3 Tips for Successfully Advertising on Reddit

Reddit seems to be taking over the world. It’s becoming pretty common to see news articles on what is trending in-platform and Reddit doesn’t appear to be slowing down. With their growing number of communities and organic communication in-platform, it’s no surprise that they saw a 30% growth in users in 2022. Advertisers have taken notice and are utilizing Reddit’s detailed targeting options and variety of placement types to launch successful campaigns. 

Simply building and launching campaigns don’t guarantee success but here are 3 tips on how to successfully advertise on Reddit. 

#1 Have a Clear Goal in Mind

There are four distinct types of goals in different areas of the sales funnel. Each of these goals has a specific set of ad formats, measurements, and KPIs that will help advertisers reach their goals.

Increase Brand Awareness

Located at the top of the sales funnel is to keep your brand at the top-of-mind of users. The overall goal of this initiative is to increase openness and curiosity about your brand. Promoted Carousel Ads, Ask Me Anythings (AMAs), Megathreads, Engagement Posts, and Conversion Ads would be the most effective.

Image Source: Reddit 

The best ways to measure awareness performance

• Reddit Pixel
• Brand Lift Studies
• Mobile/Web Attribution
• MTAs (Multi-Touch Attribution)
• Ads Server Reporting. 

KPIs 

• Site traffic
• Consideration lift
• Intent Lift 

Drive Consideration

Mid-funnel initiatives help educate Redditors and help drive them to be potential customers. The overall goal for this initiative is increased awareness and attentiveness. Advertisers have many options for these mid-funnel campaigns and includes AMAs, Takeovers, Specific   Up-Funnel Promoted Posts, Conversion Placements, Videos, and Megathreads. 

Image Source: Reddit

Unlike consideration campaigns, Reddit recommends Broad and ROS (Run of Schedule) targeting. 

The best ways to measure consideration performance

• Brand Lift Studies 
• Ad Server Reporting
• Reach
• MTA/ MMM (Multi-Touch Attribution / Marketing Mix Modeling)

KPIs 

• Ad Recall 
• Awareness Lift Metrics
• CPM (Cost Per Thousand) 

Take Action / Increase Sales

As we get lower into the funnel, the next obvious step is to turn a user’s consideration into action. For many advertisers, this could mean increasing sales, app installs, or other types of conversion on their websites. The most effective ad formats for conversion campaigns include Mobile App Install, Promotions, Carousels, and Promoted Posts with Conversion Campaign Objectives. 

Efficient ways to target Redditors for these conversion campaigns include retargeting, interest-based targeting, Subreddits, and ROS.  

Image Source: Reddit 

The best ways to measure conversion performance

• Reddit Pixel
• MTA / MMM
• Conversion Lift Studies 

KPIs 

• Purchase
• CPA
• Site Conversion Action
• Install

Build Loyalty

The final step in the funnel is to build a sense of loyalty with recently converted Redditors. The overall goal of these campaigns is to build stronger brand advocates. The best ad formats for this kind of campaign include Promoted Posts and Videos, Promoted Carousel Ads, Retargeting, and Interest Group Targeting. 

Since the overall goal is to increase loyalty, we would target existing customers.

Image Source: Reddit 

The best ways to measure loyalty performance

KPIs 

• LTV (Lifetime Value) 
• Retention/ Churn Rate 

#2 Relate to the Community

One of the most important things in a community is its culture and Reddit is no exception. Redditors respond favorably to advertisers/accounts that understand the unique nuances of inside jokes of the platform. 

Prove Your Reddit Knowledge

Advertisers don’t need to be at the top echelon of Reddit knowledge, but it is important to show that they understand the basics. This can be done by calling out specific subreddits, users, or themes. 

In addition to in-platform callouts, it’s important to recognize Redditors themselves. Redditors love Karma, AKA (jokingly) ‘fake internet points’. Karma is a Redditor’s user score that shows how much their contributions positively or negatively impact a community. Karma is publicly displayed on their profile (FYI my Karma is pretty great).

That being said, advertisers can recognize Redditors by upvoting their comments or giving in-platform awards. 

Use Humor and Cultural References 

Oftentimes, people associate internet humor with memes, but memes are often very hit-or-miss. That being said, advertisers can use a light-hearted tone in their assets or copy whenever possible. If you want to see Redditors slaughter brands with bad memes, check out r/fellowkids (one of my favorites by the way). 

Image Source: Reddit

Did you know Reddit found that humorous video ads were 4X more likely to succeed in lower funnel campaign metrics?

Avoid Hashtags and Emojis

It’s pretty rare for Redditors to use emojis or hashtags in their headlines and comments (an exception would be r/WallstreetBets, but this isn’t about them). As stated before, show that you understand Reddit and avoid using emojis and hashtags. 

#3 Don’t Forget the Importance of Creative

Resource: Copy & Creative Best Practices from Reddit for Business

The Do’s and Don’ts of Copy 

 

Headlines are great opportunities for a standalone branding opportunity. Redditors are already in-platform so they will be reading your copy. Did you know that ads that call out product benefits and brand differentiators often are within the top 75% of top campaigns?

Advertisers should not ignore communicating their unique selling positions. It’s absolutely crucial to differentiate your brand. According to Reddit, brands that include immediate value propositions often see their CPAs cut in half.

Like I said earlier, it’s important to relate to the community. Another way to be more relatable is to use real and conversational tones. Talk to Redditors like you’re chatting with a friend, but make sure it’s authentic to your brand. One way to determine if your copy is effective is to read it out loud. If it sounds unnatural or not conversational, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

According to Reddit, top-performing purchase-intent campaigns are almost 2X more likely to contain a headline with a conversational tone. Redditors expect authenticity on this platform. On average Redditors trust, the platform 1.8x from other social media platforms.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Assets

It’s important for advertisers to utilize static and video assets on Reddit for a single campaign. It gives Redditors multiple ways to experience a brand. Campaigns that utilize both have 10X higher lifts in memorability and 14X higher lifts in messaging recall. These campaigns also experienced a 3X lift in brand favorability.

What may work for one brand may not work for another. That being said, it’s important for advertisers to figure out the best combination for their target audiences. 

Another piece of advice is to place a brand logo or branding at the end of your video. Almost 90% of Redditors who watch a video in-platform will only watch if for the first six seconds on average. By the time the video ad makes it to the 30-second mark, more than 50% of users already passed it.  80% of the top-performing video campaigns utilize the brand or logo within the first three seconds. 

Conclusion/Final Thoughts

Reddit continues to evolve and attract users annually. It would be a huge missed opportunity if advertisers don’t include Reddit in their media plans. Simply including Reddit won’t achieve success, but with these three tips in mind, you can start planning a successful campaign.

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