Why the intent is unusual
Reddit conversation is explicit in a way feeds are not. People write full sentences asking which dentist takes their insurance, which contractor did not disappear, which shop is honest about pricing.
That is search intent expressed socially — and it sits next to inventory priced like social rather than like search.
How to buy it
Target by metro and by subreddit. City and regional subreddits are the obvious start; interest subreddits matter for specific categories — home improvement, auto, parenting, local sports.
Costs typically run well below search and comparable to or below other social platforms, largely because competition from local advertisers is thin.
The creative rule that decides everything
Reddit punishes anything that looks like a banner. Ads that read like a person wrote them — direct, specific, slightly plain — outperform polished brand creative by a wide margin.
State what you do, where, what it costs, and one honest differentiator. No superlatives. The audience is unusually alert to marketing language and will say so in the comments, publicly.
The thing not to do
Do not have staff post recommendations for your own business without disclosure. Communities detect it reliably, and the result is a permanent, searchable thread about your business being deceptive.
Advertise as an advertiser. Participate as yourself, disclosed, if you participate at all.