What Mint Mobile got very wrong on Reddit

Last week I stumbled across a comment in a r/NoContract thread about Mint Mobile that every brand running their own subreddit should read:

“If you note these problems in the Mint sub Reddit you’ll get banned”. Woof.

Here’s a closer look at the message they attached from the r/mintmobile mod by the way:

Here’s my take

I have no idea if what the original poster said was true or false…

But even if it was a barefaced lie, deleting the comment was not the move.

Because here’s the conversation it kicked off in a sub the Mint Mobile mods don’t control:

“Why not just argue with the person that posts information that they think is not accurate?”

That’s Reddit in a nutshell, right there.

If you’re running your own subreddit (or planning on starting one), don’t be shy about setting the record straight when people spout nonsense about your brand.

But never delete their comments, or it will bite you in the ass.

(btw, if you want help running a subreddit for your brand the right way then hit ‘reply’ to this email and let me know)

How to get burned alive on Reddit in two simple steps

The brilliant Ann Smarty burned a few Reddit karma points the other day to prove an important point:

You’ll get burned alive if you copy and paste your social strategy to Reddit.

Ann found a video on TikTok where a mom set up an automated text that says “have a good day, I love you!” to go out to her kids every morning.

The comments were nothing but positive on TikTok. But how do you think that same tip would go down on Reddit?

Ann decided to find out:

“For the fun of it, I decided to share this tip on Reddit (trust me, I knew where it was going, but I thought that would make a great screenshot).

“Boy, was I not wrong. I kept the post there for a few minutes and deleted it because I had had enough. But here you go :)”

Here’s my take

The question you need to ask before you post anything on Reddit is:

“Does this sound like something someone would actually post in this sub?”

And unless you want to get downvoted to hell, your answer can’t be a guess.

Take time to audit your target subreddits before you post anything. Look at the language people use, what gets upvoted and downvoted, what people agree on, the sense of humor, and the post formats that land.

(The top posts of all time are a goldmine here, btw).

Then bake all of that into your content so it feels like it belongs there.