What Is Buying Intent?
Buying intent (also called purchase intent) refers to signals that indicate someone is actively considering buying a product or service. On Reddit, buying intent manifests as posts and comments where users explicitly ask for product recommendations, compare options, or describe problems they're willing to pay to solve.
Buying intent signals range from low (general curiosity about a product category) to high (asking "Where can I buy X?" or "Is Y worth the price?"). The higher the intent, the closer the person is to making a purchase decision.
Why It Matters for Marketers
Reddit is one of the richest sources of buying intent signals on the internet. Unlike search engines where intent is implied from keywords, Reddit users explicitly state their needs, budgets, requirements, and evaluation criteria in their posts.
Identifying and responding to high-intent posts is the most direct path from Reddit engagement to revenue. When someone posts "I need a tool that does X, budget is $50/month, has anyone tried Y?" — they're practically asking you to sell to them.
The challenge is finding these signals amid Reddit's millions of daily posts. Manual searching is impractical; you need automated monitoring to surface high-intent conversations as they happen.
Examples
- High intent: "What's the best Reddit monitoring tool under $50/month? Need it for my startup."
- Medium intent: "Has anyone used tools to track brand mentions on Reddit?"
- Low intent: "I wonder if there are tools for monitoring social media."
How RedShip Helps
RedShip monitors Reddit for buying-intent conversations in real time. Set up keywords that capture high-intent phrases like "looking for," "recommendation for," "alternative to," and "best tool for." Get alerted when real people are actively looking for what you sell.