Have you hear about it? A site site named Reddit...
No, lets take a tour.
What Is Reddit?
Reddit advertises itself as “the front page of the internet”.
Essentially, it is a massive discussion board where users submit text posts and links to external pages.
Each post has a comments section, and discussion tends to be lively. Content on Reditt is user-curated through “upvoting” and “downvoting.” Posts that don’t receive any upvotes may only be seen by a handful of users, while popular posts that make it to Reddit’s front page may be seen by millions (at last count, Reddit has 542 million monthly visitors).
A key thing to understand about Reddit is that the site is broken down into “subreddits,” communities based on interests.
Users choose which subreddits to subscribe to, and they see content from only those subreddits.
Some broad subreddits, such as “r/funny” have millions of subscribers, while some that cater to niche audiences may have just a couple hundred. Understanding the culture of these subreddits and targeting ones that match your ideal customer are essential to advertising success on Reddit.
Reddit Ad Campaigns
Advertising on Reddit is quite simple, and anyone with a Reddit account can do it.
There are two basic options for Reddit ads: a text post or a link ad. A link post works like most click-through ads; users click on your title to go to a URL of your choice. A text ad will take users to a discussion page featuring a custom text post. You can include links, but the goal of a text ad should be to spark discussion. These ads are therefore good for creating brand awareness. Besides your link or text copy, you’ll need a catchy title and a thumbnail. You then choose whether you want to enable comments on your ad. Reddit is a discussion-based platform, so the website recommends that you keep comments enabled. This does, however, mean setting aside some time to monitor comments and respond to them.
Ad Targeting
You’ll be able to target your ad to either a general interest or a subreddit. Interests are categorized broadly to include subjects such as “Sports and Fitness” or “Technology,” and they include multiple subreddits.
Targeting a subreddit allows you to zoom in on your precise audience. Just make sure you do your research on your selected subreddit first. You should choose one that’s large enough to make your ad worthwhile; a general rule is to look for subreddits with at least 5,000 subscribers.
It’s also important to understand the culture of that subreddit so that you can appeal to the users’ tone. Usually a sense of humor doesn’t go astray. You can also opt to target your ad by location.
Pricing
Reddit uses an auction-based ad platform based on CPM, or cost per 1,000 impressions. You input your total budget for the campaign and the maximum you’re willing to spend per 1,000 impressions. Generally, somewhere around $1.20-$1.50 is a good place to start. If your ad isn’t performing well, you can try increasing the price to see if your analytics improve. If your ad underperforms, Reddit will give you refund at the end of your campaign.
You can view more detailed guidelines for creating a Reddit ad here and tips on Reddit best practices here and here.
--
Written by content manager Meghan Woolley
Please subscribe to our newsletter about social media news and strategies for social media marketing in your inbox every week.
