I spend an embarrassing amount of time on Reddit. As a content strategist for B2B SaaS companies, Reddit marketing should be the last thing on my mind — Reddit users have a sixth sense for marketing and a hair-trigger for downvotes.
My Reddit homepage is a mishmash of everything that interests me, including in-depth explorations of project management tools. Heated debates about the latest season of the Great British Baking Show. Spending hours on Reddit every day, I started wondering — how do you reach people like me?
So I dug in. As it turns out, the brands that win on Reddit are the ones that participate. Therefore, this post covers everything you need to know on how to use Reddit for marketing on how to use Reddit for marketing (without getting roasted in the comments).
Table of Contents:
- What is Reddit marketing?
- Is Reddit marketing right for your brand?
- Getting Started with Reddit
- Why does Reddit marketing matter?
- Why Reddit Is So Tricky For Marketers
- Common Reddit 糖心Vlog Strategies
- 3 Reddit 糖心Vlog Strategy Tips to Avoid Getting Roasted
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Reddit 糖心Vlog
What is Reddit marketing?
Reddit marketing involves building genuine connections within Reddit's vast network of communities, known as subreddits. Unlike traditional social media, where brands broadcast messages, Reddit demands authentic participation in topic-specific discussions.
How Reddit Differs From Other Social Platforms
Reddit’s structure makes it fundamentally different from Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn:
- Community-first approach: Content lives in topic-specific subreddits, not on individual profiles
- Anonymity drives honesty: Users share unfiltered opinions without personal branding concerns
- Upvotes determine visibility: Quality content rises; promotional spam gets buried
- No official brand pages: Companies must earn trust through genuine participation
Free Social Media Content Calendar Template
Download the free template and user guide to manage your social media posts and strategy.
- Coordinate campaigns
- Increase your reach
- Measure engagement
- Plan your posts
Download Free
All fields are required.
You're all set!
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
Understanding Reddit’s Massive Reach
The platform’s growth creates unprecedented opportunities for marketers who approach it correctly:
- Over 100 million daily active users (39% year-over-year growth)
- 100,000+ active communities covering every imaginable topic
- 300+ million weekly users seeking advice and recommendations
- Top Reddit posts often outrank traditional websites on Google
All of this said, traditional social media tactics don’t work here. To succeed, you need to be a real community member first — a brand rep second. Not the other way around. Reddit runs on authentic discussions and shared interests across thousands of specialized communities.
A successful Reddit marketing strategy requires consistency, expertise, and genuine value. Most importantly, it demands patience — building trust and recognition within Reddit communities takes time, but creates lasting relationships with your audience.
Is Reddit marketing right for your brand?
Reddit marketing requires authentic community participation before any promotional activity can be effective. The platform rewards genuine expertise but actively punishes traditional advertising approaches through downvotes and public criticism.
Industries That Thrive on Reddit
Specific sectors consistently succeed on Reddit due to established communities and high-intent users:
- Technology and SaaS: Subreddits like r/webdev and r/SaaS host developers and early adopters who actively evaluate and discuss tools.
- Gaming and entertainment: Communities like r/gaming (with over 35 million members) drive product discovery through organic conversation.
- Finance and investing: r/personalfinance and r/investing attract users researching financial decisions.
- Health and fitness: r/fitness and r/loseit feature users documenting progress and seeking peer support.
- B2B services: Decision-makers use niche subreddits to research vendors and compare solutions.
Signs Reddit 糖心Vlog Fits Your Strategy
Reddit users prefer genuine expertise over promotional content. Reddit marketing aligns with your brand if you have:
- Subject-matter expertise that extends beyond product features into industry knowledge.
- Long-term capacity: Successful Reddit marketing requires six or more months of consistent engagement to generate measurable returns.
- Tolerance for direct feedback: Reddit users provide unfiltered criticism publicly.
- Educational content that delivers value without sales messaging.
- Team members who already use Reddit and understand community dynamics.
Common Mistakes That Trigger Backlash
Every brand that’s a Reddit rookie makes mistakes. But to avoid making the same misstep twice, they should follow subreddit rules to avoid backlash. Failed Reddit campaigns typically share these patterns:
- Immediate promotion: Posting product content before establishing community presence.
- Violating subreddit guidelines: Each community has its own specific rules; moderators ban accounts that ignore them.
- Deleting negative comments: Reddit users screenshot and repost deleted criticism, amplifying the damage.
- Corporate messaging tone: Formal marketing language signals inauthenticity.
- Expecting rapid results: Trust-building on Reddit requires months of consistent, non-promotional participation.
Overall, Reddit marketing may not be viable for every brand. But for those who commit to genuine participation and value-first content, the platform provides direct access to engaged, high-intent audiences that actively distrust traditional advertising channels.
Pro tip: help you monitor Reddit conversations, track brand mentions, and schedule content across platforms — so you can maintain consistent community engagement without managing multiple dashboards.
Getting Started With Reddit 糖心Vlog
It’s essential to understand the Reddit marketing funnel before launching any campaigns or posting content. Peek at the graphic below to get a quick overview of how Reddit marketing works:

As I previously mentioned, achieving long-term success on Reddit through marketing requires authentic community participation. So, you can use the following sections to guide your decision-making and help build a sustainable Reddit presence that generates engagement rather than backlash.
Setting Up Your Reddit Presence
A successful Reddit marketing strategy can’t happen without proper account setup. Complete these foundational steps before posting:
- Create an identifiable username that connects to your brand without appearing overtly corporate (e.g., “Sarah_CompanyName” rather than “CompanyNameOfficial”).
- Build your profile with relevant expertise and industry background. Avoid sales language in your bio.
- Verify your email to unlock full community features, including posting in restricted subreddits.
- Review Reddit’s content policy and advertising guidelines at .
- Observe before participating. Spend two weeks reading posts, comments, and community reactions to understand how to use Reddit for marketing effectively.
Pro tip: Want the TDLR version on Reddit marketing? Watch this video from the HubSpot 糖心Vlog YouTube channel.
Finding Relevant Subreddits
Before diving headfirst into engagement, it’s essential to know precisely where it’s appropriate to join conversations, especially when using Reddit for marketing purposes.
That said, use the tips below to identify where your target audience actively engages below to Identify where your target audience actively engages:
- Search industry keywords using Reddit’s search function and Google’s “site:reddit.com” operator. For example, searching “site:reddit.com email marketing software” surfaces relevant discussions where your audience is already active.
- Target mid-sized communities. Subreddits with 10,000 to 500,000 members typically offer higher engagement rates than larger communities, where posts tend to disappear quickly.
- Review subreddit rules before posting. Brands should follow subreddit rules to avoid backlash; moderators permanently ban accounts that violate guidelines.
- Analyze top-performing posts by sorting by “Top” and filtering by time period to identify content patterns. Note which formats (text, images, links, questions) generate the most upvotes and comments in each community.
- Map related communities. Most subreddits link to similar communities in their sidebars.
Then, create a tracking spreadsheet documenting each subreddit’s:
- Posting rules
- Peak activity times
- Content formats that perform well
- Moderator responsiveness
Measuring Reddit 糖心Vlog Success
Reddit marketing strategies require different metrics than other social platforms. When measuring Reddit marketing performance, track these indicators:
- Karma growth: Rising karma signals community acceptance and builds posting privileges.
- Comment quality and depth: Substantive replies indicate genuine engagement; Reddit users prefer genuine expertise over promotional content.
- Referral traffic: Use UTM parameters to track Reddit-sourced website visits in your analytics platform.
- Brand mention volume: Monitor discussions mentioning your brand outside your own posts using Reddit search or social listening tools.
- Branded subreddit growth: If you create a company subreddit, track subscriber growth and post frequency.
Using Reddit for marketing produces different outcomes than other platforms. A single connection with a high-intent decision-maker can generate more value than thousands of passive impressions.
Pro tip: Successful Reddit marketing typically requires six or more months of consistent engagement to produce a measurable ROI.
Why does Reddit marketing matter?
These days, Reddit’s reach extends far beyond its own platform. According to recent data from , the platform is now the most cited domain on LLMs such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI overviews (at 40.11%, just before Wikipedia at 26.33%).
What does this mean for marketers? Well, that’s a lot of visibility that directly originates from Reddit every day, primarily from users who are using LLMs to research products, solve problems, and engage in meaningful discussions.
What makes these numbers particularly interesting is the intent behind Reddit usage. When people come to Reddit, they’re actively seeking information or solutions. Moreover, they demonstrate high-intent behaviors such as:
- Read product reviews from real users
- Ask detailed questions about services
- Trust the community’s unfiltered opinions more than polished marketing content
The platform’s structure of topic-specific communities creates natural audience segments. Each subreddit represents a group of people united by shared interests, making it easier to find and connect with your target audience.
These communities often become the first stop for people researching purchases or seeking recommendations. This behavior creates unique opportunities for brands that understand how to participate appropriately.
All-in-all, while Reddit users may be marketing-averse, they’re incredibly receptive to genuine expertise and authentic community participation.
Free Social Media Content Calendar Template
Download the free template and user guide to manage your social media posts and strategy.
- Coordinate campaigns
- Increase your reach
- Measure engagement
- Plan your posts
Download Free
All fields are required.
You're all set!
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
Why Reddit Is So Tricky For Marketers
Here’s the thing: Reddit focuses on community building and online discussion rather than highlighting individual profiles or specific content. Posts and comment threads, called subreddits, move up and down on feeds based on user “upvotes” and “downvotes.”
Here’s the breakdown on how Reddit’s voting system works:
- As you might expect, upvotes are similar to Facebook likes, which signal to Reddit's algorithms that the content should be promoted. Posts that engage hundreds of others will get moved up and seen by more users.
- Downvotes do the opposite by moving less engaging content down. Content that bores or annoys many users is transferred to the bottom, where it may not even be visible.
This causes users to see a feed that might be more engaging. But, this can also mean that non-promoted branded material that feels like a generic advertisement could get downvoted or marked as spam.
Another thing that makes Reddit challenging is that it’s difficult to search for legitimate company profiles or official business pages. (Yes. That’s kind of scary.)
There are search filters, but you’ll primarily see results for the most active subreddits, which anyone could create. Take a look:

This is very different from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where you can easily search for people and verify business pages.
If a customer is looking for information on a product and searches for a brand, they might see unofficial community pages that host more specific subreddits about the company. However, almost all of this content is usually created by fans or customers.
Here's an example of what happens when you search Wawa on Reddit:

Although you see several communities related to Wawa, none of them claim to be official or run by the restaurant chain. Even the most officialesque Wawa profile explicitly mentions that it is not affiliated with the corporation itself.

While they aren’t brand-affiliated, these communities can still be beneficial to both users and companies. A prospect searching Reddit to learn more about a specific product might find great customer-posted chatter about the item they're considering.
Gamers, for example, flock to the platform to discuss new launches, pro tips, and issues they may be experiencing while playing a popular video game like The Sims 4.

Similarly, users might create a subreddit or community about a restaurant, like Burger King, to talk about the weird or interesting things they’ve seen at the chain, like this user:

Since threads show positive and negative feedback, users might even recognize that positive feedback is more legitimate since the product would be destroyed by user comments if it were of bad quality.
Free Social Media Content Calendar Template
Download the free template and user guide to manage your social media posts and strategy.
- Coordinate campaigns
- Increase your reach
- Measure engagement
- Plan your posts
Download Free
All fields are required.
You're all set!
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
Common Reddit 糖心Vlog Strategies
Reddit can be a challenging place to navigate, simply because it’s so distinct from other social platforms. Here are five strategies that’ll help you learn how to use Reddit for marketing.
1. Build a community through authentic participation.
This means consistently engaging in subreddit discussions, answering questions, and sharing expertise without pushing your product. To achieve this, identify relevant subreddits where your target audience spends time and then establish yourself as a regular, helpful presence in those communities.
Now, I’ve watched brands attempt this hundreds of ways on Reddit. The ones that succeed, like , use community ambassadors who prioritize being helpful over being promotional.
Their ambassador, , regularly participates in productivity and software subreddits.

He offers detailed advice, creates product feedback threads, and acts as a bridge between users and the Notion team.

His Notion Certified Ambassador status adds credibility, but it’s his consistent, helpful presence that makes the brand more approachable.

Here‘s what makes this strategy work, based on successful patterns I’ve observed:
- Long-term commitment matters more than quick wins. Build at least six months of consistent participation to gain real traction. Community trust builds slowly.
- Focus on solving problems first, promoting second. The most respected brand representatives on Reddit respond with detailed, helpful information — even if it means recommending a competitor‘s product when it’s a better fit.
- Share insider knowledge generously. Technical team members who regularly participate in relevant subreddits gain more traction when they offer deep expertise about their industry rather than just their product.
- Document and analyze what works. Each subreddit has its own culture and unwritten rules. Successful brands clearly study and adapt to these community-specific norms.
2. Host expert AMAs.
Ask Me Anything (AMA) threads are live events where an influencer, executive, or company staff member creates a post introducing themselves and inviting Redditors to ask questions.
Successful AMAs need three core elements:
- An expert who can share unique insights
- Genuine, unscripted responses
- Dedicated time for meaningful community engagement
Without all three, you risk joining Reddit’s graveyard of corporate AMAs that felt more like press releases than conversations.
This type of promotion is best when you have an influencer or interesting person affiliated with your brand who can answer questions quickly and in an engaging way. However, it can be difficult to draw attention to these types of promotions if you don't have an interesting host in mind.
When you do have an interesting host, though, it works extremely well. Film studio Lionsgate, for example, hosted actor Keanu Reeves on r/movies.

He spent hours responding thoughtfully to questions about everything from fun experiences with his co-stars to his favorite bands.

His authentic responses about both personal and professional topics drew over 297K upvotes and 33k comments.
You can also coordinate AMAs with multiple experts. I like the one OpenAI hosted, featuring five team members, including their CEO, Chief Product Officer, and Chief Scientist.

Each expert focused on different aspects of AI development, creating a comprehensive dialogue with the community.
Focus on storytelling opportunities. A software founder might share honest stories about failed features that shaped their product vision. A chef could reveal kitchen disasters that led to signature dishes.
Ultimately, Redditors value transparency over polish. They’ll engage more with imperfect but honest responses than with corporate messaging.
3. Create and nurture branded subreddits.
Creating a branded subreddit is about building a responsive community where users can find help and share experiences. I've seen this work well with tech companies that make their support team accessible through Reddit.
Take subreddit, for example:

Their community page is both a knowledge base and a support channel, with clear organization and active moderator participation.
What stands out is how they handle challenging situations, like when a user recently posted about password/login issues.

翱辫别苍笔丑辞苍别’蝉 support team responded promptly and personally, acknowledging the inconvenience and offering alternatives.

Transparency converted a potentially negative experience into a showcase of their customer service values.
Here‘s what I’ve learned about maintaining engagement in a branded subreddit:
- Pin critical resources at the top. OpenPhone keeps its help center, tutorials, and status page easily accessible in its sidebar.
- Create themed discussion threads. Weekly threads, such as “Feature Request Friday” or “Tech Support Tuesday,” encourage regular participation.
- Enable post flairs. Categories like “Announcement,” “Help,” and “Discussion” make the community more navigable.
- Highlight community wins. When users share success stories or helpful tips, acknowledge them with Reddit awards or special user flairs.
- Monitor mentions across Reddit. Users often discuss your brand in other subreddits — engage there too, but always identify yourself as a company representative.
The most important rule? Never delete negative feedback. Instead, address concerns openly and professionally. Your community will respect honesty more than perfection.
4. Create high-value content.
Sharing insights that help others succeed. I've found the best-performing posts offer genuine learnings rather than thinly veiled promotion.
For example, the founder of the form-building tool, , , does this perfectly on r/SaaS. By detailing Tally’s journey to $150,000 MRR, she provides actionable insights into product development and business strategy.

SaaS founders want real numbers and honest insights about what works (and what doesn’t), as well as practical principles they can apply to their businesses.
Her post delivers on all fronts: transparent metrics, clear strategic decisions, such as choosing simplicity over feature bloat, and specific values that drove their success.
What’s equally important? How she stayed active in the comments, answering detailed questions about pricing decisions, product development choices, and even employee structure.

Ongoing engagement turned a great post into a rich resource of founder insights.
When creating content for any subreddit, I focus on these principles:
- Share real experiences, not theory. Your actual journey, complete with mistakes and corrections, is more valuable than generic advice.
- Include specific numbers and results. Throughout her thread of responses, notice how Marie didn’t just say they grew — she shared exact user counts and revenue figures.
- Explain your thought process. Explain why you made certain decisions and what you learned from them.
- Focus on transferable insights. While your exact situation may be unique, you can extract principles that others can apply to their own challenges.
- Document your journey along the way. The most valuable posts often come from keeping notes about your challenges and solutions as they happen.
Understand what your target community struggles with and share experiences that address those pain points. Also, always start by asking: What unique insights can we share that would genuinely help solve problems this community faces?
Free Social Media Content Calendar Template
Download the free template and user guide to manage your social media posts and strategy.
- Coordinate campaigns
- Increase your reach
- Measure engagement
- Plan your posts
Download Free
All fields are required.
You're all set!
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
5. Use paid ads.
While Reddit is primarily a platform for organic community engagement and discussion, marketers can also utilize paid advertising options to reach their target audiences.
Take a look at the chart below for a detailed comparison of organic versus paid marketing on Reddit:
|
Aspect |
Reddit organic marketing |
Reddit paid marketing |
|
Timeline to results |
6+ months of consistent engagement |
Immediate visibility upon campaign launch |
|
Initial investment |
Time-intensive; minimal financial cost |
Financial investment required; less time-intensive |
|
Trust level |
High; earned through community participation |
Lower initially; perceived as advertising |
|
Targeting method |
Manual subreddit identification and participation |
Platform tools: interest targeting, community targeting, lookalike audiences |
|
Content format |
Comments, text posts, AMAs, helpful responses |
Promoted posts, display ads, video ads, carousel ads |
|
Visibility control |
Algorithm-dependent; relies on upvotes |
Guaranteed impressions based on budget |
|
Risk of backlash |
Lower when following community norms |
Higher if ad content feels inauthentic |
|
Brand perception |
Seen as community member |
Seen as advertiser |
|
Key success metric |
Long-term credibility, niche audiences, thought leadership |
Product launches, rapid awareness, retargeting campaigns |
For paid Reddit marketing, consider promoting your posts if you want to get your content front and center quickly. Promoted posts stay prioritized higher up in subreddits and target specific user groups.
Like other social platforms, these posts display a “promoted” icon, so users know they didn’t organically rise to the top. Promoting your posts allows you to keep them prioritized higher up in subreddits as well as target them to specific groups of users.
Like promoted posts on other platforms (i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), there will be an icon on the post that says it’s promoted. So, although the posts will be higher up, users will still know that it didn’t get to the top of the thread they're reading on its own.
Here’s an example of what one of these posts looks like:

Reddit’s targeting options are more sophisticated than most marketers realize. Beyond basic demographics and locations, you can target by:
- Communities: Select specific subreddits where your audience hangs out
- Interests: Reach users based on their engagement patterns
- Device type: Target mobile or desktop users
- Time of day: Schedule ads when your audience is most active
The platform also offers interest category combinations. I’ve seen this work particularly well when targeting users who follow both technology and productivity subreddits, or combining gaming with entertainment interests.
Pro tip: Use paid promotion to amplify content that‘s already proven to work organically. If a post performs well naturally in one subreddit, it’s worth testing as a promoted post in related communities.
3 Reddit 糖心Vlog Strategy Tips to Avoid Getting Roasted
Reddit for brands requires a different subset of rules, particularly to avoid backlash and negative engagement while exploring the platform. Here’s everything marketers need to know to build credibility and connect with Reddit communities authentically:
1. Understand the culture.
Each subreddit operates like its own micro-community with unique unwritten rules, inside jokes, and preferred posting styles. Understanding these nuances is crucial before trying to participate or market within them.
Failing to grasp these nuances can result in downvoted posts, negative engagement, or even a ban.
Reddit has its own language that newcomers need to learn. Common acronyms include:
- OP (original poster)
- AFAIK (as far as I know)
- TIL (today I learned)
- CMV (change my view)
- TLDR (too long, didn't read)
- AITA (Am I the Asshole)
Beyond these platform-wide terms, individual subreddits often develop their own specific terminology. For example, r/wallstreetbets uses entirely different language than r/marketing.
Using the wrong terminology can make your post feel out of place, reducing credibility and engagement.
Study the top posts from the past month in your target subreddit. Then, be sure to note:
- What gets upvoted
- How people format their posts
- Which topics generate engagement
Ultimately, adapting to each subreddit's culture is the key to building credibility and engagement on Reddit.
2. Study subreddit rules.
Subreddit rules are non-negotiable guidelines that determine whether your content stays up or gets removed. Every subreddit has its own specific set of rules, listed in the sidebar (or under the profile of the subreddit if you’re on the mobile version), and breaking them can result in deleted posts, temporary suspensions, or even permanent bans.
Some rules are straightforward: r/handbags bans discussion of buying replicas.

Other rules can be more nuanced, like r/science requiring all posts to reference peer-reviewed research, or r/gaming's strict policy on self-promotion.
Many subreddits follow an informal “10:1 rule” — meaning you should contribute ten non-promotional posts for every one promotional post. Breaking these rules not only results in the removal of your content but can also lead to permanent bans from the community.
Reading and following each subreddit’s rules protects your brand’s reputation and shows respect for the community you're trying to reach.
3. Address controversial topics head-on.
Reddit users have exceptional memory when it comes to public figures' past statements and actions.
Professional wrestler Ronda Rousey learned this the hard way during her AMA, which quickly became a case study in how not to handle controversial topics on Reddit.

When Rousey launched her AMA to promote a Kickstarter campaign for her comic book, users immediately questioned why someone of her wealth needed crowdfunding.

They also brought up her extremely controversial tweets.

Rather than addressing these concerns, she avoided responding to any challenging questions, choosing to answer only safe, promotional topics.
The AMA went horribly wrong for her.

The top-voted questions — many addressing her controversial past statements — remained conspicuously unanswered, overshadowing any potential positive promotional impact.
For AMAs to succeed, transparency is essential. The community responds better to honest acknowledgment of past controversies than attempts to sidestep difficult questions.
When planning an AMA, be prepared to address challenging topics directly — or reconsider whether Reddit is the right platform for your campaign.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Reddit 糖心Vlog
Is Reddit a good place for marketing?
Yes, Reddit is a valuable marketing platform for brands that commit to authentic community participation. The platform ranks as the most-cited domain on LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity (40.11%), surpassing Wikipedia (26.33%).
Reddit users demonstrate high purchase intent — they actively research products, read reviews, and seek recommendations before making buying decisions.
However, Reddit for brands requires a different approach than other social platforms. Reddit users prefer genuine expertise over promotional content and will downvote or report blatant advertising.
Brands that succeed on Reddit provide value through helpful answers, industry insights, and authentic engagement rather than direct promotion.
How long does Reddit marketing take to show results?
Successful Reddit marketing typically requires six or more months of consistent engagement to produce a measurable ROI. This timeline breaks down as follows:
- Weeks 1–2: Observing community dynamics and learning subreddit rules
- Weeks 3–8: Establishing presence through comments and building initial karma
- Months 2–4: Developing credibility by sharing expertise and answering questions
- Months 4–6: Contributing original content and earning community recognition
- Month 6+: Achieving strategic visibility where subtle brand mentions become appropriate
Reddit marketing requires authentic community participation throughout this entire timeline. Brands that attempt shortcuts typically face backlash, account bans, or public criticism.
What’s the best way to find relevant subreddits for my business?
Use these methods to identify subreddits where your target audience actively engages:
- Search operators: Use Google’s “site:reddit.com [your industry keyword]” to surface relevant discussions.
- Reddit’s native search: Search industry terms directly on Reddit to find active communities.
- Sidebar exploration: Most subreddits link to related communities in their sidebars.
- Size targeting: Subreddits with 10,000 to 500,000 members typically offer higher engagement rates than larger communities, where posts tend to disappear quickly.
Before participating, review each subreddit’s rules in the sidebar or pinned posts. Brands should follow subreddit rules to avoid backlash; moderators permanently ban accounts that violate community guidelines.
Can I promote my business directly on Reddit?
Direct promotion on Reddit works through two channels: organic and paid.
Organic promotion requires earning the right to mention your brand. Reddit users reject overt self-promotion in organic posts. Effective Reddit marketing strategies involve:
- Building karma through helpful, non-promotional comments
- Establishing expertise over several months
- Mentioning products only when directly relevant to solving someone's problem
- Disclosing brand affiliations transparently
Paid promotion through Reddit Ads offers immediate visibility. Reddit advertising offers targeted exposure through promoted posts and display ads. Options include:
- Promoted posts
- Display ads
- Video ads
- Carousel ads
All formats have targeting capabilities by interest, community, or lookalike audiences.
How much should I spend on Reddit advertising?
Reddit advertising costs vary based on campaign objectives, targeting, and ad format. General benchmarks include:
- Minimum daily budget: $5 per campaign
- Average CPM (cost per thousand impressions): $2 to $5, lower than most social platforms
- Average CPC (cost per click): $0.50 to $3, depending on targeting specificity
Start with a test budget of $500 to $1,000 to gather performance data before scaling.
Reddit’s auction-based system means costs fluctuate based on the level of competition for your target audience. Niche subreddit targeting typically costs less than broad interest targeting.
What industries work best on Reddit?
Specific industries consistently succeed on Reddit due to established communities and high-intent users:
- Technology and SaaS: Subreddits like r/webdev, r/sysadmin, and r/SaaS host developers and decision-makers evaluating tools.
- Gaming and entertainment: Communities like r/gaming (35M+ members) drive organic product discovery.
- Finance and investing: r/personalfinance and r/investing attract users actively researching financial decisions.
- Health and fitness: r/fitness and r/loseit feature users seeking advice and product recommendations.
- B2B services: Decision-makers use niche subreddits to research vendors and compare solutions.
Reddit for brands in these industries works because passionate communities already exist, and users demonstrate high intent. Industries that struggle on Reddit typically include those with limited community interest or those that rely heavily on polished, promotional messaging.
Navigating Reddit
The beauty of Reddit marketing is that it rewards what great marketing should prioritize: trust, authenticity, and real connections with your audience. While paid advertising options, such as sponsoring a post, are expanding, organic community engagement remains the most powerful way to build a lasting presence on Reddit.
My advice? Start small. Pick one or two subreddits where your expertise can truly add value. Read the rules, study the culture, and participate genuinely.
The platform may seem daunting at first, but that exclusivity is precisely what makes it a goldmine for authentic engagement and organic reach.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
Free Social Media Content Calendar Template
Download the free template and user guide to manage your social media posts and strategy.
- Coordinate campaigns
- Increase your reach
- Measure engagement
- Plan your posts
Download Free
All fields are required.
You're all set!
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
Social Media 糖心Vlog