Reddit, self-proclaimed “The first page of the Internet” is a web juggernaut. This American social network, born in 2005, allows its users to meet and exchange in thematic communities. The platform is particularly popular for its cryptocurrency forums, news or photos of cute animals. Its unique operation has allowed it to rise to the short list of popular social networks that are long-term. The platform now has 54 million daily active users worldwide. Half of this traffic comes from the United States.
The company, which is preparing its IPO, is looking to expand further outside of North America. It is aimed at the Old Continent, especially France. “Europe is a priority in Reddit’s international expansion. With a highly engaged user base in France, we continue to create a more meaningful and localized experience for French users.” says the company’s spokesperson. This choice is explained by several reasons. One of them is the spotlight the site saw during the Reddit Place, or Pixel War, in France in April 2022. A joint event that pushed communities from several countries to confront each other. Several people called to support France on social networks. Even former presidential candidate Eric Zemur was willing to play that game.
Reddit remains dwarfed by other social networks in France. According to Médiamétrie, the site and app attracted just 2.6 million unique visitors in France in June. For comparison, Twitter has 16 million, Instagram has 35 million, and Snapchat has 26 million.
Localized content
To entice the French market, Reddit has chosen to launch a feature specific to France. Starting August 10, users will be offered a new tab gradually. The new feed, called News, is an aggregator of French press content, equivalent to Facebook News or Google News. France is the first country to use localized content. Other users around the world only have access to the US article feed. This novelty will initially be reserved for iPhone users, the Android version will be available only at the end of the year.
If he chooses press articles as an angle of attack, it is because 70% of his users join to be informed.
Le Figaro now produces content that is consumed directly in these communities, for example for TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat.
Bertrand Guyen, deputy director of “Figaro” news department.
For this launch, the social network sought partners in the French press. He joins Figaro, which undertakes to publish a selection of articles on the platform every day. The second step will also offer specific content, such as Ask Me Anything, interviews with editorial staff. “We are delighted to be working with Reddit, commented Bertrand Guy, deputy director of the news department of Le Figaro. This partnership is grounded in our new social media policy. We no longer view them exclusively as traffic sources. Le Figaro now produces content that is consumed directly in these communities, such as for TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat.This innovation should enable a new audience to be sent to lefigaro.fr.
Content from other media will also appear in this tab, but will not be selected by the editors themselves. As far as we know, Reddit recently created a team to handle this content. During the testing phases, they posted articles from informative sites such as International mail, The Obs, The World or public service media. The company declines to list the criteria that allow certain sites or content to be highlighted more than others.
However, one thorny issue remains to be resolved: neighboring rights. The social network believes that this does not fall under this law, “Reddit’s functionality is fundamentally different from neighboring rights law products.”. The French press is not of this opinion and hopes to get its share of the cake.
Source: Le Figaro
