What Happened
Reddit is taking a big leap in ramping up its ad business by launching a new ad product called Promoted User Posts. Set to launch on August 4, this ad product will allow brand marketers to sponsor user-generated posts on Reddit. For example, if someone posted something interesting or humorous about a brand’s products and got some traction on Reddit, the brand can ask Reddit to contact the user for permission to sponsor that post so as to propel its reach. The sponsored posts will be featured in different subreddits – topic-based forums on Reddit – so that brands can target specific segments of users.
What Brands Need To Do
Reddit currently has over 240 million monthly unique visitors, but brands have historically found the site difficult to market on due to its lack of viable ad products and a notoriously anti-ads user base. Still, some brands such as Toyota and Ford have found moderate success in their content marketing efforts on Reddit by playing to user interests and sensibilities. This new ad product should make it easier for brands to tap into viral content gaining momentum on Reddit and reach a significant part of the global online audience.
Source: AdAge