Article's Content
Article's Content
Happy Thursday!
In this week’s newsletter, we cover:
- 🤖 Like It Or Not—Research Shows AI Can be Persuasive on Reddit
- 📶 Mint Mobile’s “Semi-Official” Reddit Strategy
- 👀 The Latest in B2B SaaS This Week
- 🧠 This Week’s Brain Food
- ➕ The Best Content Across the Web
Let’s get into it.
Like It Or Not—Research Shows AI Can be Persuasive on Reddit
TL;DR: AI bots secretly swayed Redditors. Effective, but it made everyone mad and now someone might get sued.
Reddit has a well-documented AI-spam problem. Moderators hate it. Redditors hate it. And it’s showing up everywhere.
Normally it’s easy to spot and does the exact opposite of its intended purpose. But a recent University of Zurich experiment on Reddit’s r/changemyview offers a jarring glimpse into both the capabilities and ethical boundaries of AI on social platforms.
Researchers used dozens of AI bots and sock puppet accounts to generate several persuasive, personalized comments in r/changemyview, earning over 20,000 upvotes and leading 137 users to change their mind on a number of hot-button, divisive topics. (In the context of r/changemyview, “deltas” are awarded when someone successfully changes the OP’s mind. It’s essentially a metric for measuring persuasion.)
The ethics of the study are questionable to say the least, and the researchers are getting eviscerated in the subreddit. Unfortunately, that doesn’t refute the fact that AI-generated arguments effectively changed human opinions on contentious topics.
For marketers operating on Reddit, there are a few important takeaways from this saga:
- AI-generated content can be very persuasive, especially when personalized based on user history. The research showed AI could successfully adopt personas, write compelling arguments, and drive measurable engagement without detection.
- Transparent, human-led engagement is key as anti-bot measures increase on the platform. AI is clearly an effective tool for Reddit marketing, but the safe long-term play requires transparency about its use.
- If it’s userbase vs business, Reddit chooses the former. r/changemyview’s overwhelmingly negative reaction to this experiment (and the media firestorm surrounding it) has put some pressure on the company, who are currently considering a legal action against UZH. Lesson? Don’t mess with the users.
It’s a brilliant experiment by the University of Zurich researchers. But for marketers, it’s as much a cautionary tale about the wrath of Reddit as it is a showcase of AI’s power.
Meet Gia: The AI-Powered Growth Partner for Agencies and Consultants
Drowning in client work with no time to fill your pipeline?
If that’s the case, you’re probably also tired of companies selling you a SaaS growth playbook that “works just as well for agencies and consultancies.”
You need a system that prioritizes founder-led sales and relationship building over outbound, BD-led sales.
Gia is the all-in-one growth platform built specifically for modern consulting firms and agencies. Unlike traditional CRMs, Gia works as your second-in-command, automatically unlocking warm opportunities in your network, transforming client conversations into actionable insights, and turning your expertise into polished content—all without adding to your workload.
Join the growing community of consultants who’ve discovered how AI can streamline growth tasks while maintaining the relationship-based approach that drives your business.
Mint Mobile’s “Semi-Official” Reddit Strategy Drives 100K+ Visits
Too many brands treat Reddit with kid gloves. Or worse, avoid it entirely.
Sure, there’s the chance (read: certainty) that your brand will get dunked on once in a while. But it’s a small price to pay for establishing a closer connection to your customers.
Mint Mobile is a great example of a company in a polarizing industry that’s winning on Reddit.
Reddit drove over 100,000 visits to the Mint Mobile website last month alone, good for 44% of their total social media referrals. But driving traffic is just the beginning of what makes their Reddit presence so valuable.
The r/mintmobile subreddit has evolved into a powerful customer acquisition and retention engine with 47,000 members. What makes it unique is the balance they’ve struck: volunteer moderators maintain community authenticity while 108 Mint employees (including C-suite executives) actively monitor and engage.
I recently analyzed their approach to uncover what makes it so effective. Here are the key elements:
- A 6,000-word FAQ mega-thread that centralizes troubleshooting information, reducing support costs while building transparency
- Direct C-Suite engagement from co-founder Rizwan Kassim and former CMO Aron North, who address customer concerns in real-time
- A separate referral subreddit that keeps promotional content segregated while capturing valuable SEO real estate and driving low-CAC conversions
For telecom companies especially, Reddit represents the unfiltered voice of customer experience. Mint Mobile’s success shows that brands who lean into this transparency (rather than hiding from it) can transform a potential liability into a significant marketing asset.
For the complete breakdown of Mint Mobile’s Reddit strategy, check out the latest analysis in the Foundation Lab.
👀 What’s the Latest in B2B SaaS This Week? 👀
- 💰 Supio, an AI-powered legal analysis platform, lands $60M | TechCrunch
- 🖥️ Progressive Insurance tests limits of AI-generated ads – and learns when to pull back | The Drum
- 🧑💻 AI’s Impact on Software Development | Anthropic Economic Index
- ✍️ Writer releases Palmyra X5, delivers near GPT-4.1 performance at 75% lower cost | VentureBeat
- Ⓜ️ Meta launches a stand-alone AI app to compete with ChatGPT | TechCrunch
Create and Distribute Content 5X Faster with AI
You hit publish.
And then… nothing.
No shares. No engagement. No traffic. Goose eggs across the board.
You see, creating content isn’t the problem. Distribution is.
The smartest brands don’t just create—they distribute like crazy.
And that’s where Distribution.AI comes in.
- Upload your podcast, video, or article.
- AI generates everything you need for distribution: show notes, blog posts, LinkedIn threads, X posts, and more.
- Publish everywhere in minutes.
Your job?
Copy. Paste. Post. Repeat.
And the results?
Your content works like a rented mule—on every platform—while you sip coffee and brainstorm your next viral idea.
Want to turn your content into a distribution machine? Try Distribution.AI today.
🧠 This Week’s Brain Food 🧠
As someone who comes from a psychology background, I’m a sucker for a good theory named after a historic figure. Bonus if it involves sports.
Today I want to talk about one that checks off all those boxes:
The Bannister Effect.
It’s the psychological phenomenon where one person breaking a perceived limit makes it much easier for others to do the same.
It’s named after neurologist and athlete Roger Bannister, who was the first person to run a mile in under four minutes back in 1954. Up until that point, the feat was thought to be physically impossible. Something beyond the limits of what the human body could deliver. Naturally, it was a massive story at the time.
Then a funny thing happened.
Just 46 days after Bannister’s notorious finish, another runner came in under 4 minutes, setting an even faster pace. By the end of 1957, a total of 16 athletes had successfully run a mile in under four minutes. Bannister’s milestone had opened the flood gates and reset the perceived limits of other athletes.
Today, the Bannister Effect serves as a reminder that the biggest obstacle to success is often something that exists purely in our minds.
Interested in sponsoring this newsletter?
Get access to over 30k savvy marketers every week. Reply to this email and apply for a spot.
🎖️ LinkedIn Post of the Week
The small tweak that unlocked 5,000 email subscribers by Chenell Basilio
🎖️ Reddit Post of the Week
We got acquired last month—here’s what no one tells you about the process in r/SaaS
🏅 Twitter/X Post of the Week
Marketing isn’t about ads. It never was. By Philip Rivers
🤳🏽 Nice Finds You Should Binge
- The OpenAI mafia: 15 of the most notable startups founded by alumni | TechCrunch
- How Brands Can Use STAT To Thrive Amidst SERP Chaos | Foundation Lab
- Ex-OpenAI CEO and power users sound alarm over AI sycophancy and flattery of users | VentureBeat
- Why everyone in adtech is suddenly talking about creative again | The Drum
💻 Job Postings Worth Checking Out
Looking for a new opportunity?
Here’s a round-up of some exciting job openings in the B2B SaaS space.
- Foundation: Reddit Specialist
- Foundation: B2B Content Marketing Strategist
- Foundation: Account Manager
- Foundation: Content Creator
- Foundation: Content Marketing Manager
- Foundation: Applied Research Specialist
- Foundation: Director of Digital Marketing
Are you hiring?
Reply to this email, and we’ll share how you can find your next unicorn, game-changer, or first marketing hire from among the industry’s top-performing marketers.
🎧 What We’re Wired Into This Week
This SaaS news smattering is brought to you by Ethan Crump!
If you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas you want to see in this newsletter, feel free to email Leigha Henderson at leigha@foundationinc.co. We always look for ways to improve and provide the best B2B SaaS marketing resources.
Have a great weekend!
