Reddit marketing isn’t like marketing on other social media platforms. There’s no algorithm pushing your content to followers. And no brand page where customers come looking for you.
Instead, Reddit is where people go to find real answers from real people. And if you provide those answers, you can build trust and brand awareness that helps grow your business.
This article will show you how to do Reddit marketing the right way.
Why Reddit Marketing Matters
Reddit marketing can help you directly reach a high-intent audience. Plus improve your visibility in search engines and AI responses.
Here’s why:
People Use Reddit to Find Real Experiences
Many searchers specifically go to Reddit to find answers from real people—not from brand websites. And adding “reddit” to searches on Google is so common that Google’s autocomplete predictions often include it as the first suggestion:
Reddit users are looking for genuine help with their problems. And they want honest opinions from people who’ve actually used the products and services they’re considering buying.
For example, here are some of the questions in the r/ecommerce subreddit:
If you offer ecommerce solutions, you could contribute helpful advice to these conversations. You can appear as an industry expert when you do and even mention your brand as a potential solution if the subreddit allows it.
Showing up in these critical decision-influencing conversations lets you grow your brand awareness—and potentially your customer base.
Reddit Threads Often Show in Traditional Search Results
Reddit has seen major gains in organic traffic in recent years. Search engine traffic to the platform has increased more than tenfold since 2023, according to data from Semrush’s Domain Overview tool.
That’s thanks to the fact that Reddit ranks for 264 million keywords in the U.S. alone based on data from Semrush’s Organic Research tool:
The pages ranking for these terms are typically real user discussions about topics, products, and services. In fact, just under one-third of the keywords Reddit ranks for have commercial or transactional search intent:
So, any contributions you make to these discussions can become part of that ranking content. This means potential customers finding these threads through Google can also see your helpful responses, which can build brand awareness and influence purchase decisions.
Reddit Is a Popular AI Citation Source
AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews frequently cite Reddit discussions in their responses.
While recent data shows ChatGPT doesn’t cite Reddit as much now as it used to, it’s still cited more frequently than other social platforms. And our own research shows that Reddit is also commonly cited in Perplexity, AI Mode, and AI Overviews.
Your Reddit contributions can influence these AI responses. When someone asks an AI tool for recommendations in your industry, helpful answers you’ve provided on Reddit might shape what the AI tool tells them.
Should Your Brand Use Reddit Marketing?
Good Reasons to Market on Reddit
Reddit marketing can work for your business if your goal is to:
- Provide genuine value to your audience: Answering questions or solving problems that real people are discussing helps you become a trusted brand among your target market
- Build brand awareness: Contributing to discussions can expose your brand to people actively researching solutions related to you who haven’t heard of you
- Increase your chances of appearing in AI responses: AI tools frequently cite Reddit discussions, meaning your brand name can also show up in these responses
Flawed Reasons to Market on Reddit
You might want to reconsider Reddit marketing if your goal is to:
- Build links to your website: Most subreddits restrict or ban links, and Reddit links are typically nofollow anyway
- Place affiliate links in posts: This often violates subreddit rules and can quickly get your account banned
- Spam threads with your products or services: Reddit users will often downvote obviously promotional content and call it out, potentially harming your brand’s reputation
- Quickly drive leads or sales: Reddit is unlikely to have a high direct conversion rate, and works better as part of a broader marketing strategy
What You Need to Know Before Marketing on Reddit
If you’ve decided that Reddit marketing is a good choice for you, know that it’s vastly different from most other social media platforms in the following ways:
It’s Your Audience’s Platform—Not Yours
People join subreddits based on their interests, so they can discuss topics they care about with other community members.
You can’t treat Reddit like your own marketing channel that disrupts their experiences. Instead, treat it as if you’re a guest in someone else’s community. Your job is to add value to conversations that are already happening.
Subreddit Rules Matter
Each community on Reddit (known as a subreddit) has its own rules and culture. Many ban self-promotion entirely. Others allow it only on certain days or require you to participate in other discussions first.
For example, the r/smallbusiness subreddit bans links to blog content and doesn’t allow for any business promotion posts.
Meanwhile, the r/emailmarketing subreddit does allow for self-promotion—but only when it showcases a “novel approach, creative strategy, or otherwise original idea”:
Some subreddits also have rules around the accounts that can post and respond to threads. For example, the r/ecommerce subreddit doesn’t allow posts from new accounts:
Spend time observing relevant subreddits before posting anything. Read the rules, keep up with the most popular conversations, and notice what gets upvoted versus downvoted.
Your Marketing Foundations Need to Be Solid
Reddit can drive awareness, but it won’t get results if you have fundamental problems with your existing marketing strategy. If your website doesn’t convert visitors or your product doesn’t solve real problems, marketing on Reddit won’t change that.
But if you have solid marketing foundations, offer a great customer experience, and sell a product or service that people truly want and get value from, Reddit can be a useful marketing channel.
The bottom line: Reddit should only be part of your marketing strategy. It should not be your marketing strategy.
Further reading: How to Create a Marketing Strategy in 7 Steps
7 Reddit Marketing Tactics That Actually Work
Use these Reddit marketing tactics to sustainably grow your brand’s presence on the platform:
1. Find Relevant Subreddits
Finding communities where your target audience hangs out puts you in a position to influence relevant conversations.
Just type in a keyword relevant to your business in Reddit’s search bar and select “Communities” as the filter.
Look for subreddits with at least several hundred members and recent posts. A subreddit with 500K members but no posts from the past three months isn’t worth your time. A subreddit with 500 active members posting daily is much more valuable.
Before you post or respond to any threads, check the subreddit’s rules. You’ll find these down the right-hand side on desktop and under the “About” section on mobile.
You can compare the clicks of each subreddit you identify using the Trend Analytics for Reddit app. This way, you can gauge the search performance of each subreddit, not just the number of active members.
Simply add up to four subreddits and click “Compare” to see details like interest over time. And the number of clicks to each subreddit’s top posts.
Use this data to understand which subreddits get the most visits (and therefore may be the most useful for your marketing strategy). And use the post-level data to find conversations that you can add value to.
2. Engage with Relevant Subreddits the Right Way
Responding to user posts and comments lets you add value to conversations and display your authority and expertise. And you can gain visibility for your brand in the process.
Here’s how to contribute to Reddit discussions without harming your brand’s reputation:
- Focus on sharing value above all else. Respond to questions with solutions, and aim to be as useful as possible—not promotional.
- Only mention your brand, product, or service when it makes sense. This could be when a user is explicitly asking for recommendations. Or when they’re asking a question about something your product can truly help with.
- Be active in relevant subreddits regularly. Popular subreddits can see dozens of new posts per day. Responding to relevant posts early can improve your visibility and avoid your comments getting lost in a sea of other responses.
- Consider commenting with a branded account. While anonymous usernames may appear more “authentic,” making it clear who you are is more transparent. And it could even give you more credibility in some cases.
- Have a single person handle your Reddit marketing efforts. This ensures your responses have a consistent voice, which can help build trust with users.
A great example of a brand that does this well is Carbide 3D, a CNC machine manufacturer. One of their team members, Will Adams, is active on the company’s own subreddit and other relevant subreddits.
Will responds to relevant discussions with helpful guidance. And makes it clear that he works for Carbide 3D.
Will has been active on Reddit for Carbide 3D for several years. This kind of sustained, value-focused effort helps build trust with users (Carbide 3D makes the Shapeoko CNC machine mentioned in the comment below).
3. Add Value to Conversations Beyond the Most Relevant Subreddits
Look beyond specific subreddits to find other conversations across Reddit that you can add value to. So you can add helpful responses to relevant threads that might not appear in the subreddits where you’d expect to find them.
It can also surface conversations that happened years ago that still rank in search results or get cited in AI responses.
These are conversations that you can still become part of in many cases, meaning you can still influence other people’s buying decisions.
For example, a Reddit thread from more than one year ago still ranks well for “klaviyo vs mailchimp.”
Searchers looking to compare these two email marketing tools are likely close to purchasing. And they might use responses in that Reddit thread to help make their decision. If you represent one of these brands, or if you have an alternative, it could be a valuable thread to participate in.
This same thread also appears in citations from AI tools like Perplexity.
This means your response in a Reddit thread could appear to users:
- Scrolling through their favorite subreddits
- Actively searching Reddit for guidance
- Searching Google for solutions
- Asking AI tools for recommendations
How can you find these opportunities?
Aside from searching Reddit itself, you can use Google search operators like “site:reddit.com best CRM” or “site:reddit.com email marketing tool for small business” to find threads where people ask for product recommendations in your category.
If your goal is to boost your brand’s AI visibility, you can also run relevant prompts in different AI tools. Then, check which Reddit threads are commonly cited as sources.
In this case, you might do what the founder of AI writing tool Squibler did. They left a short, informative comment (with a link to the tool) in the thread suggesting their tool as an option.
It got a fairly positive response, and some upvotes. Even though Perplexity didn’t recommend Squibler because of that Reddit thread, anyone clicking through to the thread to learn more could then discover Squibler. And potentially become a customer.
Follow these tips to get the most out of this Reddit marketing tactic:
- Focus on threads from within the past year or two at most. Older threads may have comments locked, and users often look for up-to-date conversations when making purchase decisions.
- Be wary of engaging with obvious bot accounts and automated posts. To avoid wasting your time, look out for users with generic usernames, new accounts, or post histories that seem automated.
- Provide detailed, helpful answers. Be objective, and make it clear that you represent the brand.
4. Start Your Own Subreddit
Creating your own branded subreddit provides current customers and potential customers with a space to directly ask questions about your brand.
Semrush has its own branded subreddit where users can share posts and questions about Semrush. The Semrush product team can also use it to share important information about the platform.
Branded subreddits are also great since you can set the rules. So, you don’t need to worry about mentioning your products specifically (although you obviously still need to provide value).
But don’t expect lots of immediate traction with your branded subreddit. It’ll likely take time to grow through consistently valuable posts and engagement. Follow these tips to make your branded subreddit as effective as possible:
- Write a clear, concise description. Tell users what to expect from the conversations and explain how they can get the most out of the community.
- Leverage the “Useful Links” section. For example, on the Semrush subreddit, there are links to the Semrush Academy, the free trial, and the Semrush blog.
- Pin community highlights at the top. Use this to prominently show news about your brand and answers to common questions.
- Create themed discussion threads. Weekly threads like “Feature Request Friday” or “Success Story Sunday” give community members reasons to return and engage.
- Enable post flairs, so users can categorize their posts. Categories like “Question” and “Feature Request” make your community easier to navigate and help users find relevant content, faster.
5. Mine Reddit Answers to Understand Brand Sentiment
Reddit’s “answers” feature (currently in beta) uses AI to collect insights from across the platform for specific questions. You can use it to quickly understand the sentiment of your brand—and get involved if you need to.
Reddit conversations contain valuable insights about your customers’ pain points, preferred solutions, and decision-making processes. This information can inform your product development and marketing messaging.
Reddit Answers provides a quick way to find these insights. You just ask a question (similar to how you might ask an AI chatbot) and it highlights comments and discussions from across Reddit.
Here’s how to use Reddit Answers to find useful insights and discussions:
- Ask the tool about your competitors. Look for complaints, feature requests, and reasons why people switched between products. This research can reveal gaps in the market or messaging opportunities for your own brand.
- Pay attention to the language your audience uses. You can use the phrases and terminology that appear in Reddit discussions in your own content marketing and ad targeting. This makes it clearer to potential customers that you understand and solve their problems.
- Look for opportunities to correct the narrative. If you find discussions where users are mentioning outdated features or incorrect information about your brand, respond to those comments with updates.
6. Use Reddit Ads Carefully
Reddit Ads can be a viable way to generate brand awareness and even leads and customers. And there are various ways you can advertise on the platform.
These include banners and native ads on home feeds and subreddits, and within conversations:
Because so many people turn to Reddit for product and brand recommendations, it can be the ideal place to promote your own products. Here’s to how use Reddit Ads the right way:
- Use carousel, video, or image ads to “stop the scroll.” These formats are more likely to catch users’ attention as they scroll their feeds than simple text ads. Plus, they let you show your product or service.
- Turn off comments on your ads. Unless you’re prepared to monitor and respond to them actively, it’s usually not worth leaving comments on. If your ad isn’t well received, these comment sections can quickly become highly negative.
- Use the Reddit Ad Library for inspiration. You can filter by industry, budget, format, placement type, and objective.
7. Run an AMA
“Ask Me Anything” (AMA) sessions on Reddit involve opening a thread specifically for users to ask you or someone from your team questions. And that means running an AMA can generate significant engagement.
For example, Grammarly’s CEO ran an AMA on the official Grammarly subreddit. It generated more than 200 responses.
The questions covered a range of topics, from details of recent acquisitions to user pain points. This created a great opportunity for the CEO to engage with the community, dispel concerns, and likely get ideas and inspiration for new product features.
AMAs require careful preparation, and they’re not worth it for most businesses. Unless your brand or spokesperson already has name recognition or a genuinely interesting story, you’ll struggle to attract questions.
Redditors typically engage with founders, experts, or public figures they already know—not with unfamiliar brands trying to build awareness.
Here’s how to run an AMA on Reddit that gets engagement:
- Consider timing your AMA around a launch. This can help you educate the community about your new product or service while also helping to generate some buzz around it.
- Prepare for difficult questions. Reddit users will often ask about controversial topics, pricing concerns, and failed products. Authentic, thoughtful responses work better here than corporate deflection.
- Choose the right subreddit for your AMA. Industry-specific communities often provide better engagement than general AMA subreddits, even if the audience is smaller. But unless it’s your own subreddit, you’ll need to reach out to the mods to set up an AMA.
- Promote your AMA in advance. Do this through your other channels and relevant subreddit communities. This makes it more likely that people will show up and ask questions.
Build a Successful Reddit Marketing Strategy
Start marketing on Reddit with small, regular tasks. Like finding relevant subreddits, learning their rules, and understanding what content performs well on each one.
Then, start adding value to relevant conversations. Build up your experience and user karma, sharing information about your business when it makes sense.
Over time, your efforts on Reddit can help grow your brand awareness and even bring new customers to your business.
Start prioritizing subreddits to engage with using the Trend Analytics for Reddit app.
