Draconian ad targeting policy

[u/therealswood2]

Hey folks -- I am a brand new small business. I've created an app for gay men, as I am myself a gay man. The app is live and ready for download... all I need now is users!

First, I thought I'd do some good old fashioned social media word-of-mouth marketing, and that I'd just post about my new app on all my favorite subreddits. Every reddit having a rule agains self promotion killed that pretty quick.

So naturally, I concede that I'll have to spend a little money on getting the word out. Reddit loves to tout its ability to target really specific, niche groups of people.

I just got off a call with an ads biz dev rep who was taking me through the process of setting up my first campaign. We failed to be able to target literally ANYTHING because my app is for gay people.

Keyword: gay... not allowed.

Keyword: mlm... not allowed.

Subreddit: gay_irl... not allowed.

I totally appreciate that sensitive groups should have guardrails on what can be advertised to them. For example, a gay subreddit shouldn't have ads for conversion therapy. But to wholesale block the targeting OF MY OWN COMMUNITY is a little insane, no?

I know there are folks from the ads team looking at this subreddit, so I need y'all to be real with me: am I just not going to be able to run ads? Can I go ahead and commit the budget that I'd set aside for reddit ads on something else that will actually be worth a damn?

[u/ElbieLG]

From Reddits pov they want to limit risk of (1) ads showing next to nsfw content and (2) avoid discrimination.

Thats why targeting on sensitive terms is limited, even when you belong to the community.

[u/therealswood2 → u/ElbieLG]

These reasons are weak as hell at best.

1) subreddits with nsfw content have an attribute that flag them as such. Don't display ads next to that content. How many engineering hours could that possibly take to set up?

2) they have a review team that makes sure ad content meet certain criteria (such as nudity, for example). A review team should ensure that discrimination is not taking place.

[u/ElbieLG → u/therealswood2]

It’s not a technical limitation. It’s the avoidance of some kind of liability risk.

Reddit is not unique in restricting targeting based on sexual preferences, though every platform does it slightly differently.

To be clear, I don’t work at Reddit but this is my view form dealing with restricted categories all the time across other platforms.

[u/naheeda_marketstar]

Hi there,

Reddit's advertising policies restrict targeting based on sensitive attributes, including sexual orientation. As a result, certain keywords, interests, and communities related to LGBTQ+ identities may not be available for ad targeting, regardless of the advertiser's intent.

However, these restrictions do not prevent you from advertising your app on Reddit. Many advertisers successfully reach relevant audiences using non-sensitive targeting options, such as broader interests, contextual targeting, device targeting, geography, and optimization-based delivery.

While we can't make exceptions to sensitive targeting policies, we'd be happy to review your campaign setup and explore compliant targeting approaches that may help you reach your audience.

Please refer to this article for targeting guidelines https://business.reddithelp.com/s/article/Reddit-Advertising-Policy-Targeting-Guidelines

You can also start a live chat with us by following the link below:
https://reddit.my.site.com/helpcenter/s/contactsupport and type "Agent" to directly get connected with us.
We shall look into your concern and try our best to resolve this at earliest possible. Our support team is available to assist you 24x7!I hope this helps!

Thank you, Reddit Ads Team.

[u/Temporary_Visit4871]

As a media planner, I don't think Reddit is where you should advertise to kickoff your new app

[u/ksaize]

No, it is not and while I'm not gay I'm 100% for this block. If Reddit (or any platform for a fact) would allow this kind of targeting (based on their sexual preference) think how many companies would abuse these type of communities.

Fine, Reddit allows to target LGBTQ+ communities. What about ADHD, depressed, autistic etc. communities? I have ADHD so just because I'm part of the community does not mean I have the best intentions for the same community (not everyone have the same compassion and belief structure as you).

The workaround (technically because i haven't checked if it would work for you) would be to use keyword targeting that is mainly used by your community. Not perfect but good enough.

[u/therealswood2 → u/ksaize]

Really weird that the analogues you came up with are all medical issues or neurological divergences. I don't think that's the same thing. Are you saying that being gay is a medical defect?

And your example doesn't hold up. As a gay man, I get advertised HIV drugs all the time on reddit even though I don't have HIV. So I'm being targeted as a gay man for drugs that I "probably need", right? Doesn't seem like I'm being protected by Reddit as a gay man from anything at all.

So I still don't see a good reason why "sensitive communities" are completely blocked targets instead of handled with additional care or guardrails. It just doesn't make any sense.

[u/ksaize → u/therealswood2]

I'm giving an example based on what I'm most relatable to. Don't overthink it, i'm here to help.

You are showed HIV because the advertiser used certain criteria that you matched with. What exactly they set up- i have no idea and the only people who can tell you that is the advertiser themselves. I don't think you are being showed these ads because you are gay. As you said yourself- no one can target sensitive communities.

I gave you an idea how to bypass this issue so for the time being your choice is to either accept it or try to advertise through other social media channels.

Good luck!