Are You Getting In On Reddit's Ad Boom?

March 13 - Edition #50

Author

Dia Creative
March 13, 2025

March 13 - Edition #31

This week you'll learn:

  • đź—ł Reddit Is Crushing It With Ads

  • đź—Ł Why KOLs work and how to use them

  • đźš™ Uber’s Word-Of-Mouth Success

  • ⚡️ Quick Hits: X’s cyberattack, Instagram updates, and who’s too young to scroll?

Reddit Is Crushing It With Ads

Image Source: Shutterstock

Reddit’s ad revenue is growing faster than any other social platform, up 30% from last year.

So what’s going on? Well, while other social apps are kinda struggling to keep people around, Reddit is one of the few places where people are actually spending more time.

And it’s because Reddit still feels like a real community, not just another app trying to sell you stuff every five seconds. Then, how are their ads killing?

The Community Advantage

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman grants the platform's success to its focus on communal conversations. At a Wall Street Journal event last October, Huffman highlighted that Reddit posts contain valuable "colloquial words about pretty much every topic" that are constantly updated—making the platform valuable for both search engines and AI.

Advertiser Challenges and Adaptations

Despite the impressive growth, Reddit presents some challenges for advertisers. The report notes that Reddit users "typically don't want brands in their conversations, especially ones that aren't upfront about who they are."

Some brands have found success by taking an authentic approach:

  • Creating employee accounts that gradually earn community trust (like KiethFromSonos in the r/Sonos community)

  • Utilizing Reddit Pro, a platform offering analytics and publishing tools

  • Using new formats for promoting AMAs (Ask Me Anything sessions)

Reddit's COO Jen Wong reported "broad growth" across advertising verticals, with 10 of its 15 verticals growing by over 50% year-over-year, with finance, retail, auto, pharma, gaming, and tech seeing the strongest performance.

Basically, Reddit’s ad growth is happening because they’re keeping it real—and the brands that get how Reddit works are cashing in.

KOLs > Influencers

Image Source: LinkedIn

Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are changing the game for ecommerce brands in 2025. Unlike traditional influencers, KOLs bring industry expertise that can really spice things up.

What Makes KOLs Different?

Regular influencers are usually just people who got popular on social media. KOLs are experts first—people who already have serious respect in their field—and then they build their audience.

When they recommend something, people really trust them because they’re seen as pros, not just someone pushing random stuff for cash.

KOL endorsements carry significant weight with consumers who trust their specialized knowledge and recommendations.

Finding the Right KOL Partner

The perfect KOL partnership starts with alignment:

  • Audience Match: Look for KOLs whose followers match your target demographic. Quality trumps quantity—a smaller, highly engaged audience often delivers better results than massive follower counts.

  • Content Consistency: Seek KOLs who post regularly and engage meaningfully with their community. This signals commitment and increases the likelihood of a successful partnership.

  • Values Alignment: Your KOL should naturally fit with your brand ethos. Forced partnerships are transparent to audiences and can damage credibility.

Creating Authentic Collaborations

The most effective KOL partnerships feel natural, not promotional:

  1. Develop Clear Briefs: Outline campaign goals and expectations, but give KOLs creative freedom to present your product in their authentic voice.

  2. Trust Their Expertise: KOLs know their audience best. If they suggest modifications to your campaign approach, seriously consider their input.

  3. Focus on Education: Work with your KOL to create content that teaches rather than sells. Educational content about your product category builds trust and positions your brand as a solution.

Remember that KOL marketing is an investment in relationship-building. The most successful partnerships develop over time as the KOL becomes a genuine advocate for your brand.

Start Small, But Start Smart

Pick 3-5 KOLs in your space and start by interacting with their content—drop comments, share their stuff, whatever feels natural. When you’re ready to reach out, mention something specific they’ve posted so it doesn’t feel like a copy-paste DM.

Yeah, KOLs might cost more than a regular influencer, but they bring way more trust—and trust leads to sales.

What Uber Did Right

Image Source: DianApps

At first, Uber started as a fancy black car service in San Francisco. You’d press a button, and boom—a sleek ride would show up.

But over time, they went from that luxury vibe to basically changing how people get around all over the world. And they did it without blowing a ton of cash on ads. Instead, they just made something people loved using.

The Power of Solving Real Problems

One of Uber’s founders, Travis Kalanick, explained how it all started: “It was a lifestyle thing at first. You push a button, a black car pulls up. Who’s the baller?” But behind that simple idea was something everyone could relate to—dealing with crappy taxi experiences. Uber made it painless.

So, how did they grow so fast? It came down to three simple things:

Their growth strategy focused on three key elements:

  • Perfect the Experience: Rather than fixing one aspect of transportation, Uber reimagined the entire journey - from hailing to payment. This comprehensive approach created a "wow" moment that naturally drove word-of-mouth.

  • Target Early Adopters: "95% of all our riders have heard about Uber from other Uber riders," Kalanick explains. The company specifically targeted people who were excited about tech in San Francisco.

  • Local Market Focus: Each city launch was treated uniquely. "Being local and speaking with local voice is important when you're doing transportation," notes Kalanick. This approach helped them achieve 30-40% month-over-month growth in new markets.

Why Everyone Was Talking About Uber

Max Crowley from Uber Chicago explained it perfectly. When people saw how easy it was—you tap your phone and a car shows up in 5 minutes—they couldn’t help but tell everyone. Riders were doing the marketing for them.

Uber grew so fast because they solved a real problem and made life easier. People naturally wanted to spread the word. And that’s how they became huge without trying too hard.

Their story shows how solving fundamental user problems can create unstoppable organic growth.

⚡️ Quick Hits

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