How Reddit Is Adapting for Influencer Marketing

Reddit, a platform used by 300 million people, has made news lately for their philanthropic efforts and new features. The platform has also made updates, aimed to become a more desirable option for advertisers. Let’s take a look:

In an effort to adapt to influencer marketing, Reddit now allows brands to pay-to-trend on the apps trending section, Trending Today. The ads, called Trending Takeovers, module for 24 hours, similar to TikTok’s branded takeover which also appears for 24 hours. With their new polls feature, Reddit looks to bolster engagement, an integral characteristic of influencer marketing. The new feature allows users to pose questions and vote on pretty much anything.

The platform with over 1.2 million subreddits, inarguably poses one of the best ways to reach extremely segmented audience interests. For example, there’s a Stuff on Cats subreddit and even a Frugal Man Fashion subreddit. 

Brands on Reddit usually pop up via memes.

For everyone under clear skies tonight from r/telescopes

Memes are on virtually every subreddit and for good reason; they’re humorous, highly-shareable, and highly-likeable. Memes are low-cost, and by choosing the right creators in the most fitting subreddits they can gain maximum visibility and engagement. The more upvotes a post gets, it will appear closer to the top of the subreddit thread, maximizing visibility, which presents an opportunity for a brand to gain visibility through social influence. Here are some best practices for brands who are considering new platforms for Influencer Marketing:

• Brands who want to perform best on Reddit should leverage influencers with high “karma points” meaning that more of their comments and posts have generated upvotes than downvotes.
• With Reddit’s new poll feature, brands can test the waters, gauging sentiment/ testing traction on a subreddit before choosing to activate. 
• It’s best to follow meme formats that are already popular on the subreddit, as they can vary subreddit to subreddit.
• Avoid cross-posting on multiple subreddits as it can appear spammy and result in downvotes. 
• A content analysis might be useful for some subreddits; although subreddits generally still function under one common theme, content within can vary, especially with time-sensitive news or cultural events. Doing a word cloud can help establish what users in the specific subreddit are talking about and what content is popular within the group. Will this meme format gain traction or is it a fad? How can I weave my brand into this meme? These are all great questions to ask as you plan your strategy on Reddit. 

The opportunity for creating an authentic sponsored content experience on Reddit is high. Reddit users are die-hard, avant-garde, and disruptive. This is why memes are the best way to advertise on Reddit. They’re native, subtle and humorous- perfect for upvoting and sharing with others. 

Reddit is one of the best-kept secrets for marketers. The best way to establish influence is to pretend like you’re aren’t influential at all. 

Want to learn more about memes as branded content? Visit Captiv8.io for more info!