The Reddit Gold Mine B2B Marketers Are Completely Ignoring: Thredd, Alvin Gunputh

Episode Description

Alvin Gunputh, Digital Marketing and Social Media Manager at Thredd, has a unique background - former police officer turned fintech marketer who brings structured frameworks to creative chaos. In this conversation, we explore why AI-generated content makes him cringe (not stop scrolling), why LinkedIn engagement farming looks desperate, the Reddit gold mine B2B marketers are ignoring, and why he'd choose organic over paid media. Plus, we discuss his honest campaign failure story, why B2B brands trying too hard to be comical misses the mark, and the employee advocacy program he's building at Thredd.

Key Takeaways

1. AI Content Makes You Stop and Cringe, Not Engage - AI-generated content doesn't make people stop scrolling because it's interesting; it makes them stop because they can't believe brands are doing it. Generic AI copy and images get an internal "tut" before people scroll past. Use AI for ideation, not end-to-end content creation.

2. Engagement Farming Looks Desperate - LinkedIn engagement pods and WhatsApp groups where people beg for likes make brands look desperate. You don't want to be the brand that needs to remind people you exist. Authentic engagement beats forced interactions every time.

3. Organic Requires More Strategic Thinking Than Paid - Paid media is the easy option - just throw money at targeting. Organic demands creative thinking, passion, and genuine desire to make content work. When organic content hits (like a viral reel), the feeling is unmatched because you earned it without a budget.

4. Reddit is B2B's Dark Social Gold Mine - Most B2B marketers ignore Reddit, but it's where authentic brand recommendations happen. Search your brand name - you might find customers organically recommending you to strangers asking for solutions. It's anonymous, easy to join, and full of genuine buying conversations.

5. Police Framework Thinking: Assess Before You Act - When police arrive at a scene, they don't rush in - they assess the situation first. Same applies to marketing: take a step back, evaluate the landscape, identify risks and opportunities, then move forward with a clear plan.

6. Everyone's Throwing Money at LinkedIn Without Research - Companies dump budget into LinkedIn ads because the data is accessible and it's easy to justify internally to stakeholders. But where's the research proving it's the RIGHT channel for your ICP? Data access doesn't equal strategy.

7. Post Once or Twice Weekly If Quality is High - You don't need to post on LinkedIn every day. High-quality posts once or twice per week outperform daily mediocre content. Quality beats cadence, especially when you're scaling and feeling pressure to maintain output.

8. The 4-4-2 Employee Advocacy Framework - 4 months, 4 people, 2 content pillars, 2 posts per week. This structure drops the barrier to entry by giving employees a clear start and end date, specific topics to focus on, and manageable posting frequency that reduces anxiety.

FAQ: B2B Social & Content Strategy from Alvin Gunputh

Q: Why do you say AI content makes people cringe instead of engage? A: AI-generated content floods B2B feeds, but it's not making people stop because it's interesting - it's making them stop because they can't believe brands are actually posting it. The tone, images, and copy all feel generic and inauthentic. People scroll past after an internal "tut." AI should be your ideation tool to work through creative concepts, not your end-to-end content creation and publishing tool.

Q: What's wrong with LinkedIn engagement pods and asking for likes? A: It's engagement farming and it looks desperate. When someone sends you a WhatsApp message saying "I just posted on LinkedIn, can you like it?" you feel obliged to engage. But when a brand does this systematically, it screams desperation. You don't want to be the brand that needs to remind people to pay attention to you. It's not appealing.

Q: Why would you choose organic over paid media? A: Organic is the harder option, which is exactly why it's more valuable. Paid is easy - you just throw money at targeting and let the platform do the work. Organic requires more creative thinking, more passion, and more strategic effort. You have to work harder to make content resonate. When an organic post or reel blows up, it's a better feeling because you earned it without buying your way there.

Q: How should B2B companies actually use Reddit? A: Start by searching your brand name and relevant keywords in Reddit to see what conversations are already happening. You'll find authentic discussions where people are asking for recommendations and current users are organically suggesting solutions. Join relevant subreddits, lurk if you're not ready to post, and observe the real conversations happening in your industry. It's anonymous, low barrier to entry, and full of dark social gold.

Q: What was your biggest campaign failure and what did you learn? A: Years ago when Twitter was popular, we ran a competition to grow followers using sports sponsorship tickets as prizes. On paper it looked great - amazing prizes, high-adrenaline event. It completely flopped. We were being too "out of the box" for B2B at that time, and the followers we did gain weren't in our ICP because competitions are open to anyone globally. I learned to always tie campaigns back to revenue objectives and question whether vanity metrics actually matter.

Q: Why do you cringe when B2B brands try to be comical on LinkedIn? A: You can sense when brands are trying too hard to go viral or be the next Ryanair. If comedy isn't embedded in your brand story from the start, forcing it just feels off-brand and desperate. Not every B2B brand needs to be funny. Some do it well when it's authentic to their values, but most are just chasing engagement without strategic purpose.

Q: How do you scale social content without sacrificing quality? A: Focus on quality over quantity. People think they need to post on LinkedIn every day - you don't. If you're posting once or twice per week with genuinely good, authentic content, that outperforms daily mediocre posts. When scaling creates pressure to maintain cadence, quality drops. You can see it in feeds - brands posting just for the sake of posting with no engagement.

Q: What's the 442 employee advocacy framework you're building at Thredd? A: 4 months, 4 people, 2 content pillars, 2 posts per week. This structure works because it drops the barrier to entry. Employees know exactly when the program starts and ends (reduces commitment anxiety), they're only focusing on 2 specific topics (reduces decision paralysis), and posting twice weekly is manageable (not overwhelming). After 4 months, the anxiety around posting drops significantly and people often continue naturally.

Episode Timestamps

[00:00] Intro & why AI content makes you cringe, not engage

[02:16] Introduction: Alvin's role at Thredd and 13 years in social/digital marketing

[04:29] Moving up in marketing: When the pressure changes from tactics to revenue

[06:40] Police officer framework thinking → marketing processes

[08:35] The 5-step police framework for assessing situations (applied to marketing)

[09:32] Why frameworks matter more as you move up (crisis comms example)

[13:01] Biggest fear: AI-generated content flooding B2B feeds

[15:53] Are B2B companies just throwing money at LinkedIn without research?

[18:21] Internal dynamics: Why stakeholders choose easy options over right options

[20:13] Social tactic that doesn't work: B2B brands trying too hard to be comical

[23:36] Campaign failure story: Twitter competition that completely flopped

[26:10] LinkedIn engagement farming and why it looks desperate

[28:31] The dopamine hit vs. actual business results on LinkedIn

[30:21] Generational differences: How Gen Z vs. Millennials use LinkedIn differently

[31:34] Red flags to watch for when starting campaigns

[34:10] Why he'd pick organic over paid (and what that means for strategy)

[38:33] Current test: Employee advocacy programs and reducing anxiety

[42:00] The 442 employee advocacy framework (4 months, 4 people, 2 pillars, 2 posts/week)

[42:47] One test every B2B should run: Reddit for authentic brand research

[45:43] The Reddit discovery moment: Finding Thredd organically recommended

[47:00] Biggest mistake when scaling social content: Sacrificing quality for quantity

[52:06] Marketer to follow: Zandrina Alde and her authentic video content

[53:34] What's next: Testing Instagram/TikTok for B2B fintech and thought leadership ads

Guest Bio

Alvin Gunputh is the Digital Marketing and Social Media Manager at Thredd, a fintech company operating in the payments space as an issuer processor. With 13 years of experience in social and digital marketing, Alvin brings a unique perspective shaped by his background as a former police officer and UEFA qualified football coach. He's responsible for Thredd's social media strategy, content creation, SEO integration, and launching their employee advocacy program. His framework-based approach to creative marketing stems from his police training - assess the situation, identify risks, then execute with clarity.

Find Alvin: LinkedIn | Thredd.com