Channel the storytelling genius of Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian
- Alexis Ohanian realized early on that traditional approaches to generating buzz were floundering in the digital age.
- So he treated public relations very differently than most founders and CEOs — he viewed it as a strategic investment rather than a necessary evil.
- By incorporating communications into his job description, Ohanian made every interview count.
When companies refer to “PR,” they often mean the function that drives buzz for the business by getting headlines. Many founders assume that hiring a public relations firm (or an on-staff PR lead) will quickly get them regular, glowing write-ups in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, which they can then share with their target audiences on Facebook or LinkedIn to drive demand and generate leads. Or better yet, they might get physical press clippings, which are a nice ego boost, even though fewer and fewer people read printed newspapers and magazines. These clips can be framed to adorn office hallways or sent to family members to stick on the fridge.
This way of thinking, however, leads companies to take a very hands-off approach to press coverage. As I’ve seen it done for years, the company hires an agency, points to a highlight or milestone it wants to promote (a product launch, a funding round, a key hire) or a set of “messages” it wants to impart, and then sits back and lets the agency go to work until the media ask for an interview. At that point, if there’s any interest at all, an assistant arranges time via the public relations pro who is in touch with the journalist on the other side. This kind of arrangement builds in at least two or three levels of disconnect between the interviewer and interviewee. Then, at the time of the interview, the communications team attends the meeting and sometimes even chimes in with answers or comments. Usually there’s also some heavy coaching going on behind the scenes to ensure that the founder or CEO is saying the “right thing” and not revealing private or sensitive information. The hope, from there, is that this will result in a rave article with all the talking points included.
This strategy is rarely effective, particularly when it’s so hands off, which Alexis Ohanian, founder of Reddit, realized from the start. He took a much more informal approach — but he also treated PR very differently than most founders and CEOs do. He viewed it as a strategic investment in the long-term success of his business, not a necessary evil to achieve a set number of press mentions per quarter. And he didn’t treat his relationships with the media as purely transactional. Even if a meeting didn’t result in a press mention for Reddit, he could categorize it as a win in other ways — and therefore as worth the time. As the company grew, he continued to view public relations as a priority — and something that he would personally manage rather than fully outsource to someone else.
Ohanian was also special in that he did not bristle at the idea of incorporating communications into his job description. Many CEOs will stress that they’re too busy, given they’re also on the hook to recruit, answer product questions, manage teams, and conduct meetings, among a host of other responsibilities. But I’d argue that communications should be extremely high up on any CEO’s priority list, and Ohanian would agree. It’s a catalyst to drive everything else. For example, winning over talent is typically far easier if they are aware that the business exists and perceive it as a cool company to join. While considering a role at a company that isn’t yet a household name, it’s downright useful to be able to email out a press article to friends and family members (“You may not have heard of it, but this start- up is the real deal!”). An emphasis on communications makes everything else that little bit easier.
So here’s how Ohanian made every interview count:
• He built a network and a following. Reporters meet with a lot of companies and are trained to be on the lookout for stories that might pique the public’s interest. Ohanian realized that speaking to people whose job it was to regularly network, assess companies, and interface with the public would be inherently valuable for him as a cofounder. And even though he wasn’t yet a noteworthy CEO, Ohanian said he knew reporters would rather open and reply to an email from a CEO than a flak, an industry term for a communications professional.
• He viewed journalists as a discerning audience — if he could win them over, he could win anyone over. By paying close attention to the person’s body language and other visual cues, he could determine if his story was resonating. Could he be telling it differently or better? If he could convince this naturally skeptical audience to care, might that help him be a better storyteller when trying to convince other important audiences too (when recruiting, pitching investors, making sales)?
• He leaned into the “butterfly effect.” Journalists have big networks and are purveyors of information, most of it not conveyed in print. So meeting with them could open doors for his business. Case in point: Ohanian once had an extended conversation with freelance technology journalist Rachel Metz even though she explicitly told him that she would not be covering the company. Metz was nonetheless intrigued enough by the conversation to discuss it with her editor at Wired. That editor happened to be married to the director of business development at Condé Nast and promptly introduced Ohanian to her husband. That led to a licensing agreement, and eventually Condé Nast acquired Reddit. Years later, Ohanian often talks about this experience to remind people in his life that there’s value in staying open-minded versus being extractive in all encounters.
• He learned to listen. In interviews with journalists, Ohanian learned to talk — but he also learned how to sit back and be quiet. He started to see a lot more value in these conversations when he stopped talking and instead asked the journalists earnest questions about how they did their job and what tools they used to succeed. Through that process Ohanian recognized a business opportunity and a public relations opportunity. Because there weren’t many websites on the internet for reporters and bloggers to use to understand public sentiment around the news, Ohanian figured Reddit could fulfill that need. Sure enough, that led to a double whammy for Reddit: Members of the press used Reddit to help them do their jobs, turning their news organizations into partners, which increased their desire to write about Reddit in their stories.
Ohanian viewed journalists as a discerning audience — if he could win them over, he could win anyone over.
Over time, Reddit became much more well known, eventually becoming one of the top sites on the internet. Ohanian’s star rose alongside the site he helped create, particularly as he began to share more lessons learned and strategies for building companies. He is now an investor with his own venture capital fund, Seven Seven Six. He’s also a sought-after public speaker, company advisor, and television commentator. And in 2017, he married tennis superstar Serena Williams. Ever the joker, after receiving a coveted invitation to the royal wedding of the decade from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Ohanian posted a video of himself at his home, adopting a fake British accent to declare, “You can call me Lord Ohanian from now on.”
