This article is part of our comprehensive Reddit Marketing Guide.

The Gold Mine Hidden in Reddit

Every day, thousands of people post questions like:

• "What's the best tool for managing social media?"
• "Looking for an alternative to [expensive competitor]"
• "How do you handle [problem your product solves]?"
• "Can anyone recommend a good [your category]?"

These are high-intent signals. People actively seeking solutions. If you can find and respond to these posts quickly and helpfully, you'll convert at rates that make paid advertising look wasteful.

Manual vs. AI-Powered Discovery

The Manual Approach (Time-Consuming)

1. Search Reddit for keywords
2. Browse relevant subreddits daily
3. Filter through hundreds of posts
4. Identify which ones are genuine opportunities
5. Check if you've already responded

This works, but it takes 2-3 hours daily to do well. Most founders can't sustain this.

The AI Approach (Scalable)

AI can monitor hundreds of subreddits simultaneously, filter for intent signals, and surface only the posts worth your attention. What takes hours manually takes minutes with AI.

High-Intent Keywords to Monitor

Recommendation Requests

• "looking for"
• "recommend"
• "suggestion"
• "best tool for"
• "what do you use for"

Pain Points

• "frustrated with"
• "hate how"
• "wish there was"
• "problems with"
• "alternative to"

Purchase Intent

• "worth paying for"
• "budget for"
• "willing to spend"
• "pricing for"
• "free vs paid"

Setting Up AI Lead Discovery

Step 1: Define Your Keywords

Create three categories:

• Product keywords: Terms related to what you sell
• Problem keywords: Pain points you solve
• Competitor keywords: Names of alternatives

Step 2: Select Subreddits

Focus on subreddits where your target customers are active:

• Industry subreddits: r/startups, r/SaaS, r/entrepreneur
• Problem-specific: r/productivity, r/socialmedia, r/marketing
• Competitor communities: Subreddits discussing alternatives

Step 3: Set Intent Filters

Not every mention is an opportunity. Filter for:

• Question posts: Posts asking for advice or recommendations
• Recent posts: Within 24-48 hours for best response rates
• Engaged posts: Some comments indicate active discussion
• No existing solutions: Thread where no one has suggested your type of product yet

Responding to High-Intent Posts

Once you find a relevant post, your response strategy matters:

For Public Comments

1. Lead with value: Answer their question first, comprehensively
2. Share experience: Mention how you've solved this problem
3. Soft mention: If appropriate, mention your tool as one option
4. Be honest: If your tool isn't the best fit, say so

For Direct Messages

1. Reference their post: Show you read it carefully
2. Offer specific help: Not generic pitching
3. Give before asking: Share useful info regardless of sale
4. Keep it short: Respect their time

Measuring Discovery Success

Track these metrics to optimize your lead discovery:

• Posts found per day: Is volume sufficient?
• Relevance rate: What % of surfaced posts are actually opportunities?
• Response rate: How many posts do you engage with?
• Conversion rate: From post response to signup/sale

Tools for AI Lead Discovery

OneUp's Reddit campaigns include built-in AI discovery that:

• Monitors keywords across unlimited subreddits
• Filters for intent signals automatically
• Scores posts by conversion likelihood
• Generates personalized response drafts
• Tracks which posts you've already engaged with

Ready to find your next customers? Set up your first AI-powered Reddit campaign and let the leads come to you.