Reddit: The Final Frontier for Advertisers

Written By: Alex Mack

Preface

Some affectionately refer to Reddit as " the front page of the internet" and just like getting an ad placed on the front page of a major newspaper it costs advertisers a great deal of effort. Notice I said effort and not cash, as Reddit ranks as one of the social media platforms with the cheaper CPM (cost per 1000 impressions). However, advertisers often relegate their efforts away from the "front page of the internet" and throw millions of dollars annually into saturated platforms like Instagram/Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Let's take a deeper look into this relatively untouched marketing-goldmine and discover what styles of advertisement succeed and which get downvoted into oblivion!

Context for Success

In 2020, Reddit garnered 52 million daily active users and 1.63 billion site visits. The social media platform also boasts over 100,000 subreddit communities all with their own unique culture, sense of humor, demographic and purpose. However, ad revenue only accounts for around $260 million for Reddit; relatively low when compared to Facebook's $25.44 billion. For brands that are looking to target a younger demographic, Reddit is populated by 58% of users age 18-34; compared to Facebook's 40.7%, in the same age group. With all these numbers and percentages out of the way, one question remains.

"What's the catch?"

Staying True to Formula

In 2010, Reddit bested its main platform competitor "Digg", by simply staying true to formula that got them their. While their contemporary attempted a total site overhaul to make it more advertiser friendly, the result was the loyal userbase Digg had cultivated migrated in droves to their arch-rival, Reddit. Due in part to the growing sentiments of being sold out by their platform of choice, users felt ostracized and found solace in a familiar face; Reddit's short pale alien

With this cautionary tale in mind, Reddit has been apprehensive to changing their winning formula and becoming an advertisers darling overnight. Allowing Redditors to comment and up or down vote content (even paid promotions) gives the communities being targeted the power to self-regulate content and speak back to brands that are used to controlling the narrative. The ability for Redditors to self-regulate content inhibits the success of brands attempting to "Astro-turf" a public-relations campaigns.

Reddit's Best Practices

In terms of paid advertisement strategies, marketing directors from companies liken to Bud Light & EA have deemed Reddit as "one of the trickiest platforms to get a grasp on". The populace of Reddit, typically do a good job of sniffing through the smoke and mirrors implemented by marketers and in turn have a great deal of appreciation when a brand "LEADS WITH LISTENING". By joining a subreddit conversation with an air of transparency and diligence to the community's context (culture, humor, purpose) marketers can get a better grasp on the platform.

As oppose to most social media platforms that operate under a "pay to play" strategy, quality content is the name of the game with Reddit. Often success follows when a prospective brand seeks out content with a high "upvote" score, revamps it and adapts the content's essence to serve the brand. Ever the platform for underdogs, Redditor seem to avoid branded content in general, but have no problem voicing their admiration and support of the brands they truly endorse.

CeraVe has statistically been one of the most mentioned skincare brand of the past few years and has not put even a cent of advertising money into Reddit, because they have cultivated a community of ardent supports that have no problem being the mouthpiece for a company they find value in. While a subsidiary of L'Oreal (a titan of industry) CeraVe has embolden and empowered its die-hard supporters, with a grass-root campaign that has since snowballed into almost a full blown cult. Especially for a product where the user's are in essence the walking talking billboards for the brand, this strategy (or lack thereof) has greatly enhanced the trajectory for "repeated-users".

On the other end of the spectrum. The 3rd largest pizza chain in America, Little Caesars, found a great deal of success by engaging fans of the brand through Reddit and the internet at large. As a promotional campaign aimed at spreading awareness for the return of Little Caesar's pretzel crust pizza, the brand sent fans scouring the internet and real world for hidden codes that could reward participants with pretzel themed memorabilia. For fans of the brand, savvy internet sleuth and scavenger-hunt enthusiasts alike, this was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity many weren't willing to pass up.

By engaging with prospective customers: where they are, about stuff they enjoy, and in a manner they appreciate, any brand came find some semblance of success marketing to Redditors with a fraction of the cost. Just like any good conversation, the key is simple, but may be counterintuitive to marketers used to steering the narrative: "lead with listening".