Recent updates to Reddit for Business have enhanced the attractiveness of the platform for brands, with greater precision and reporting capabilities boosting Reddit ads.

New advertiser offerings called Reddit Brand Lift and Reddit Conversion Lift provide accurate measurement of ad reach and ad reactions respectively for greater campaign insights, and an AI-powered suggestions feature amplifies the Contextual Keyword Targeting tool that Reddit launched in June.

“The promise and potential of artificial intelligence, while exciting, has also elevated the value of real, human interactions and interests for both consumers and marketers,” says Jim Squires, Reddit executive vice president of business marketing and growth

“As we enter a new chapter in our industry and evolve beyond traditional signals, interest-based, contextually relevant targeting will be the most effective way to reach people where they’re most engaged.”

Building flexibility with keyword tools

Brands that use Reddit’s fresh Contextual Keyword Targeting tool can have ads placed directly beside chosen keywords, simplifying engagement with the platform’s diverse landscape of interest-driven communities.

Reddit is celebrating the uptake of the feature, pointing to Maybelline New York, Brooks Brothers and Kraft Heinz as early adopters. According to Reddit, advertisers with lower funnel objectives that used the feature saw click-through rates lift by 29 percent relative to community targeting campaigns and a 59 percent decrease in cost per action.

Now, machine learning can more accurately identify possible campaign keywords to bring brands closer to relevant communities, ranking each suggestion by monthly Reddit views and filtering out keywords that aren’t suitable. 

First-party measurement of Reddit ads

“The way advertisers and marketers measure success is constantly evolving, and understanding impact beyond traditional signals like clicks has become increasingly important to understanding campaign effectiveness,” says Squires, addressing the launch of Reddit’s new measurement tools.

Reddit Brand Lift monitors brand perception through analysing campaign characteristics via an internally produced survey, while Reddit Conversion Lift analyses the actions taken in response to viewing Reddit ads. The ad-measurement features launched in late August in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany and Australia.

“Our investment in our own first-party measurement tools follows a year of focused investment in our Ads Manager and ads product roadmap, and reflects the evolved needs of our advertisers,” Squires finishes.

Read about the impact of Reddit’s notorious API protests here.