Published on MediaPost
Appealing to users who want something new to engage with across social, search and connected TV has become a challenge, but not when taking the approach of thinking like a “human first and then a brand.”
Here are some holiday tips that make it easier to catch their attention.
Magna Media Trials — a research division of the ad company Magna Global, part of the IPG Mediabrands — released a study called Reddit for Real: Unlocking the True Potential of Reddit for Brands.
The study sheds light on the mindset and behaviors of redditors while analyzing the inner workings and impact of the platform’s community policies.
It looks at behavior and attempts to identify the manipulated AI content and media and highlights how brands can improve performance and build trust with consumers by addressing details in authentic creative content.
Users turn to Reddit basically for three reasons, according to the data. Some 63% said they turn to Reddit to learn new things, while 59% say they hear different perspectives and opinions, and 59% gain a variety of options rather than having to follow the crowd on platforms like Facebook.
This is an opportunity for brands to reach out to individual thinkers and doers — those who are not as easily swayed by the aggressive consensus.
An open mind and trust drive consumer spending, the study says. People who like to learn are naturally more receptive to ads and tend to have an engagement rate of more than 54%. Brands can reach this audience by creating high-quality content that aligns with their tastes.
When this happens, 70% said they will click more often if brands present something entertaining and informative that provides value. Brands with the correct strategy can convert and leverage those clicks, as 52% of redditors indicated they frequently, often, or sometimes purchase a product they saw advertised on the platform.
Some 85% of Reddit users say they come to the site for candid exchanges with other users and brands, and about 86% believe the platform protects privacy and they can share their views, while 74% say they believe it is more trustworthy than others.
Authenticity and trust are the two themes that carry from Reddit to YouTube, although the two platforms take a completely different approach.
On Wednesday, YouTube gave creators new control of ad partnerships by streamlining how brands and content makers collaborate. It simplified partnerships through new tools for BrandConnect Partnership ads and with the general availability of YouTube Select Creator Takeovers.
Creators can now initiate ad partnerships directly through YouTube instead of waiting for advertisers to contact them. And in an unusual step, it protects creators by enabling them to restrict their content to only approved advertisers. In a new approach to monetization, brands gain access to organic metrics and clear use rights when linking videos through Google Ads.
Once a video linking request is approved, advertisers can access information through their Google Ads account. The data spans organic video performance metrics such as view counts, engagement rates and audience demographics.
Managing collaboration with creators directly inside Google Ads will become key for brands — not just during the holiday season, but throughout the year. The company is testing a central place to manage creator partnerships, and this new page will roll out to relevant accounts during the next few months.
That collaboration means nothing without BrandConnect Partnership ad, authentic creator-based videos that brands can integrate into ad campaigns to drive performance. The ads are available to all advertisers globally across all AI-powered campaign types in Google Ads. To use partnership ads, users must link creator videos to their Google Ads account.
Creator videos integrated in ad campaigns can improve performance, according to YouTube. Based on internal data, partnership ads that live on the creator’s channel drove up to 20% higher conversions on the Shorts feed than ads with advertiser branding alone. To make it even easier to link videos, YouTube is introducing a video linking API to help users manage multiple requests at once.
