Reddit trends: A marketer’s guide to untapped potential

Reddit has long been a pioneer in community-driven conversations—well before social listening became a marketing staple. Since 2005, it’s evolved into a cultural nerve center with over 100,000 active communities and 22 billion posts and comments, influencing everything from buying behavior to political discourse.

But Reddit’s role in the modern marketing mix has shifted. With the rise of social search, unprompted brand discourse and unfiltered consumer sentiment, Reddit has become a goldmine for real-time, organic insights—and a competitive advantage for brands that know how to harness it.

Reddit is also changing the search landscape. Its partnership with Google makes it easier for users to see and participate in Reddit communities and conversations. Gen Z and Millennial consumers routinely bypass traditional search engines to look for Reddit threads because they trust authentic communities over conversion tactics.

In this article, we’ll dive into why Reddit marketing is important to your brand and how you can find relevant Reddit trends for your business through social listening.

Why tracking Reddit trends is important for your brand

Reddit is built to spark trends. It’s organized into communities based on topics called subreddits—threads where people share and discuss content related to that topic. Posts are moderated to follow community rules, and users can comment and vote on what they see.

Reddit shapes trends by giving users a platform where they can share content, ask questions and start conversations on topics they feel passionate about. This means you get unprompted brand feedback without the highly performative layer of networks like TikTok and Instagram.

You can also leverage the user-generated content on Reddit as competitive intelligence. Find out what people really think about your competitors and compare that to the sentiment towards your products or services. In this way, Reddit reveals what traditional search engines can’t: emerging micro-movements that show why people buy and what’s really missing from the market.

Here are more reasons why tracking Reddit trends is essential for brands.

Offers insights into diverse target audiences

You can find a subreddit on almost any topic, from wellness to science to cars and obscure pop culture references. Users post on broad topics, niche interests and everything in between because they’re free to talk about what matters to them and build a community through shared interests. This is how organic trends begin.

Reddit users are less filtered and more honest than followers on brand-owned channels. This makes it an ideal space for understanding emerging needs—not just demographics. Brands can use social listening for anonymous sentiment mining to elevate their market research.

You can learn what topics appeal to your target audience by looking at top-performing Reddit posts. For example, a cookware brand can browse the food and drink communities on Reddit to see what users talk about. This user-generated content may give you innovative ideas for new campaigns and products.

Reveals buying behaviors and product preferences

Reddit trends help brands understand what people like to buy and why. By looking at subreddits, you can see what makes customers stay loyal, what drives them to buy and which product features matter most to them.

Tracking direct and indirect brand mentions on Reddit offers you critical feedback you can use to improve customer experience. For example, the 3D printing community on Reddit has several unprompted conversations about specific products users like and recommend, features they want and questions about how to use certain products.

Redditors often provide more detailed product feedback than verified reviews on retailer websites. A recent Reddit report shows that users added the term “Reddit” to their Google searches over 32 billion times. This reveals that users trust real people speaking their minds over product review sections of e-commerce websites.

Showcases consumer sentiment and market behaviors

Reddit has an uncanny ability to incubate and spread trends that impact consumer sentiment and market behaviors. When participating in subreddits, users can upvote and downvote posts and comments. Upvotes signify that users think positively about the content, while downvotes show the opposite. Comments with the most votes rise to the top because they are deemed the most interesting by Reddit’s algorithm.

You can learn about consumer sentiment and market behaviors by paying attention to the upvotes and downvotes on trending Reddit conversations. Reddit votes show you how users feel about those topics, giving you another avenue for sentiment mining. With Reddit social listening, you can also learn how users feel about important keywords related to the brand.

How to find Reddit trends relevant to your business

With billions of posts and comments on Reddit, there’s a lot of noise to sift through to find Reddit trends that are relevant to your business. Leveraging AI-powered tools like social listening are key.

Here is step-by-step practical guidance to unearth the most relevant trends for your brand.

Identify your target audience

There is a diverse group of users on Reddit, so before you find trends relevant to your business, you have to determine who your target audience is on Reddit. In addition to narrowing down the demographic details of your target audience, be sure to consider their interests.

You’ll also want to consider your target audiences’ behavior on Reddit: Are they info-seekers? Commenters? Lurkers? Identifying behavioral archetypes can shape how and where your brand participates on Reddit.

Find a Reddit analysis tool that meets your needs

Combing through Reddit manually to find relevant trends is an impossible task, which is why finding a Reddit analysis tool is essential to maintaining productivity. Reddit recently released Reddit Pro Trends, an analysis tool that determines what users are saying about a multitude of topics on Reddit. With it, brands can find relevant conversations, mine them for insights and even join them to engage users.

Third-party tools such as Sprout Social also support brands in tracking brand-specific keywords and phrases on Reddit. Social listening tools like Sprout go beyond just monitoring for trends. For example, with Sprout’s cross-channel workflows, listen in on conversations across your social media accounts and connect with business tools like Canva and Dropbox to optimize your processes. This helps you make proactive decisions based on data from user-generated content on Reddit to improve your offerings and brand experience.

Determine relevant subreddits for your brand

Using the right social media listening tools can narrow down areas where relevant conversations are happening on Reddit. You can also use Reddit’s native search functionality to identify relevant subreddits. Consider categories your target audience cares about and make a list of related keywords. Through Reddit’s search, determine hashtags and keywords to find the most relevant conversations for your brand.

Pay close attention to the unique culture of each subreddit—as this will determine how you participate in or observe conversations. Redditors flock to the network because they value the authenticity and transparency that exists there. Your actions shouldn’t disrupt the community or aim to change how they interact. Instead, approach each subreddit by considering how you can add value without actively promoting your brand.

Monitor recurring conversations

Look for specific questions, topics or threads that pop up time and time again in subreddits that are relevant to your brand. Distill down the trending topics within those conversations. For example, if users continue to post and comment about an influencer more than others within the influencers category, keep a pulse on what exactly it’s all about.

Use Reddit for consumer sentiment analysis and consider the upvotes and downvotes on trending topics. If a recurring topic consistently has more downvotes than upvotes, it may mean your brand should stay away from that conversation. Redditors put a lot of trust into their community, and brands should pay close attention to how the community feels.

Engage with the Reddit community

A lot of the work that goes into identifying relevant Reddit trends for your brand is behind the scenes. Brands can engage with Reddit users directly for a more personalized approach.

However, users will not want to engage with a brand that jumps into a conversation simply to vouch for their products. Lead with curiosity, not conversion. Add value to conversations with shared knowledge, not self-promotion. This approach reflects positively on the brand, showing users you’re not just lurking to find an opportunity to sell your products. You’re there because you care about what Redditors have to say.

How can I analyze Reddit trends for market insights?

Sprout’s Social Listening enables brands to analyze Reddit trends for market insights so they can use the info to more effectively engage with their target audience. Here’s how to use Sprout Social Listening’s Query Builder with Topic Templates.

Topic Templates help brands focus their searches within one of five use cases:

• Brand Health
• Industry Insights
• Competitive Analysis
• Campaign Analysis
• Event Monitoring

In the case of market insights, use the Industry Insights Topic Template.

Step 1. Click Listening in the Left Bar.

Step 2. Click New Topic. It will be available in both the Left Bar under Archive Topics or the Industry Insights tile on the Listening home screen.

Step 3. Type in your brand name as the topic title.

Step 4. Type in your topic description (optional).

Step 5. Select Reddit as the source.

Step 6. Build your query by entering in keywords in the Included keywords box you want to listen to on Reddit. Select types of keywords from the following list:

• Word or phrase
• Proximity Match
• Hashtag
• Cashtag
• Mentions of User
• From User
• To User

In the case of market insights, you’ll likely use Word or phrase, Proximity Match or Hashtag. Once you enter a keyword, Sprout will suggest up to five additional keywords. Click a suggested keyword to add it to your query if it’s relevant to your search.

The keywords you choose to follow for market insights will depend entirely on your industry and brand. For example, a fast food brand may want to listen for specific menu items or delivery services. The brand may also use keywords for trends like high-protein meals or sustainable packaging.

How to use Reddit trends for product research

A unique way to use social listening is for product research. Consider Reddit as a focus group at scale. It doesn’t require discounts and incentives or NDAs—instead, it’s full of users who enthusiastically want to share their thoughts and opinions. Reddit is rife with product feedback brands can leverage.

The most relevant Topic Template for product research in Sprout’s social listening tool is Brand Health or Industry Insights. Here’s how to build your query.

Step 1. Click Listening in the Left Bar.

Step 2. Click New Topic. It will be available in both the Left Bar under Archive Topics or the Brand Health or Industry Insights tile on the Listening home screen.

Step 3. Type in your brand name as the topic title.

Step 4. Type in your topic description (optional).

Step 5. Select Reddit as the source.

Step 6. Build your query by entering in keywords in the Included keywords box. Select types of keywords from the following list:

• Word or phrase
• Proximity Match
• Hashtag
• Cashtag
• Mentions of User
• From User
• To User

In the case of product research, you’ll likely use Word or phrase, Proximity Match or Hashtag. Remember that once you enter a keyword, Sprout will suggest up to five additional related keywords. Click a suggested keyword to add it to your query if it’s relevant to your search.

The keywords you choose to follow for product research will depend on your brand and the product you’re researching. For example, a fashion brand conducting research for their new line of jeans may listen for keywords like “distressed denim” or “stretch denim.”

Subreddit analysis reveals buying behaviors

The future of social media is all about meeting consumers where they’re at, instead of getting them to come to your brand. Users thrive in subreddits because they have a space to nerd out about topics they love with people who feel the same way. As the future of search shifts from polished feeds to unfiltered conversations, Reddit is where brands will find their next big idea—if they’re listening.

Each subreddit has its own unique culture, giving brands a powerful way to understand changing consumer preferences and buying habits—straight from real people. Reddit offers brands unfiltered reviews and recommendations. This kind of user-generated content is so trusted that many consumers skip search engines entirely, turning to Reddit for honest, authentic conversations.

Here’s how your brand can use subreddit analysis to understand buying behaviors.

What are the current trending products on Reddit?

Reddit trends fluctuate rapidly. However, if you have your ear to the Reddit ground, you can pick up on emerging product categories. Analyzing trends also helps you identify market gaps for strategic business decisions.

Eco-friendly products, latest tech gadgets, beauty products, clothing and accessories are typically evergreen products that get a lot of attention on Reddit. Take a look at relevant subreddits for more details on the specific brands and types of products users are talking about. Subreddits like r/dropshipping and r/entrepreneur are good places to start, as users often talk about trending products here.

What are some popular Reddit trends for buying decisions?

Niche product communities, such as for games, beauty products and tech gadgets, have a massive influence on the success of a brand. Within these communities, people make buying decisions differently—some prioritize value for money, while others focus more on features and benefits.

Check out subreddits like r/BuyItForLife where people who want durable, high-quality products go looking for recommendations. If your target audience is on the hunt for a deal and wants value-driven purchases, you may learn more about their buying behaviors in a subreddit like r/DealsReddit.

What are the most discussed Reddit trends affecting sales right now?

Evergreen trending topics include news and politics, pop culture, internet culture, technology and anime, among others. Social listening tools like Sprout’s enable brands to keep a pulse on trends relevant to their business and spot new patterns.

Identify emerging and future trends by paying attention to market gaps that users discuss on relevant subreddits. These insights give brands a competitive advantage that positively impacts their bottom line.

Future trends in Reddit marketing

The future of Reddit marketing will be an exciting one: We’ll see more AI-driven tools providing consumer insights, innovative visual advertising formats, forward-thinking partnerships and more.

At its core, Reddit will remain a place for people to have conversations and build communities around topics that matter deeply to them—and brands have an opportunity to be part of the action authentically and genuinely. From social search to anonymous sentiment mining, brands can leverage the unfiltered and unprompted discourse on Reddit to transform their approach to marketing.

Read our blog on Reddit social listening, and learn how analyzing Reddit conversations can enrich your understanding of evolving consumer preferences.