maintain the peace in a crowd.

Digital appearance: More often than not, chosen moderators are sought out because of their expertise. This means that your reputation online will benefit if you become the moderator of a high quality Reddit forum!

Organise special events: A good way to place yourself as an authoritative Reddit moderator is to be creative about how you host your discussions. One way to stand out is to organise AMAs (“Ask-Me-Anythings”). They are a huge feature of highly specialised communities, with notable experts and industry leaders working alongside you as a moderator to cultivate massive Q & A sessions with hundreds of thousands of eager readers. It’s a great way to keep conversations fresh!

Being a moderator is being the curator of highly knowledgeable conversations and of a dedicated community, and it requires the right combination of skills only an expert authority will have.

Your niche knowledge in your industry or area of interest could make you a great Reddit moderator, which in turn could help your reputation and attract people to your brand on other platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or even LinkedIn, in particular if you offer professional advice. So give it a go!