August 2, 2016

Reddit Promoted User PostsImage Source: http://www.wired.com/2015/07/reddit-amageddon/

Source: http://adage.com/article/digital/reddit-let-marketers-sponsor-us-ers-organic-posts/305115/

Reddit, an online bulletin for community members to submit content that is categorized by topic such as news, entertainment and more, announced a new advertising feature: Promoted User Posts.

According to AdAge, beginning August 4, marketers have the power to sponsor user-

generated posts about their brand or product that they like.

True to the Reddit platform, marketers are not able to post content themselveson the platform, but can only promote content a community member voluntarily posts.

However, once a brand or company sponsors a post, Reddit will seek out the user and

request approval to sponsor the post. They will be rewared with “Reddit Gold” that allows them

access to paid features of the site.

“Reddit users don’t like being bullshitted,” Mr. Huffman, CEO at Reddit, said. “Reddit is a platform where you can call people out on it. And a lot of traditional advertising feels like we’re being taken advantage of and nobody likes that. But when advertisers come with honest intentions we see a much higher level of engagement with the brand. We don’t see hostility and we have valuable connections.”

Source: http://adage.com/article/digital/reddit-let-marketers-sponsor-users-organic-posts/305115/

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In addition, Reddit will display the promoted content on different areas of the site and target specific users based on the brand/company’s desired audience.

AdAge also explained that for select big name brands, Reddit will be deploying a team to specifically seek out

content for brands to sponsor.

As an alternative options, brands can purchase native advertisements that resemble user posts, but are marked as being promoted.

As Facebook, Snapchat and other applications are expanding their ad offerings, Reddit hopes to stay in the running, reminding

brands that user-generated content is more powerful and impactful than a billboard or a paid display ad.

Source: http://adage.com/article/digital/reddit-let-marketers-sponsor-us-ers-organic-posts/305115/

What this means for brands:

What this means for marketers:

Brands now have the opportunity to “hire” brand ambassadors. A review from a peer means a lot more to consumers than one coming from an ad. Brands should be paying attention to and monitoring Reddit to take advantage and promote the positive things people are saying about them where they can. One review can go a long way to changing consumer opinion.

Word of mouth is more important than ever. Now that brands have an easy way to get the word out from a reputable source, they should add monitoring Reddit as part of the daily routine. As more platforms expand their ad offerings, we should pay attention to what opportunities will come next.