How to Leverage Reddit for Market Research

One of the biggest challenges of marketing? Gathering data on your target market. It’s costly, time-consuming, and people tend to be less candid when they know they're being surveyed.

That’s where Reddit comes in. It’s no coincidence that Google recently licensed Reddit data to train its AI—Reddit is a treasure trove of authentic user feedback and information. 

Here’s how to use Reddit for market research → 

Why Reddit?

As our Marketer in Residence Michael Cahill explains, "anonymity can lead to unfiltered opinions and discussions, which are gold for understanding genuine consumer sentiments.” The site's highly engaged user base, niche communities (subreddits), and active discussions make it ripe for audience research.

The numbers: 

• 50 million daily active users 

• Average user spends over 10 minutes per visit interacting with at least eight posts/pages

• 2.8+ million subreddits spanning every imaginable industry, interest, and demographic

How can brands effectively leverage Reddit’s data? 

1)  Dive into subreddits. Subreddits are niche forums centered on specific topics—your prime micro-segments for qualitative insights. If you're in fintech, for instance, hang out in r/personalfinance to understand consumers' money attitudes and pain points. 

There are two easy ways to find the right subreddit:

• Check out Redditlist to get a full list of subreddits.

• Search Sparktoro for a topic that your audience frequently talks about, and click on the Reddit results.

The r/AskReddit subreddit is also a useful starting point to explore broader consumer discussions through threads like "What purchase did you regret?" or "What company lost your loyalty and why?"

2) Monitor the sentiment, not just the data. Numbers and facts are one thing, but what you're really after are the emotional drivers behind behaviors. Reddit's anonymity offers a window into consumer frustrations, aspirations, and deeper "whys." For example:

• Discussions in r/Android or r/Apple can reveal polarizing phone loyalty drivers that surveys might miss. 

• For a CPG brand, scanning comments in r/EatCheapAndHealthy could surface real struggles and needs around affordability and convenience that inform product/marketing strategy.

3) Engage, don't just observe. Reddit isn’t just a static resource—marketing teams can take the reins and spark conversation. Post genuine questions as your brand or anonymously to spark discussions, like "How do you feel about Brand X's latest product updates?" or "What matters most when choosing a [category] product?" 

• The key? Be inquisitive, not promotional. 

• React to comments by asking follow-ups to dig deeper into "why" people feel certain ways, not just "what" they think.

The bottom line: Reddit isn’t a complete market research solution. But the honest perspectives on this platform are hard to come by—and simple to leverage. And when you combine them with other research methods? That’s a winning market strategy.

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