Reddit filed its financial prospectus ahead of its public offering; it's the first social media IPO in years. Advertisers and financial analysts are looking at this IPO to understand the platform's future and its advertising business plans.

Reddit, a San Francisco-based business, was founded in 2005 and is now one of the most visited websites. The platform is a social news aggregation, content rating, and forum social network. Users submit content to categories (subreddits), which others vote on. Submissions with the highest votes appear the highest on the subreddit page.

Why does it matter?

Social media is an integral part of the media mix for most brands, and Reddit is becoming an essential part of that strategy. It is a unique platform because of its structure, the community, and the amount of data it can access.

Of the platform's self-serve ad spending (80% of its revenue), 50% is on performance campaigns and 50% on branding. The breakout highlights how Reddit can reach consumers through the entire purchasing cycle.

It is also less reliant on third-party data signals than other social media platforms because of its overall community and contextual data. Since consumers must categorize their submissions, Reddit collects a lot of metadata for ad targeting.

Lastly, since so much of the platform's revenue comes from self-service advertisers, the business will continue to be incentivized to improve the advertising experience. I expect Reddit to continue enhancing its ad placements, management tools, and integrations.

What should you do?

You should explore Reddit as a platform in your media mix. It is a unique platform with a lot of growth ahead of it, especially as the platform gains more press through its IPO journey. We expect CPMs to rise as more advertisers add them to their media mix, so launching now might give you access to efficient reach in the short term.

If you're already advertising on Reddit, monitor your campaigns closely. Reddit users tend to rebel against the platform's ad policies and updates; you should be prepared to adapt your campaigns accordingly.

TL;DR

Reddit is preparing for its first public offering, marking a significant event in the for advertisers. As a platform known for its community-driven content and unique advertising structure, Reddit offers a diverse advertising mix, balancing performance campaigns and branding equally.

Its reliance on community and contextual data rather than third-party signals makes it a valuable addition to any media strategy, especially with the potential changes post-IPO.

Advertisers should consider integrating Reddit into their mix now for efficient reach while keeping an eye on platform and user dynamics to adapt strategies as needed.