Why Reddit is leaning into the idea of 'community'

Reddit is increasingly leaning into the idea of community as it pitches itself to marketers. In the past, the internet's self-styled "front page" developed a reputation as a risky space for brands to attempt to get their messaging out. In some cases, that reputation was well-earned: the Reddit community has been historically hostile to brands that bigfoot their way into topic-specific subreddits without understanding their internal rules or to executives who attempt an "Ask Me Anything" discussion without fully playing ball. Brands have, as a result, grown somewhat wary of Reddit. In a small May 2019 Digiday poll, 34 percent of the marketers surveyed said they avoid Reddit due to brand safety concerns. But Reddit has a survey of their own to point to: A YPulse study commissioned by Reddit released earlier this month included the surprising stat that 72 percent of Reddit users, or Redditors, say brands are welcome to join the conversation. Editor's Picks Special Report: Advertising Week At Advertising Week, Publicis Groupe's Arthur Sadoun pressed on revenue decline How a rejected script for a biscuit ad changed Carol H. Williams' life Gary Vaynerchuk on why he (still) thinks it’s OK for creatives to work for free Marriott on sticking with Bonvoy through the scorn "There's a myth that there's a myth that communities don't want brands. That's actually not true," says Reddit's Chief Operating Officer Jen Wong in this episode of Ad Age Remotely, shot during Advertising Week. "When advertisers think about community today, they think of it as followers on their social media accounts. And, first thing, I would open their aperture to think about working with communities as about both finding new customers as well as engaging avid customers." There are potential riches in niches. And Reddit is nothing if not a collection of avid fan bases collected under one roof. Watch the video above for more from Wong.

Why Reddit is leaning into the idea of 'community'

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