Reddit is where lifelong learners live
Discover why people come to Reddit for personal and professional growth
Learning is a journey, and for many, that journey begins—and thrives—on Reddit. Whether that’s reigniting old passions, discovering new hobbies, managing debt and anxiety, keeping up with current events, or even coming to terms with a recent diagnosis, people come to Reddit to learn about it all.
It comes as no surprise, then, that redditors are unmatched in their dedication to education, with 70% of redditors emphasizing the significance of acquiring new skills, more than any of our competitors.1
But today’s rapidly evolving job landscape heeds a new need for continuous learning—one focused on professional development. Talent disruption, inflation, skills shortages, and the recent rise of automatic and artificial intelligence leaves many traditional jobs at risk. A LinkedIn Workplace Learning report shows that skills sets for jobs have changed by around 25% since 2015. By 2027, this number is expected to double.2
To ensure future career success, professionals will need to be proactive and adaptable to stay relevant and thrive in their careers. To search for the advice they need, to compare different programs and apps, these people turn to the one-stop resource they know best: Reddit.
Reddit is where lifelong learners go to uplevel their upskills
Help with career changes
37%
“I want to break into tech”
Exploring new hobbies
32%
“I’m interested in learning a language”
Upskilling
31%
“What can I learn to earn more?
Most notably though, Redditors are actively charting their own career path, with 39% gearing up for career changes or new job opportunities within the next year.4 On Reddit, we see tech courses dominating this discourse. Driven by the belief in higher earning potential and a desire to specialize in fields like machine learning or artificial intelligence, tech-related courses make up a large majority of the conversation with 75% of online education recommendations being tech-related.3
Their journey to lifelong learning
Choosing an online program to commit to is a daunting task, and one that requires heavy research and planning. For many, their search starts on Reddit. We see that in their behaviors, with 28% of redditors reporting actively researching online education programs and subscriptions.1
That’s because Reddit is #1 for finding the information they need. In fact, Reddit is #1 for having an audience that is more likely to have researched educational apps in the last 6 months.1
As they’re narrowing down their options set, it’s crucial for brands to reach them when they’re in research mode. We see 2-in-3 education recommendations occuring in the awareness stage of the customer journey and they reflect an audience standing at a crossroads.
Further down the line, brands have the opportunity to position themselves into these conversations and communities, as these redditors are actively researching their next move. Redditors are 44% more likely to have purchased study programs and digital learning materials in the last month vs. social competitors.1
Guide redditors down the road to lifelong learning with Reddit
Our tips and tricks to reaching an audience that is always on, always learning.
- Cement your brand in consideration early: Learners start their search on Reddit. With 2-in-3 recommendations occurring at this stage, it’s crucial for your brand to be known for it to stick.3
- Be loud in the right conversations: Lifelong learners use Reddit for all sorts of advice, with conversations growing 41% YoY. Be there, be helpful, and make your brand heard when these discussions are taking place.5
- Turn prospects into applications: Redditors are highly intentional. Redditors are 44% more likely to have purchased online education resources or classes in the last six months than competitors.5
Contributors:
Emily Le, Sr. Marketing Lead, Global Customer Marketing
Sources:
- GlobalWebIndex, CORE, US data, Q1-Q2 2023
- LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, 2023
- Brandwatch Social Listening July 2022-July 2023
- Comscore, US data, August 2023
- Brandwatch, Global Data, Oct 2022 – Oct 2023
- Reddit Internal, Jan-Sep 2022-2023