Reddit's Power Users Could Be a Great Audience For B2B Brands
Key Takeaways
Frequent Redditors are mainly male and millennial, and share a surprisingly similar demographic makeup with frequent LinkedIn users, per Morning Consult Intelligence data; both groups tend to be higher-income, better educated, and more likely to be managers or directors at work.
They’re trend-forward (51% say they are always on the lookout for the latest trends), and have hobbies ranging from selling and buying crypto to betting on sports.
Given Reddit power users’ varied interests, decision-making power at work, and penchant for seeking out solutions to problems, business-facing brands should consider using the platform to experiment with marketing and customer feedback efforts.
If you’re a frequent Googler, you might have seen more responses to your queries surfaced from Reddit threads in the last year. Google and Reddit signed an AI deal in early 2024, when the latter made its content available to train Google’s artificial intelligence models, highlighting how valuable discussions on Reddit are to AI models.
Redditors are known to many to be highly knowledgeable, obsessive, and chatty, and it’s not uncommon to come across essay-length responses to innocuous questions. This audience can be very attractive to brands, and Morning Consult Intelligence data paints a more detailed picture of their finances and hobbies, what motivates them as consumers, and what brands they hold in high regard.
Frequent Redditors share a similar consumer profile with frequent LinkedIn users
For this analysis, we looked at frequent Redditors, those who say they use the platform at least several times a week. Compared to other platforms’ users, this group comprises the highest share of millennials (42%) and has one of the more uneven gender splits (63% men and 37% women), per Morning Consult Intelligence data.
Frequent Redditors are heavily male and millennial
Just over one-fifth (21%) of frequent Redditors make over $100,000 a year, 5 points higher than the general population, with a majority (56%) making at least $50,000 a year. They’re also more likely to have their money invested, with 30% saying they have more than $50,000 in investments compared with 25% of all U.S. adults.
Interestingly, frequent Redditors share a similar demographic profile with frequent LinkedIn users, even though users from the two are not talked about in tandem like those of other platforms: Frequent Redditors and frequent LinkedIn users are the most likely to hold either a bachelor’s or a master’s degree, are more likely to be employed full-time, be either at the manager or director level at their jobs, and make at least $50,000 a year (though a slightly bigger share of frequent LinkedIn users are high income).
LinkedIn and Reddit are far from apples to apples, and consumer-facing brands already know how to reach the latter platform’s engaged users. But Reddit could be a good experimental ground for an out-of-the-box B2B marketer, providing an unusual and potentially effective channel for B2B reach, given the platform’s propensity to attract corporate employees seeking solutions to workplace problems and generate lively discussion.
Redditors have a plethora of habits and also a penchant for trendspotting
Frequent Redditors have varied interests and hobbies, if the breadth of topics covered in-depth on the platform is any indication. While Morning Consult Intelligence doesn’t track ramen consumption (r/ramen) or mug collecting (r/muglife), our data does show that compared to the average U.S. adult, for example, frequent Reddit users are:
- More than twice as likely to buy or sell cryptocurrency weekly (24% versus 9%, respectively)
- 15 points more likely to trade stocks via mobile weekly (27% versus 12%)
- 15 points more likely to say they primarily lift weights or strength train for fitness (46% versus 31%)
Redditors have many interests and hobbies
This group is highly engaged with all media, whether music, streaming, podcasting, gaming, or reading/watching the news. Redditors are more likely than users of most other platforms to use social media to learn about new topics, engage in discussion, and follow the news.
Furthermore, as consumers, they are trend-forward and discerning. More than three-quarters (76%) of frequent Redditors said they're willing to pay more for high-quality items, which is higher than that of most platforms (the same share of LinkedIn users said the same).
And, more than half also said they are either always looking out for the latest trends or among the first to try new technology products; there are legions of subreddits devoted to both trendspotting and tech consumption. Reddit’s forum format makes it easier to share in-depth information that may be harder to find on other social media platforms that cater to those with shorter attention spans and consume content more passively.
Brands that stand out to Redditors are of the tech, beverage, and gaming variety
Compared to the average U.S. adult, frequent Redditors have a higher net favorability for brands that align with the makeup of its younger, more male-skewing demographic, with nearly one-third of the latter’s top 20 standouts being drinks. The rest comprise the hobbies spotlighted by Morning Consult’s data earlier — other tech companies and products (Discord, X, ChatGPT), gaming (Epic Games, Activision), and sports (UFC).
Frequent Redditors' top 20 standout brands
It’s also rare for workspace tools to rank high in standout favorability — Google’s products are among Redditors’ standouts, as is Canva — but it’s another finding that suggests B2B brands could find an engaged audience on the subreddit streets.
Amy He leads Industry Analysis at Morning Consult. Prior to joining Morning Consult, Amy served as the executive editor at eMarketer, and was a China reporter for many years. She graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and East Asian studies. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected].
