Are Reddit Ads Worth It?

Reddit is a unique online social media forum that was founded in 2005 and receives millions of visitors every single day. 

In fact, ‘Reddit has 52 million daily active users’ in 2023, having grown by 44% since last year, emphasising its global impact. At Aura Ads we've been creating more eCommerce video ads designed specifically for the Reddit audience than ever before.

When you consider the volume of people on the app every single day, the reach of Reddit advertising is apparent and as a business, you might be wondering whether it’s worth it to put some of your ad spend into Reddit ads.

As every business has its own unique needs and goals, there’s no simple answer to whether Reddit ads are worth it for your specific business. 

That said, there are both benefits and downsides to using Reddit ads that you should be aware of that will help you to determine whether they’re the right choice for you.

The benefits of Reddit ads include, but are not limited to:

1. It allows you to tap into a highly engaged audience
2. It can be inexpensive 
3. It allows you to use subreddit Targeting to reach the right audience
4. There are multiple ways to advertise on the platform

1. It Allows You To Tap Into A Highly Engaged Audience

The first benefit of using Reddit ads is that it allows you to tap into a highly engaged audience. 

This is emphasised by the fact that the platform receives ‘more than 430 million monthly active users’, highlighting the number of people using and engaging on Reddit.

Additionally, the wide variety of topics presents businesses with endless possibilities for highly-targeted Reddit ads.

This presents a range of unique marketing opportunities to expand your customer base as a business.

2. It Can Be Inexpensive 

Another reason you might want to invest in Reddit ads is that they’re relatively inexpensive when compared to other platforms.

In fact, ‘the minimum to advertise on Reddit is only $5 per day’, making it an affordable option for many businesses. 

Advertising campaigns on Reddit can be structured based on impressions, video views, or auction-style Cost-Per-Click. For instance, the price of auction-style ads starts at $0.20 per bid. 

As there are multiple options to choose from when structuring your ads, you can tailor your campaigns to suit the size of your business and budget.

3. It Allows You To Use Subreddit Targeting To Reach The Right Audience

You can target by age, location, gender and interests on Reddit, much like other advertising platforms.

Reddit consists of several million individual forums that are known as ‘subreddits’ that tend to be organised by the topic of discussion, allowing you to advertise in highly specific communities. 

To target by subreddit, it’s important to tap into smaller communities of a couple of thousand subscribers. That said, you’ll need to ensure that the subreddit is large enough and that is regularly active to increase the likelihood of engagement. From here, you’ll be able to gain a better understanding of their most active members.

Provided that you avoid broad subreddits with a higher number of subscribers, this offers a highly effective way to get the most out of your advertising spend. 

4. There Are Multiple Ways To Advertise On The Platform

Last, but not least, a huge benefit of Reddit ads is that there are multiple ways to advertise on the platform. 

From display ads to sponsored Q&As to self-serve sponsored links, the range of different ways to advertise means that you can tailor any ad campaign to a specific budget and audience.

By offering a range of ways to advertise, then, you have more methods to customise your ads for your target audience, enabling you to better communicate with them to help increase engagement.  

That said, it’s important to note the downsides of Reddit ads to help you make a more informed decision. 

To find out how to advertise on Reddit, be sure to check out this blog.

The Downsides Of Reddit Ads

The downsides of Reddit ads include:

Lower Conversion Rate  

The main downside to Reddit ads is that they produce a lower conversion rate than other advertising platforms, especially Facebook. 

When you consider that ‘the average conversion rate for Facebook ads across all industries is 9.21%’, if your main goal as a business is to boost conversions, Reddit ads likely aren’t the right choice.

A Greater Understanding Of Subreddits Is Required 

Another downside to using Reddit for advertising is that a greater understanding of subreddits is required. This comes down to the fact that every subreddit has its own culture and rules that are important to adhere to. 

Failure to do so can result in a negative reaction, as well as the ad failing to be as effective as it could be. 

Hidden Costs

Lastly, hidden costs can take your budget by surprise. 

According to Reddit, your actual spend can increase to as much as 20% higher than your budget, therefore making advertising more expensive.

Although this might not be too much of an issue on a smaller scale, when it comes to spending £1000+ a day on your advertising spend and this resulting in your budget increasing by £200, this is where you could run into issues.

While the benefits of Reddit ads can outweigh the disadvantages, your goals as a business will help you to determine whether it’s the right investment for you at this point in your journey. 

Book a free call with a social media consultant to get your Reddit ads firing.

Hopefully this article has provided you with a wider understanding of Reddit ads as well as whether Reddit ads are a worthwhile investment for your business.

We are Aura Ads, an ecommerce ad service designed for D2C eCommerce brands. We help clients sell more online and grow at scale with our bespoke video and static creative delivered on a monthly basis. For more tips and tricks from our experts, head over to our blog page.

Written by Jemima Thomas for Aura Ads.

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