4 ms·

Obviously, I only have anecdotal evidence. But I see it regularly happen on the subreddits I'm a part of.

klodolph 4y ago
Equally anecdotal--I've seen lots of examples of astroturfing that hasn't been caught. People who run social media marketing accounts have occasionally explained exactly how they create their marketing accounts and how they make marketing posts. The account will have legitimate Reddit activity--basically, because somebody will be using it as a personal account. And when someone asks for recommendations for hiking boots or whatever? "I've been using X for a while now, they seem pretty reliable." Anyone looking at the comment history or post history will see what looks like a normal Reddit account. How much of the astroturfing is called out? 10%? 90%? Certainly nobody thinks it's 100%...
- JohnBooty 4y ago
  The account will have legitimate Reddit activity--basically, because somebody will be using it as a personal account. And when someone asks for recommendations for hiking boots or whatever? "I've been using X for a while now, they seem pretty reliable." This would definitely work, but it seems like a large amount of work for a single organic-looking "I've been using X for a while now, they seem pretty reliable" post.
- mox1 4y ago
  But at what point is "marketing" just engaging with the community? If you go out and develop a suberb product that some niche reddit community might love, you post it...and they like it... OK, good for you? What I am saying is, if your product / marketing is sooo good that it passes the smell test of the relevant subreddits..maybe your not shilling / astroturfing but helping? Similar to how a lot of SEO advise is: "Create good content". Where is the line here?
  - tapland 4y ago
    Just like it's really helpful for a waiter at a restaurant to suggest you get the <product with largest margin that is about to expire> if they, without you knowing, get a cut of the savings for doing so! How great

Equally anecdotal--I've seen lots of examples of astroturfing that hasn't been caught. People who run social media marketing accounts have occasionally explained exactly how they create their marketing accounts and how they make marketing posts. The account will have legitimate Reddit activity--basically, because somebody will be using it as a personal account. And when someone asks for recommendations for hiking boots or whatever? "I've been using X for a while now, they seem pretty reliable." Anyone looking at the comment history or post history will see what looks like a normal Reddit account. How much of the astroturfing is called out? 10%? 90%? Certainly nobody thinks it's 100%...

JohnBooty 4y ago
The account will have legitimate Reddit activity--basically, because somebody will be using it as a personal account. And when someone asks for recommendations for hiking boots or whatever? "I've been using X for a while now, they seem pretty reliable." This would definitely work, but it seems like a large amount of work for a single organic-looking "I've been using X for a while now, they seem pretty reliable" post.
mox1 4y ago
But at what point is "marketing" just engaging with the community? If you go out and develop a suberb product that some niche reddit community might love, you post it...and they like it... OK, good for you? What I am saying is, if your product / marketing is sooo good that it passes the smell test of the relevant subreddits..maybe your not shilling / astroturfing but helping? Similar to how a lot of SEO advise is: "Create good content". Where is the line here?
- tapland 4y ago
  Just like it's really helpful for a waiter at a restaurant to suggest you get the <product with largest margin that is about to expire> if they, without you knowing, get a cut of the savings for doing so! How great