Ah, Reddit, the land where memes are created, arguments never end, and now, it seems, where brands are meant to devise their holiday marketing campaigns. Because nothing feels as "seasonal joy" as someone shouting at you in r/AmItheAsshole while you're trying to flog socks.
But Reddit tells you to try it anyway. And, okay, the figures are staggering. The platform now has over 110 million daily active users and is the second most visited site in the U.S. Yep, second. Ahead of Instagram, ahead of TikTok, and definitely ahead of your brand’s sad little website. People don’t just scroll here for memes either; they come for advice, product recommendations, and the kind of brutally honest reviews you’d pay a focus group thousands for.
So what is Reddit doing? Giving away holiday marketing guides like Oprah gave away cars.
The "Dynamic Product Ads" Survival Kit
Reddit has released a new guide called Best Practices for Dynamic Product Ads. Sneaky name, but essentially it's a holiday cookbook for how not to mess up your ads. It's like a combination of IKEA instructions and a "How to Not Get Roasted in the Comments" guide.
It deconstructs all the most important steps to put your products in front of the correct eyeballs, because Redditors will find lazy, copy-paste marketing quicker than a cat can locate the one clean shirt you just put away.
Campaign Best Practices: AKA "Don't Embarrass Yourself"
Reddit included a Campaign Best Practices checklist too. Basically, it’s a cheat sheet for brands who believe "holiday strategy" is slapping a Santa hat on their logo and calling it a day. This guide makes you at least pretend like you've considered things.
And if you’re still confused, there’s Reddit’s brand playbook. It’s basically a crash course in how not to come across like that out-of-touch uncle at Christmas dinner who thinks “the youths” still say “YOLO.”
But Wait, There’s a Pro Trends Tool
Still not convinced? Reddit's got its own shiny new toy, Pro Trends. This gadget allows you to snoop on what's hot in the moment. Need to know whether humans are cooler on "ugly Christmas sweaters" or "uglier Christmas inflatables"? Pro Trends has got your back. It's as if you're eavesdropping on the internet's group chat without necessarily posting, "Hey guys, what's cool these days?"
Should You Even Bother?
Look, Reddit campaigns aren't for all brands. If your holiday campaign tactic is "sprinkle glitter on Facebook ads and hope," then no, stick to your lane. But if you can take the time to actually learn about the Reddit crowd (in other words: read the room before entering), then you may find more holiday gold than you anticipated.
Because here's the catch: Reddit is cited extensively by AI chatbots too. So what that means is when someone seeks product recommendations from ChatGPT (hello????), chances are Reddit comments are supplying the data. So, yes, if you don't engage with Reddit, effectively you're ghosting both humans and bots this holiday season.
The Roast or the Reward
Reddit can be either Santa's sleigh or the Grinch that steals your ad budget. The guides they've put out are actually helpful—no word salad, no jargon stew, just plain old steps. The audience on the platform are actual people, invested people, and appallingly blunt. Which, let's be real, might be just what your holiday campaign needs.
Go ahead, download the guides, light a candle, and get ready. Because this time of year, the greatest present Reddit can potentially offer your business is hard, unfiltered feedback. And if you make it through that? Well, congratulations, you've officially got your spot on the tree.
