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On August 4, Reddit will debut Promoted User Posts — a new ad offering that gives marketers the power to promote user-generated posts on the platform, Ad Age reports.
The new ad format gives marketers new opportunities to tap into Reddit’s core strengths — the contributions of its users.
Here's how the product will work: If a redditor posts something with brand-relevant content, then a marketer can pay Reddit to promote the post. Reddit will then ask the redditor who created the post for permission to repost it. If permission is received, Reddit will promote that post across its website, targeting it to specific audiences that align with the marketer's aims.
This form of advertising holds several benefits for Reddit and marketers:
- Creates a form of authentic advertising. Redditors are infamously averse to blatant advertising tactics, as intimated by Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman. The new tool will help to circumvent this problem by helping brands to connect with Reddit users in a more genuine and less self-serving, intrusive way.
- Capitalizes on the wealth of user-generated content. Reddit's community, the content they post, and conversations they generate, are at the heart of the platform's strengths. Advertisers will now be able to leverage this through Promoted User Posts, while also saving themselves from the costs of conceiving additional creative campaigns.
- Incentivizes users to post on the platform. As a reward for allowing a brand to promote their post, redditors will be granted a lifetime supply of “Reddit Gold” – tokens for the platform’s premium membership program. This turns off ads on Reddit and unlocks a wealth of features, including more customization and special access to restricted areas.
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