By Sean McEntee, Account Director
Maybe you've heard of Reddit, maybe you haven't. What you really want to know is whether it's a viable marketing platform. I recently ran tests for a client and the results were... we'll let's start with the basics and get to the results later.
What is Reddit?
Reddit is a content aggregation-based social network. Any user can create a community (called a subreddit), and each subreddit is independent of the others. Popular subreddits are moderated by a team of volunteers. People are able to share relevant links and content to a subreddit, and other users and the original poster are able to comment on the stories. Redditors are also able to vote on stories they think are most important and downvote ones they don't like. Popular stories rise to the top of the page, and less popular ones sink.
Reddit has a predominantly young male user base, with 53% of users being male, and 63% of them being under 25 (87% under 35). The average user spends 12+ minutes every time they visit the site, and there are over 8 billion page views per month. Sounds like a great avenue for a marketer!
So what do Reddit's ads look like?
Roadblocks (Display banners)
Homepage Roadblock
-Viewed 30 million times a day in the US
-Primary news source for Reddit users
-300 x 250 image banner
-300 x 100 companion image
-100% Share of Voice
Subreddit Roadblock
-On specific subreddit(s) of your choosing
-Rotating Box Unit
-Can target homepage, or relevant subreddit
-300 x 250 image banner
-300 x 100 companion
Sponsored Headlines (Native Ads)
-Native ad format
-First post on homepage or subreddit
-70x70 thumbail
-300 character headline
-Optional video or long form text
So how do you buy ads on Reddit?
There are two kinds of ads: self-serve, which also means you get to determine how much you spend, and Reddit-managed, which comes with a bulky $30K minimum.
Self-serve
Sponsored Headlines
-CPM only
-Average $1.00 - $1.25
–Only one URL is used across many subreddits to keep comments unified
-Note about URLs: Makes tracking difficult
$30k minimum (Reddit Managed)
Roadblocks (Homepage and Subreddits)
Flat fee depends on viewership of subreddits.
Sponsored Headlines
You get Reddit's assistance on creative and optimization.
Results of our Test
We helped one client undertake a Reddit advertising campaign with surprisingly little success. Over the course of 15 days, we saw few conversions and astronomically high CPCs. Furthermore, you can't accurately track clicks, making it difficult to optimize.
So do you have $30,000 to test an ad on Reddit? If the answer is no, just try posting organically. If the answer is yes, you should probably take your money and spend it elsewhere.
