Reddit: the platform PR professionals can no longer ignore

Reddit isn’t just for geeks and trolls. Bigger than TikTok in the UK and one of the top platforms cited by AI search results, here’s why this online community deserves a place in your comms strategy.

By Christian Koch

For much of its two-decade history, PR professionals have largely ignored Reddit. To many, it was a place where male gamers swapped snarky comments about PC hardware, sci-fi memes or whatever Easter eggs were inside Game of Thrones.

Things are changing, fast.

In January, Reddit overtook TikTok in the UK as the country’s fourth-most-visited social media site. And over the last two years the platform has seen an 88% increase in UK users; Ofcom reports three in five Britons now use the platform. More than half of these users are women. Globally, Reddit is valued at $34.2bn (£25.4bn) with 121.4m users visiting the site every day.

Its rise is partly driven by Google’s algorithms now prioritising content from discussion forums, plus our reviews-led online culture: as trust in polished content marketing wanes, Reddit has become a de facto standard-bearer for human-led recommendations.

As a result, Reddit conversations are now increasingly influencing purchasing behaviour. For PR practitioners, the platform is especially notable because it’s one of the top three sources cited by generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews, thanks to Reddit securing licensing deals with Google (reportedly $60m a year) and OpenAI to train AI models on its content.

As for PR pros' historical avoidance of Reddit, this may be more cultural myopia than any snobbery about its users.

“Most PRs I know don’t use Reddit and therefore don’t feel comfortable recommending it,” says Paul Stollery, co-founder and creative director of PR agency Hard Numbers, which is a corporate affiliate member of the CIPR. “There’s a misconception it’s 4chan-lite. That was maybe true 15 years ago, but not now.”

And as Reddit celebrates its 21st birthday later this month [23 June], here’s how PR pros can approach the platform…

Reddit is different

Reddit is a community-driven discussion forum with over 100,000 active communities, or ‘subreddits’, covering everything from baldness to bookbinding. Most content is in Q&A format, which means it mirrors the type of queries typed into ChatGPT, Claude or AI Overviews (as early as 2015, OpenAI’s Sam Altman was talking about how Reddit data “would be a very useful training set”).

Unlike Instagram or LinkedIn, Reddit also isn’t a channel where PR pros can broadcast corporate milestones or product launches. (Do that and the brand will be ridiculed.)

“There’s a rebellious streak and mischievous energy to Reddit – users bristle when brands stick their oar in,” says Stollery. “If you’re not popular, or you’re a big corporate with a whiff of evil to you, then there’s a big risk.”

This was illustrated when James Corden hosted an Ask Me Anything (AMA) Q&A in 2019. In the comments underneath, Redditors called him a “rude *******” and accused him of paying lower wages for writers.

Listen to Reddit

PR professionals don’t need to post on Reddit to benefit from the site. By lurking – or social listening – they can gauge customer sentiment, track campaigns or identify emerging trends.

“Reddit is brilliant for social listening, especially if people might complain about your brand,” says Stollery. “Unlike Twitter/X and TikTok, Reddit’s algorithm doesn’t reward ‘hot takes’: when people complain on Reddit, it’s usually genuine and worth listening to.”

It’s useful for crisis comms too. “Monitoring Reddit lets you see what people are saying on-the-ground and stay ahead of the next criticism,” he adds.

For newcomers, Stollery suggests starting with an audit. “See which threads could drive answers [about your brand or client], study the nature of those threads, before asking, ‘Can we genuinely add value here?’”

Make employees your Reddit spokesperson

Most brands dip their toes into Reddit waters via an AMA (Ask Me Anything). However, Redditors value experts (or ‘upvote’ their posts with the up-arrow sign) and reject overt promotion à la Corden (the TV host was resoundingly ‘downvoted’). So comms practitioners should think carefully about which spokesperson they put forward.

“Find employees already using Reddit and work with them,” suggests Stollery. “Reddit questions are specific, such as ‘I’m launching a catering business: what insurer should I use?’ The pool of people who can answer that objectively is small. So, there’s value in brands having ‘u/DaveFromInsurance’ as a username and asking users for questions. Just treat it as a bit of customer service.”

It’s something speakers brand Sono excelled at with its u/KeithFromSonos account (where real-life employee Keith responds to queries). Earlier this year, Tesco’s employee-led ‘Need Anything From Tesco’ activation also featured a staffer asking users how the supermarket could improve.

“Don’t lead with the CEO,” says Stollery. “Sometimes juniors who’ve been with the brand for 18 months might be better because they’re more relatable.”

Niche brands fare well

From r/divorcedbirds to r/breadstapledtotrees (pictures of bread on trees), there’s a subreddit for nearly everything. As such, it’s ideal for specialist brands.

“When it comes to Reddit, you’ll be talking to the proper consumer base, so lean into that niche,” says Stollery. “For thought leadership, comms heads tend to default to what the CEO wants to say. This doesn’t work on Reddit. Instead, ask ‘would your audience choose to read this when having their Sunday morning breakfast?’”

Don’t ‘astroturf’

Many PR professionals might feel tempted to create fake accounts to counter negative posts. Such manipulation or ‘astroturfing’ (as Redditors call it) is a red-line issue on the site.

“If you get caught, Reddit will pile in, followed by journalists,” says Stollery. “It’s like the Barbra Streisand effect: fighting a complaint can turn it into a much bigger crisis. A few years ago someone complained about an expensive Darth Vader skin for a Star Wars game. [Video game maker] EA waded in with a corporate response. The story blew up. Had EA ignored it, this might not have happened.”

Befriend the mods

Reddit relies on an army of unpaid moderators (or ‘mods’), who police subreddits, removing any offensive or marketing-heavy content.

These mods are like gatekeepers to the community and, providing they tread carefully, comms professionals can approach them.

Stollery’s advice? “If you genuinely feel you can add value to their community, message the mod and be super-honest: ‘We’ve noticed your subreddit has questions on this topic; our customer service reps can answer them.’ Don’t expect to be welcomed with open arms though.”

How brands can work with Reddit

Once the mods are engaged, PR agencies can plan larger activations beyond AMAs. In 2024, Skoda collaborated with r/CarTalkUK subreddit to let petrolhead fans design a bespoke Skoda Octavia. Today, there are also brand users accounts: u/Arsenal joined the platform in February.

“If you’re a brand with loads of discontinued product, go on Reddit and saying, ‘Hey guys, what would you like us to bring back?’” suggests Stollery. “That could be valuable because users genuinely feel they can help drive the brand. Just like Skoda, it’s about giving power to the community.”

Christian Koch is an award-winning journalist, editor, content strategist, and brand consultant.

Want to understand how changing search behaviours, AI- search and platforms like Reddit are influencing online visibility? Our PR, SEO, GEO & AI course explores how search works today and how communicators can adapt their content and PR strategies

Find out more about a CIPR corporate affiliate membership

Strengthen your reputation and invest in your team’s success. Join as a CIPR Corporate Affiliate member - open to groups of five or more.