Reddit has evolved from a niche forum into one of the internet’s most influential social media platforms, earning its original slogan, “the front page of the internet.” 

With 91 million daily active users and about 850 million monthly visitors, Reddit offers unique opportunities for businesses that understand its community-driven culture and unconventional marketing landscape. 

This guide walks you through proven Reddit marketing strategies—from building authentic community relationships to running targeted ad campaigns. You’ll learn how Reddit’s voting system works, why its audience trusts peer recommendations over polished ads, and exactly how to promote your offerings without triggering the platform’s sensitive spam filters.

What is Reddit marketing?

Reddit marketing means showing up authentically in communities where your audience already hangs out—contributing value first, promoting second. Unlike traditional advertising, Reddit marketing emphasizes community value and authentic engagement over direct sales pitches.

The platform’s democratic voting system amplifies quality contributions and buries self-promotional spam, which means successful Reddit marketing requires understanding each subreddit’s unique culture and participating as a genuine community member before you earn the right to mention your brand.

How Reddit works

Reddit is a social media network made up of thousands of niche communities, called subreddits, each dedicated to specific topics, interests, or industries. Unlike other platforms that algorithmically push content, Reddit is governed by a democratic voting system where users upvote valuable content, downvote irrelevant posts, and award contributions that benefit the community. This gives users more direct control over what they see, promoting quality content organically.

Reddit is also a publicly traded, for-profit company that makes revenue mainly through advertising, premium memberships (Reddit Premium), and data licensing. The platform actively supports business promotion when done authentically.

Here are Reddit’s core components:

• Subreddits. A subreddit (denoted as r/Subreddit) is a topic-specific community where users can join and discuss shared interests. Each subreddit has its own culture, rules, and moderators that shape the community’s identity. 

• Posts. Users submit content as text, images, links, or polls. A user’s record of posts and comments has traditionally been visible, but as of mid-2025, Reddit introduced new privacy controls that let users manage who can see their activity on their profiles.

• Threads. Under each post, discussion chains unfold as other users engage and respond to the original post, forming threaded conversations. 

Unlike platforms such as Facebook or Instagram, where personal profiles and follower counts are central, Reddit users are often anonymous. Most users don’t build followings around their personal identity, creating a culture where authenticity and contributions matter more than developing a personal brand. The focus is on what’s contributed to the group, not who is contributing.

While not strictly forbidden, self-promotion—especially from accounts that don’t contribute elsewhere—is often flagged as spam or removed by moderators.

Understanding the Reddit market

Reddit offers powerful opportunities for businesses looking to reach engaged, passionate audiences. Here are some of the qualities of Reddit users: 

• Trusting. Reddit says 90% of users trust the platform to discover new products and brands, making the Reddit community a top space for connecting with research-driven, high-intent customers. Studies show that Reddit purchase journeys result in deeper research, purchase decisions made nine times faster, and 15% higher spending compared to other social platforms.

• Tech-savvy. Reddit’s core audience is tech-savvy individuals who value genuine discussions and expert opinions over traditional advertising and go to the platform for trustworthy peer reviews (72%), product research (49%), and updates (39%). 

• Interested in niche topics. Beyond tech, Reddit users represent demographics across thousands of relevant subreddits—from fitness enthusiasts in r/Fitness to small business owners in r/Entrepreneur. These specific subreddits create niche communities filled with highly targeted audiences genuinely interested in your products or services.

• Authentic. In 2024, Google began prioritizing Reddit and Quora links in a new “discussions and forums” section in search results. A Google spokesperson told Business Insider that their research shows users increasingly look for insights from real-world experiences, not just polished content. Viral meme artist SrGrafo, who built his audience on Reddit, underscores this shift, saying, “If I included the word ‘Reddit’ in my Google searches, I’d get to see these debates that were a lot more genuine than what I’d find anywhere else.” 

How to do organic marketing on Reddit

• Build genuine relationships
• Experiment regularly
• Engage as often as you can

The key to Reddit marketing is understanding that it works differently from other platforms, like Facebook, X, or Instagram. Other channels might focus on quick conversions, but Reddit rewards long-term community building and shared expertise—a principle incorporated into its official guidelines. This approach takes patience but can drive engagement and build stronger, lasting customer relationships. 

Here are some best practices for organically marketing your brand on Reddit: 

Build genuine relationships

Organic marketing on Reddit means building genuine relationships and naturally attracting customers within relevant communities, not pushing products. By contributing value without paid ads, you can earn upvotes and karma—key to gaining trust and long-term credibility on the platform.

Kent Yoshimura and Ryan Chen, avid Reddit users and cofounders of the wellness brand Neuro, found that the best strategy for promoting a product on Reddit is by first authentically engaging with the communities you’re targeting. This approach helped them successfully crowdfund their company.

“I was pretty active in the Reddit Nootropics community,” Kent says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “It was the early days of Reddit—a lot of people migrated there from Digg—and it was so great because the community felt so tight-knit. And pitching into that community was one of the biggest reasons that the crowdfunding on Indiegogo was a success.” 

Ryan spent countless hours on Reddit, building up thousands of karma points by transparently sharing his knowledge gained from researching and developing nootropic products—supplements made to enhance cognitive function, memory, and focus. He also made a point of soliciting feedback from other Reddit users.

Experiment regularly

Virality didn’t come overnight for SrGrafo either. He started by posting in r/RimWorld, a subreddit for a video game where players build and manage a futuristic colony. After months of sharing different types of content, a cartoon about gaming tropes finally took off. The post demonstrated two things: SrGrafo’s deep understanding of the platform and of Reddit’s audience. 

“It was the first high-scoring repost that really set the ball rolling,” SrGrafo says. “My original post didn’t go anywhere, but then I saw someone else post it again later, and it went viral.” 

Other brands and businesses can replicate this strategy. For example, if you’re launching a fitness supplement, use Reddit for both consumer research and organic marketing. You may join subreddits like r/Fitness for general fitness discussions, r/Supplements for ingredient discussions, or r/Bodybuilding for targeted muscle-building content.

Engage as often as you can

Engage with the content in these subreddits before mentioning your brand. Spend time reading and absorbing conversations—understand Redditors’ needs, complaints, preferences, and thoughts about other brands. As you get a feel for the culture, respond to posts, ask questions, and—when you have something meaningful to contribute—offer advice. 

The more karma you earn, the more credibility you will have when it’s time to share something promotional. In fact, Reddit reports that 79% of users are open to brands sharing product information on the platform—the key word being information.

In this vein, some of the best practices for organic Reddit marketing include:

• Build karma and a posting history before promoting anything

• Provide value through helpful answers and insights

• Engage authentically—don’t jump in just to sell

• Share relevant content that genuinely interests the community

• Follow each subreddit’s specific rules and guidelines

• Be transparent about your business ties when relevant

• Participate consistently, not just when you need visibility

• Focus on education and expertise over direct sales pitches

How to do paid advertising on Reddit

Despite all the benefits of taking an organic approach on Reddit, self-promotion isn’t entirely off limits. Here’s how to tackle a paid approach to marketing on the platform:

Consider your ad format

Reddit ads offer a direct way to reach target audiences while still respecting the platform’s community guidelines. There are two primary advertising formats, Promoted Posts and Premium Takeovers: 

• Promoted posts. Promoted Posts operate on a cost-per-click (CPC) model, making them ideal for smaller brands with limited budgets. These ads appear in users’ feeds like native posts and can take various formats—text, image, video, carousel, or conversation ads—blending seamlessly with organic content.

• Premium takeover. Premium Takeovers are designed for brands with larger advertising budgets. These campaigns “take over” high-visibility areas like the Reddit homepage, trending page, and category pages. To access this format, you must commit to at least $10,000 quarterly on a cost-per-mille (CPM) model, paying for every 1,000 impressions. These campaigns are managed directly through Reddit’s sales team.

Consider your targeting options

Reddit advertising offers advanced targeting options based on users’ interests, as demonstrated through subreddit participation. This lets brands reach highly engaged, passionate audiences within specific niches. Unlike other platforms where ads interrupt content, Reddit ads can appear alongside relevant conversations, meeting users where their attention is already focused.

Keep these best practices in mind for Reddit advertising:

• Target users based on relevant subreddit subscriptions.

• Create ads that blend naturally with Reddit’s discussion-driven culture.

• Use visuals that invite engagement, not just immediate sales.

• Focus on delivering value and education in your ad copy.

• Test different subreddit targets to find the optimal audience.

• Monitor community feedback and adjust campaigns accordingly.

• Avoid overly promotional language—stay aligned with Reddit’s tone.

• Leverage Reddit’s unique format to drive engagement and build brand awareness.