Why subreddit as opposed to FB groups or even a self managing forum?
Self-managed forums can be great once you already have an audience. But if you’re starting from scratch, you’re doing double the work: you have to build the community and do all the SEO to get people there. With Reddit, you’ve got the built in network effect. People already have accounts and join multiple subs, so it’s easier to get visibility and cross-post into related communities.
Also, from an SEO standpoint, a backlink from Reddit has way more weight than a backlink from your own brand new forum. Reddit’s a high DA domain that Google crawls constantly, so links get indexed fast and can even rank on their own. A backlink from a new forum is basically invisible until you put in months of link-building and content work.
FB groups can work, but they’re a lot harder to grow now without ads, and FB is way more ban happy than Reddit (they can be a real pain in the butt).
If you’re in a softer or more intellectual niche (arts, fashion, design, books, certain hobbies), Pinterest can also work well but it’s more of a slow-burn traffic source than an instant boost. If you set up your boards correctly and automate it still works in 2025 though.
Good luck
