The Advertising Potential of Reddit
Reddit is something of a unicorn in the digital age. It’s not quite a social network and not quite a news source, but something in between. It has millions of users with clearly defined (and easy to ascertain) user behaviors. These users spend time in their chosen silos of hobbies, current events, brands, and interests.
Reddit users are picky about what they want to see and even pickier about what they do not want to see, while they’re scrolling through the infinite “front page.” This user base may be a gold mine for some brands, but it will take some digging to understand how marketing on Reddit can be successful.
What is Reddit?
In true tech company fashion, the idea of Reddit was created by two college roommates in 2005. Often referred to as the “front page of the internet,” Reddit developed into an aggregation of user-generated content (UGC), link shares, text posts, and videos and images, organized into user-created communities called subreddits.
Content shared in subreddits is displayed in a hierarchical order determined by the users themselves by upvoting or downvoting posts and comments. When submissions receive enough upvotes, the content will be displayed toward the top of the subreddit and may even end up on the site’s front page.
Reddit communities are monitored by administrators who are users themselves. These people make sure post submissions do not break Reddit-specific rules and fall within specific guidelines drafted by each subreddit.
You might be thinking Reddit sounds like its own culture filled with made-up words, clear social expectations, and strict rules. Reddit is indeed a marketing channel that requires calculated strategies, but unlocking its advertising potential could be a game-changer for some brands.
Who is Using Reddit?
Users of Reddit are called Redditors, and they are some of the most tech-savvy, engaged, and open-to-learning users on any social media platform.
Here are 4 must-know Reddit user statistics for 2023:
- According to Semrush, reddit.com is the 6th most visited website in the United States and the 9th most visited website in the world.
- Reddit has over 430 million monthly active users–a number that has grown consistently for the last decade.
- 1 in 3 Redditors is between the ages of 18 and 29; hello, GenZ.
- Almost half of Reddit’s users live in the U.S.
- Many Reddit users don’t use other social media apps; 69% of Redditors don’t use TikTok, 47% don’t use Instagram, and 23% aren’t on Facebook.
Ways to Use Reddit for Marketing
When done well, advertising on Reddit opens the door to reaching a target audience more effectively than on other platforms. This is because of the over 3.5 million niche subreddit communities on the site, of which 100,000 are active.
Reddit’s advertising slogan is “Find your people where they find community.”
Brands that use Reddit for marketing are promised engaged conversations from users with a palpable sense of belonging related to the psychological phenomenon called social proof.
Authenticity and trustworthiness are vital to the digital purchasing process, and Redditors innately trust their subreddit communities. One study found that 90% of users trust Reddit to learn about new products and brands, an amount higher than that of Google, Amazon, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.
It’s clear that there is potential for marketing success on Reddit, but to discover how it can work for your brand, you must understand the different ways to advertise on the platform.
Organic Marketing on Reddit
Organic marketing on Reddit requires different steps than it does on other social networks. On Facebook, for example, a brand would create a business account and post content that shows up in the news feeds of users who follow the brand organically. On Reddit, brands must seek out relevant topic-specific communities to engage with.
The good news is, there are thousands of active subreddits. This means there’s bound to be at least one that fits with the industry or niche(s) that is most related to your brand. And if there isn’t? You can easily create one.
Marketing organically on Reddit means sharing content that Redditors want to see. If they don’t want to see it, they can easily downvote it to oblivion.
Most modern consumers don’t like to feel advertised to, but Redditors are especially skeptical of sales tactics. Organic content must speak authentically about your brand (i.e. it isn’t presented in a “sneaky” way).
Reddit’s Advertising Platform
Reddit’s ad platform enables advertisers to reach specific audiences in moments when users are forming opinions and making decisions. People use Reddit to search for information, and when the results return ads for your brand alongside community-driven post content that users trust, it can lead to conversions.
Reddit for Business can be used for various marketing strategies and objectives, including increasing brand awareness, traffic, conversions, video views, and app installs.
The Reddit for Business ad platform includes tools that help brands reach users that align with their target audience. This includes ad targeting based on community, interest, location, and custom audiences composed of people who have engaged with your business at other digital touchpoints.
If reaching a niche audience is high on your list of marketing goals, it can be worth investing in Reddit ads. Advertising on Reddit starts at $5 per day, and you can set limits based on auction requirements and maximum cost per click (which can be set as low as $0.10).
There are two types of ad placements on Reddit:
- Right-hand sidebar, which includes a large image similar to that of Google Display ads.
- In-feed advertisements, which look similar to organic user posts, but include a small PROMOTED label at the top. Content of in-feed ads can be a text post, video, image, or carousel of images.
Why It’s Worth Trying Reddit Advertising
Reddit’s platform capabilities and audience provide unique advertising opportunities to millions of active users. Sticking to the rules and being savvy about organic posts and engagement allows brands to grow their business on Reddit.
Our agency can develop a customized Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and social media content strategy that includes Reddit advertising for your brand. Our team understands the best ways to increase brand awareness and lead generation campaigns for a variety of industries. Ready to reach Redditors? Book a discovery call with our CEO to get started.
FAQs
How can you use Reddit for marketing without being banned?
Be sure all content posted to Reddit follows Reddit and the subreddit’s specific rules. It may be worth discussing what’s appropriate to share with the mods of a community before sharing. Proactively building a positive reputation (called Reddit karma) may make it less likely that your account is banned.
How much does it cost to advertise on Reddit?
The minimum cost of advertising on Reddit is $5 a day. Advertisers can choose campaign goals and set auction requirements that work within marketing budgets.
What industry should use Reddit for advertising?
Brands in most industries could benefit from Reddit advertising because of the diversity in community topics.
