Reddit for ad research: a practical guide

Reviews tell you what people think after they've bought. Reddit tells you what they think before, while they're still comparing, doubting and asking strangers for advice. That's the conversation your ad is trying to join.

The problem is that Reddit is huge and messy, and most people who try "Reddit research" scroll for an hour, screenshot two funny comments and go back to brainstorming. This guide is the version that actually produces ad angles.

Why Reddit is worth the effort

• People write long. A single comment can include the problem, three things they tried, why each one failed and what they finally bought.
• Nobody is performing for the brand. Reddit users aren't writing for the product page. They're writing for each other, so the language is blunt.
• Upvotes are a built-in signal. A complaint with 400 upvotes isn't one person's opinion. It's a shared frustration.
• The objections are out in the open. "Is it worth the price?" threads are literally lists of reasons people don't buy.

Step 1: Find the right threads

Skip the Reddit homepage. Search with intent. These queries work in Reddit's own search (sort by Top, time range All time or Past year) and in Google with site:reddit.com in front:

• [category] worth it
• [category] recommendations
• [category] regret or wish I had known
• anyone tried [product type]
• [product type] vs [alternative]
• [problem] what finally worked
• [problem] tried everything

Swap [category] for what you sell ("magnesium powder," "dog joint supplement," "invoicing app") and [problem] for the problem it solves ("can't sleep," "senior dog stiff legs," "late client payments").

Then look at where the good threads live. You'll usually find three kinds of subreddit:

1. Problem subs, where people talk about the pain (r/insomnia, r/dogs, r/freelance).
2. Enthusiast subs, where people obsess over the category (r/SkincareAddiction, r/BuyItForLife).
3. Identity subs, organised around who the buyer is (r/beyondthebump, r/smallbusiness).

Each gives you a different angle. Problem subs give you pain, enthusiast subs give you comparisons and details, and identity subs give you the "for people like me" framing.

Step 2: Read the right comments

You don't need to read everything. In each thread, read:

• The original post. It's the clearest statement of the problem, in the buyer's words.
• The top 10 to 20 comments. These are the views the community agrees with.
• Long replies, even with few upvotes. Detailed stories hide the specifics that make hooks work.
• The contrarians. A downvoted "honestly it didn't work for me" is often the objection your ad needs to handle.

Aim for 5 to 10 good threads per product. That's plenty for a first set of angles.

Step 3: Write down the right things

Open a sheet with these columns and fill it as you read:

Column	What goes in it
Quote	The exact words, copied, not paraphrased
Type	Pain, failed alternative, trigger, objection, outcome, insider word
Upvotes	Rough signal of agreement
Link	The comment permalink
Angle	One line: what an ad could say about this

The types matter:

• Pain: what's wrong, in their words. "I'm so tired of waking up at 3am."
• Failed alternatives: what they tried and why it didn't work. This is your comparison angle.
• Triggers: what made them finally look for a fix. "My vet said..." "My accountant asked for..."
• Objections: price, effort, trust, "does it actually work."
• Outcomes: what life looks like after, described by people who got there.
• Insider words: the slang and shorthand the community uses. Using them in an ad signals that you get it.

Step 4: Turn threads into angles, then hooks

Group your rows by type and look for repeats. Three people describing the same failed alternative is an angle. One brilliant comment is a hook.

Example (made-up thread about a fictional senior-dog joint supplement, not a real brand or real users):

Comment (example)	Type	Hook (example)
"My 11yo lab started hesitating before the stairs and it broke my heart."	Trigger	"When your old dog starts hesitating at the stairs."
"Tried two chews he refused to eat. He's picky as hell."	Failed alternative	"Made for the picky old dog who spits out every chew."
"Is it worth €40 a month or is it just expensive treats?"	Objection	"Expensive treat or actually worth it? Here's what's inside."

Each hook comes from a different type, which gives you three different angles to test, not three wordings of the same idea.

Step 5: Write primary text that sounds like the thread

The thread already tells you how the buyer thinks through the decision. Mirror it:

1. Open with the trigger or the pain (the hook).
2. Name the failed alternatives without naming brands: "If you've tried the chews he won't eat..."
3. Answer the top objection honestly: what it costs, what's in it, how long it takes.
4. Close with a low-friction next step.

The rules (don't skip this part)

• Use the language, not the person. Don't quote a Reddit user in your ad as if they were your customer. They weren't talking about your product. Borrow the words and the framing, and leave out the quote marks and usernames.
• Don't promise what the thread hoped for. If people want "no more 3am wake-ups," only say it if your product can back it up.
• Don't spam the threads you research. Dropping your link in a thread you just mined is the fastest way to get banned and to annoy the people you want as customers. If you want to take part, answer questions with no link.
• Mind Meta's personal attributes policy. "For dog owners whose senior dog..." is fine. "Is your dog in pain?" can get rejected.

Common mistakes

• Reading only one subreddit. You get one point of view. Mix problem, enthusiast and identity subs.
• Paraphrasing while you take notes. Write down the exact words. Your paraphrase is the brainstorm voice you're trying to escape.
• Stopping at "interesting." Every row in your sheet should end in an angle. If it doesn't, it's trivia.
• Treating one viral comment as the truth. Check that the pain repeats across threads before you put budget behind it.

Doing it faster

Steps 2 to 4 are where the time goes. Commad does that part for you: paste a Reddit thread URL into the web app, or open the thread with the Chrome extension, and you get 10 Meta ad hooks and 3 primary texts written from the comments, each one linked back to the comment it came from. The extension works the same way on Amazon, YouTube, the App Store and Google Play.

It's free to try (1 page a month, no card needed). Solo is €19/mo for unlimited pages.

Add Commad to Chrome

Quick checklist

• 7 search queries run for your category
• 5 to 10 good threads across problem, enthusiast and identity subs
• Exact quotes in a sheet, with type, upvotes and link
• Repeats grouped into angles
• One hook per angle, in their words
• No quoted users, no borrowed promises, no links dropped in threads

Missed last week's guide? How to find Meta ad hooks in your customer reviews.