The Details Behind Reddit’s New Video Hosting Capabilities
Here are all the updates on how Reddit is now hosting video content natively — and what that means for filmmakers and marketers.
For those of you familiar with Reddit, the almost-endless online community has long been a harbor for YouTube and Vimeo links on any topic and for any sub-community. However, in the past year, as Reddit continues to grow into more of a major social media player, the site has finally rolled out its own native video hosting platform.
For all of us at /r/filmmakers, /r/videography, and /r/editors, this means a more direct upload option with ideally better playback and quicker karma returns. This new platform something is also something for content marketers to stay on top of. So let’s look at some tips on creating and uploading Reddit videos.
Note: this article is an update to our comprehensive guide to posting videos to Reddit, which has more tips and tricks for posting video content from all sources.
Desktop and Phone Upload
Image by GaudiLab.
Unlike YouTube (in some ways) and definitely Vimeo, Reddit’s video hosting technology is more similar to Facebook’s, in the sense that it’s more user-friendly rather than being video producer-minded. From Reddit’s first post about their new video hosting, here are the simple steps for uploading footage from your phone or desktop.
Desktop:
- Click “Submit Link” on a Reddit video-enabled subreddit.
- Click “Choose File.”
- Select an MP4 or MOV video file to upload.
- Choose a thumbnail for your video.
- Add a title.
- Click “Submit.”
Phone:
- Click “Post something interesting” at the top of your “Home” feed.
- Or, on a Reddit video-enabled subreddit, click “Post to r/___”.
- Select “Image/Video.”
- Click “Camera” to record a new video or “Library” to select one you’ve already recorded.
- Add a title.
- Click “Post” to submit.
Reddit’s Video Limits
Image via metamorworks.
While Reddit still seems to be tinkering with some rough guidelines and particulars, there does seem to be some limits as to what types of videos you can post as well as set terms for file size and length. Reddit tends to favor small, bite-sized clips and GIFs, so the following are the first hard limits:
- File size: 1 GB.
- Length: 15 mins.
- GIF Length: 1 min.
Reddit’s Video-to-GIF Mechanic
Image via Jacob Lund.
Along with video hosting, Reddit continues to encourage users to convert their video footage into GIF-based content, which is a popular style for many of their communities (/r/GIFs would be an obvious example). From a post from /u/RamsesThePigeon, Reddit offers in-site conversion for your video uploads into Reddit-friendly GIFs with their new mechanic.
Notes on the Video-to-GIF Mechanic: Upload videos (MP4 or MOV, up to 15-minutes long) directly to Reddit.
- Convert uploaded videos to GIFs.
- Trim uploaded videos from within the mobile applications.
- Read comments while watching Reddit-hosted videos.
Proper Reddiquette and Karma
Image via GaudiLab.
As we said in our comprehensive guide to posting videos to Reddit, posting a video to Reddit is more of an endeavor than creating the content — or even a simple post. Proper Reddit etiquette (or Reddiquette) means a strict adherence to Reddit’s rules and bylaws — as well as providing genuinely helpful, informative, and interesting content to the community (or subreddit) you’re posting in. For more on the subject, you can also dive into Reddit’s wiki page for all the nuances of the community.
Cover image by golubovystock.
For more online community posting tips and tricks for your video content, check out some of these articles below.
