There’s loads of research from Edelman and others highlighting people trust individuals more than organisations.
And forums – from the pub to online communities – are one of the oldest sources of information, where people can freely ask questions – from the weird and wonderful to practical advice from strangers.
Far from dying out, online forums are thriving. Between 2016 and 2023, Reddit usage increased fivefold to now over 1.2 billion monthly active users. As of Q4 2023, it boasts 73.1 million daily active users and 267.5 million weekly active users
Reddit is the 7th most visited website in the world, above LinkedIn, Netflix and OpenAI (host of ChatGPT).

What’s the appeal of Reddit?
The most popular category of subreddit is “advice”, though it’s very broad-ranging. Users are asking for advice on anything from “which job is a LOT less fun than most people expect” to “What’s the best way to lose weight?”
This reflects a growing trend in social media use: while Baby Boomers and Gen X prefer to take advice from ‘experts’, nearly half (46%) of Gen Z were most likely to use social media, such as Reddit.
The appeal of Reddit may also be reflective of a growing sense from users that traditional search engines such as Google are getting worse.
Should we be worried about advice from Reddit?
Just as we might not ask our neighbour for health advice, not all information on Reddit is reliable. But there is a lot to be said for the wisdom of a crowd. It’s long been observed in studies that average predictions of large groups are often (much) better than the predictions of a single expert, even when nobody in the group makes an individually good prediction.
That’s why in the TV show “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire”, people did ask the audience.
Asking Reddit isn’t the same as asking your neighbour, it’s like asking your whole neighbourhood, and that might be super effective.
Of course the wisdom of crowds only works for certain types of advice – for instance it might be beneficial to understand from a large number of people “how to get a promotion”, but for a complex medical diagnosis, you’d be better off sticking to an expert.
Our sample matters too. The wisdom of the crowds assumes we’re all making random errors, and average out at something sensible. But when the crowd has a shared view (a homoeopathy forum, for example) then the average answer is likely to be biased too.
What does this mean from an employer brand point of view?
As it looks like online forums are here to stay, we should recognise the continuing shift of power in communications from organisation to consumer.
Which means employee and wider public advocacy will be increasingly important in defining how your organisations is perceived and talked about.
We need to value and harness the wisdom of crowds.
As online communities like Reddit continue to grow in influence, they play a significant role in shaping perceptions of your employer brand. Understanding how your brand is perceived on these platforms is essential to staying competitive. This is where the TMPW Outthink Index comes into play.
Our industry-leading benchmark tool offers a comprehensive assessment of your employer brand’s performance, from social media presence to candidate experience. By leveraging the Outthink Index, you can track how your brand stacks up against the competition and identify areas for improvement. In a landscape where platforms like Reddit are pivotal in shaping public opinion, our data-driven insights can help you make informed decisions that strengthen your employer brand and attract top talent.