Forget polished feeds — real PR gold lies in unfiltered conversations. Venelize de Lange from media update unpacks how PRs can use Reddit communities for authentic engagement, campaign ideas and trend discovery.
With flashy content and curated feeds around every corner, public relations is evolving — and Reddit is quietly becoming one of its most powerful tools.
With over 500-million user accounts globally, Reddit is a hub of unfiltered conversations and niche interests, providing the perfect access route for insights that offer PR professionals something few platforms do: authenticity.
Here's how:
Trend Spotting Before It's Mainstream
Reddit allows brands to monitor what people really think — from frustrations and unmet needs to spotting up and coming new topics of interests. By identifying recurring questions, rising discussions, or highly engaged threads in relevant subreddits, PR teams can craft stories and campaigns that speak directly to what people care about.
Community Engagement and Trust
Rather than pushing messages, brands that succeed on this platform end up actively engaging with their audience. They create a genuine presence, offer expertise and participate in conversations through the use of subreddits. This means less overt marketing and more value-added interactions that lead to credibility and trust.
Case Studies in Doing It Right
Campaigns that succeed on Reddit lean into the platform's culture. Audi's Think Faster AMA reimagined a Q&A as a high-speed event, creating buzz through originality. They partnered with Reddit, fielding questions from its users to ask to celebs while riding at high speed around a race track in one of the automaker's sports cars.
Marvel Studios offered another perspective: some of the most powerful communities are fan-driven. With more than four million members, this subreddit thrives without direct brand ownership — showing PR pros that supporting and engaging with organic communities can sometimes be more impactful than branded ones.
These examples prove Reddit is a stage where brands can build trust and visibility by leaning into authentic, community-driven interaction.
Top Tips for the PR Pros Looking to Use Reddit:
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Start by listening. Observe and monitor subreddits relevant to your field.
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Use the conversations you find as ideas for campaigns, story angles, or media hooks.
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Engage genuinely. Transparency and authenticity are essential.
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If it makes sense for your brand or campaign, consider creating or maintaining your own subreddit (but only if you can commit to moderating and contributing on it).
And, remember: Reddit is not just another broadcast channel, but a living archive of what audiences care about. For PR professionals, that means an opportunity to listen deeply, engage meaningfully and craft stories that actually resonate.
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*Image courtesy of Canva
**Information sourced from Motive, Britopian and Matt Tutt