For years, Reddit has quietly shaped how scientists talk to one another, since long before most marketers paid attention to the platform. While platforms like LinkedIn lean toward polish and hierarchy, Reddit thrives on curiosity, candor and credibility earned over time. 

The chemists, researchers and science enthusiasts on Reddit form a community of like-minded individuals passionate about having real conversations. And those real conversations are highly valuable for science marketers looking to understand what engages scientists. 

“Reddit isn’t full of marketing junk,” Leeann Kirchner, senior product marketing manager at C&EN, explained. “People go there because they know they’ll get more authentic feedback.” 

For life science marketers willing to learn and authentically show up on the platform, Reddit offers something rare: unfiltered insight into how scientific audiences think, talk and evaluate information.

Why Scientists Trust Reddit (and What That Means for Brands)

Reddit’s reputation for skepticism is well-earned: Users routinely vet claims, check posting histories and question motives. Credibility is earned slowly through consistent, value-driven participation rather than paid reach.

The platform’s internal mechanics reinforce that culture. Comment history, karma and visible patterns of engagement allow users to evaluate whether someone belongs in the conversation.

“People empower themselves to be their own detectives,” Kirchner said. “You can easily research users and understand if they’re legitimate.”

For brands, this means shortcuts don’t work. But it also means that trust —once earned — runs deep.

Reddit as an Audience Research Goldmine

For science marketers, one of Reddit’s most underutilized strengths is passive audience intelligence.

Kirchner pointed to chemistry-focused threads discussing large scientific meetings as an example. Without surveys or structured research, marketers can observe how audiences describe experiences, frustrations and expectations in their own words.

“If you just Google your product and ‘Reddit,’ you might be surprised by what’s already out there,” she said. “You can use Reddit as a tool to directly speak with and receive feedback about your products and services and take part in organic conversations that are important to customers.” 

That language — raw, emotional and unfiltered — is invaluable. It reveals not only sentiment, but also the vocabulary audiences naturally use when talking to their peers. It’s also an easy way for marketers to familiarize themselves with the platform as they determine the most authentic way to engage from a brand perspective. 

Where Science Marketers Should Be Paying Attention

While there’s no single “science marketing” subreddit, several established communities consistently surface meaningful insights. Kirchner pointed to spaces like r/chemistry and r/labrats, where discussions range from experimental challenges to career anxieties.

Spending time reading threads, noting recurring questions and tracking which topics generate sustained engagement can sharpen content strategy across channels. 

From there, brands can identify topical themes that provide an authentic angle for brands to join the conversation with valuable insights that are helpful to the audience. 

How Brands Can Engage Without Breaking Trust

According to Liam Conlon, community content editor at C&EN, brands that succeed on Reddit follow one rule: They add value to conversations already happening.

Conlon and Kirchner shared four engagement techniques to consider when getting started on Reddit: 

1. Launch a branded subreddit as a customer care hub.

Create a branded channel/subreddit that serves as a customer care outlet for audience members to discuss products and trends, as well as get answers about pressing issues.

Often, posts focus on the industry related to the product, which ties the brand name to the product more clearly. 

“Fidelity investments is a great example of this,” Kirchner noted. “One challenge to this tactic to keep in mind is that it requires moderators and active management, so you must have resources available.”  

2. Create a branded account for engaging with specific content.

This technique works especially well for news and science outreach organizations. Branded user accounts can post breaking news or interesting science engagement content in appropriate subreddits. The key to success with this approach is for content to be clearly labeled as branded and to be transparently sourced. 

“This strategy tends to work well because the organizations give users engaged with a topic more content that is already interesting to them,” Kirchner explained. “If the goal is informing or delighting versus “selling” to customers, this can be used as an effective form of spreading the word about content marketing and growing the reputation of a brand.”

“Outlets like u/peoplemagazine or u/TheMuseumOfScience are great examples of this,” Kirchner added. “While this approach requires less hands-on management and moderation, it still demands strategy and consistent posting.”

3. Provide a forum for extended discussion.

“As social media networks continue to become more frustrating with the proliferation of bots, unwanted AI features and general UX deterioration, Reddit offers an alternative where we can set the subject and tenor of discussion,” Conlon explained. 

If content is posted in the correct subreddit to encourage like-minded audience members to converse, Reddit posts can provide feedback, drive discussion for future subject considerations and more.

“We’re currently testing this approach at C&EN,” Conlon noted. “Our ‘Beyond the Column’ project will take various guest contributors to C&EN’s current column lineup and have them host an extended Q&A discussion on Reddit for the various topics they cover. This will be a monthly Q&A, rotating between the various columns depending on which subject matter we expect to drive the most engagement at the time.”

4. Encourage employee engagement.

“In news organizations, featuring reporters in a more personable way can strengthen audience connection,” Kirchner explained. “The same applies to scientific organizations”

If an organization is conducting groundbreaking science, showcasing its scientists can be a powerful brand builder. This visibility can take many forms: sharing thoughts on emerging technologies, engaging in organic conversations or offering behind-the-scenes insights. 

Reddit’s Growing Role in Science Communication

As trust in institutions fluctuates, platforms built on peer-to-peer credibility are gaining influence. Reddit’s structure — topic-led, community-moderated and discussion-driven — makes it a compelling environment for science communication moving forward.

“I see it as a place instilled with trust and transparency,” Kirchner explained, particularly for audiences seeking human answers rather than polished statements.

For marketers, Reddit isn’t a replacement for other channels. It’s a complement — one that can inform content strategy, surface emerging concerns and humanize scientific brands when approached thoughtfully.

The Most Important Takeaway: Start by Listening