B2B brand? Let me guess. You’re running ads on LinkedIn. You’re almost certainly spending budget on Google. But if you are like most B2B demand generation leaders, you are completely ignoring one of the most powerful, high-intent channels available: Reddit.
It’s an understandable oversight. For years, Reddit was viewed as the "wild west" of the internet. A place for memes and arguments, not serious B2B buying decisions. But that narrative is outdated. As we look toward 2026, Reddit has matured into a sophisticated engine of community-driven intent.
While LinkedIn CPCs (Cost Per Click) continue to climb—often averaging upwards of $10 to $15 for competitive B2B audiences—Reddit Ads consistently deliver qualified traffic for a fraction of that cost. We are seeing benchmarks where Reddit CPCs sit comfortably between $0.20 and $2.00, even for niche B2B sectors.
That is a blue-ocean opportunity. But here is the catch: You cannot simply copy-paste your LinkedIn strategy to Reddit. The brands that win on this platform are the ones that understand that Reddit isn't about who you are (demographics); it's about what you care about (communities).
This guide will dismantle the "spray and pray" approach and show you exactly how to structure Reddit targeting for B2B dominance in 2026.
Why Reddit Targeting Is Different (and Often More Effective)
To master Reddit, you first have to unlearn how you target on Google or LinkedIn.
On LinkedIn, you target a Job Title. You hunt for a "VP of Marketing."
On Reddit, you target a Conversation. You hunt for people asking questions like, "What is the best demand gen attribution software?"
The difference is subtle but profound. A VP of Marketing on LinkedIn might be scrolling their feed to congratulate a colleague or check industry news. That same VP of Marketing on Reddit is likely inside r/marketing or r/demandgen specifically looking for unfiltered advice on software vendors. The intent is baked into the environment.
Reddit offers several targeting layers that allow you to tap into this intent:
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Subreddit Targeting: The gold standard. This allows you to place ads directly within specific communities (e.g., r/SysAdmin, r/SaaS).
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Interest Targeting: A broader net that reaches users who have interacted with certain categories of content (e.g., Technology, Business).
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Keyword & Contextual Targeting: This intercepts users based on the specific words they use in searches or the content of the threads they are reading.
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Retargeting & Lookalikes: Essential for moving users down-funnel after they have engaged with your brand.
If you sell cybersecurity software, a "Technology Interest" audience on Facebook is a shotgun blast. You might hit a teenager who likes gaming just as easily as a CISO. On Reddit, targeting r/NetSec or r/Cybersecurity ensures you are in the room with the experts.
Audience Targeting Secrets B2B Marketers Often Miss
Most advertisers stop at the basic level. They select a few broad interests and hit launch. To drive ROI, you need to layer your targeting strategies. Here are the tactical secrets we use to lower CAC and increase lead quality.
1. Hyper-Niche Community Targeting
The biggest mistake B2B marketers make is targeting too broadly. Do not target r/Business if you sell specialized accounting software. Target r/Accounting or r/Bookkeeping.
The power of Reddit lies in the "long tail" of communities. Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) isn't just hanging out in the massive subreddits; they are in the hyper-specific ones discussing the nuances of their job.
Tactical Move:
Cross-reference your SEO keyword list with subreddit search results. If you are a SaaS analytics vendor, searching for "data visualization" might lead you to r/DataScience, r/BusinessIntelligence, and even r/Tableau. These communities are smaller, but the density of qualified buyers is incredibly high.
2. Intent-Layered Targeting
This is where the magic happens. Single-layer targeting is fine for awareness, but for conversion, you want to combine targeting methods to filter for intent.
By layering Subreddit Targeting with Keyword Targeting, you ensure your ad only appears when a user in a relevant community is actively discussing a relevant topic.
Tactical Move:
Let’s say you sell DevOps tools.
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Target Community: r/DevOps
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Layer Keyword: "tool comparison," "alternative to [Competitor Name]," or "deployment failure."
Now, you aren't just advertising to a DevOps engineer; you are advertising to a DevOps engineer who is currently unhappy with their current stack or looking for a switch. That is high-intent prospecting.
3. Retargeting High-Intent Behavior
B2B sales cycles are long. You rarely get a demo booking on the first click. Reddit’s Pixel allows you to build sophisticated retargeting audiences to nurture prospects who have shown interest.
You can retarget based on:
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Page Visits: Did they visit your pricing page?
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Engagement Depth: Did they stay on your site for more than 30 seconds?
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Past Ad Engagement: Did they click a previous Reddit ad?
Tactical Move:
Create a "30-90 Day Pricing Page Visitor" audience. These are people who know who you are and have considered the cost. Serve them a Reddit ad featuring a case study or a "Book a Demo" CTA. This keeps you top-of-mind during the critical consideration window without annoying them on every platform.
4. Lookalike Audiences and Automated Targeting
Once you have a seed audience (say, a list of your current high-value customers or a list of leads who requested a demo) you can upload that to Reddit. The platform’s algorithm then identifies users with similar browsing habits and community memberships.
This effectively allows you to scale your campaign beyond the manual list of subreddits you identified, finding qualified buyers in corners of Reddit you didn't even know existed.
Targeting Mistakes That Kill Reddit Campaigns
We see many brands try Reddit, fail, and blame the platform. Usually, the platform isn't the problem—the targeting strategy is.
Mistake 1: Targeting Too Broadly
If you select "Business" as an interest for an Enterprise ERP solution, you are lighting money on fire. The "Business" interest category on Reddit includes everyone from high school students with dropshipping ideas to retired investors. Without the precision of subreddits, your ads look irrelevant, your Click-Through Rate (CTR) tanks, and your CPMs (Cost Per Mille) skyrocket.
Mistake 2: Ignoring Community Norms
Reddit is community-first. If you target r/Coding with a sales-heavy, jargon-filled ad that screams "corporate marketing," you will be ignored. Your targeting might be perfect, but if your creative doesn't respect the intelligence of the room, the targeting won't save you.
Mistake 3: Relying Only on Demand Metrics
If you only measure immediate demo requests from a cold traffic campaign, you will think Reddit isn't working. B2B buyers often click, read, leave, and then search for your brand on Google three days later. If you aren't using retargeting or tracking view-through conversions, you are missing the full picture of your pipeline contribution.
How Reddit Targeting Works With Your Demand Funnel
Successful Reddit campaigns align the targeting tactic with the stage of the funnel. Do not ask for marriage on the first date.
Awareness Stage
Goal: Get your brand name known in the community.
Targeting: Specific interests (e.g., "Technology") or large subreddits (e.g., r/Entrepreneur).
Creative: Educational content or industry trends.
Consideration Stage
Goal: Intercept users researching solutions.
Targeting: Keyword + Subreddit combinations.
Creative: Comparison guides, whitepapers, or "How-to" content that solves a specific pain point.
Conversion Stage
Goal: Drive demo bookings or trials.
Targeting: Retargeting (Site visitors, pricing page visitors) + Community Layering.
Creative: Social proof, case studies, or direct offers (e.g., "Get 1 month free").
Loyalty Stage
Goal: Expand within existing accounts or find similar users.
Targeting: Lookalikes + Exclusions (Exclude current customers to save budget).
Creative: New feature announcements or referral programs.
Tracking Beyond Clicks: What Really Signals Success on Reddit
One of the biggest targeting mistakes is looking exclusively at clicks. Reddit users are notoriously "click-shy" but "search-happy." They might see your ad, engage with the concept, and then open a new tab to research you.
To measure success, look at:
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Comment Engagement: Are people asking questions in the comments of your ad? This is a huge signal of brand affinity.
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Time on Landing Page: Are Reddit visitors actually reading your content? High bounce rates usually indicate a mismatch between the subreddit targeted and the landing page message.
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Retargeting Audience Growth: Even if they don't buy today, are you filling your retargeting pools with high-quality users?
Real-World B2B Targeting Examples
Let’s look at two hypothetical scenarios to see how this comes together in practice.
Example A: SaaS Demand Gen Platform
The Product: A tool that helps marketers track attribution.
The Strategy:
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Core Targeting: Subreddits r/MarketingOps, r/SaaS, and r/GrowthHacking.
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Intent Layer: Keywords like "attribution," "GA4 alternative," and "dark social."
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Creative: A headline reading, "Stop guessing where your leads come from."
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Retargeting: Users who visited the "Integrations" page on the website are retargeted with an ad showing how easily the tool connects with HubSpot and Salesforce.
Example B: Enterprise Cybersecurity Solution
The Product: An advanced threat detection system for large enterprises.
The Strategy:
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Core Targeting: r/NetSec, r/Cybersecurity, and r/SysAdmin.
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Conversation Ads: Instead of a standard link, the ad looks like a discussion thread discussing a recent (anonymized) breach trend, positioning the vendor as a thought leader.
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Retargeting: Anyone who engaged with the thread comments or clicked through to the technical whitepaper is retargeted with a case study about a Fortune 500 implementation.
Why Reddit Targeting Wins in 2026
In 2026 the digital landscape continues to become more fragmented and privacy-focused. Third-party cookies are crumbling, and broad algorithmic targeting on other platforms is becoming a "black box" where you have less control.
Reddit stands apart because the targeting is based on volunteered interests. Users tell you exactly what they care about by joining specific communities.
By leveraging hyper-niche subreddits, layering intent with keywords, and utilizing sophisticated retargeting, you can build a pipeline engine that competitors—stuck fighting for scraps on LinkedIn—will completely miss.
Reddit ads aren't easy. They require research, empathy, and a deep understanding of your customer's genuine interests. But when you target right, you convert smarter, not harder.
FAQs: B2B Audience Targeting on Reddit
1) Why should B2B marketers prioritize Reddit ads in 2026?
Reddit is a high-intent, cost-efficient “blue ocean” channel for B2B because advertiser competition is lower than platforms like LinkedIn, often resulting in cheaper clicks (commonly cited at ~$0.20–$2.00 CPC). More importantly, users are frequently in “research mode” on Reddit—actively discussing pain points, vendor frustrations, and tool recommendations—so well-placed ads can align with in-market conversations rather than interrupt passive scrolling.
2) How is Reddit targeting fundamentally different from LinkedIn or Meta?
Reddit targeting is less about who the person is (demographics/job titles) and more about what community and conversation they’re engaging with. Instead of professional identity targeting (LinkedIn) or persona targeting (Meta), Reddit works best when you target:
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Subreddits (communities) where relevant discussions happen
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Keywords (conversation intent signals) tied to active evaluation
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This community/context-first approach often produces higher relevance for B2B when executed with precision.
3) What targeting method works best for B2B on Reddit?
Subreddit targeting is the most effective starting point for B2B because it places ads directly inside topic-specific communities (e.g., r/SysAdmin, r/MarketingOps, r/NetSec). It’s the closest proxy to intent on Reddit: if someone is browsing a niche subreddit, they’re likely interested in that subject right now—without you needing demographic or firmographic assumptions.
4) What is “intent-layered targeting,” and how do you use it?
Intent-layered targeting is combining Subreddit Targeting + Keyword Targeting to reduce wasted spend and reach users who are not just interested in a topic, but actively evaluating solutions.
Example approach from the post:
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Target a relevant subreddit (e.g., r/ProjectManagement)
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Layer keywords such as “pricing,” “Jira alternative,” “software comparison,” or “tool recommendation”
This increases ad relevance by aligning your message with moments of evaluation rather than general interest.
5) What are the biggest mistakes that cause Reddit B2B campaigns to fail?
Three common Reddit campaign-killers:
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Targeting too broadly (e.g., large generic subreddits or broad interests like “Business”), which dilutes buyer quality.
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Ignoring community norms, leading to “corporate fluff” creative that gets downvoted or dismissed; ad copy should match the subreddit’s language and pain points.
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Measuring only last-click conversions, which undervalues Reddit’s discovery role; instead, monitor lift signals like direct traffic, newsletter signups, comment engagement, upvotes, and retargeting pool growth.
