Geological Society of America

T233 Giving Voice to Geosciences beyond the Science World

Wednesday, 12 October 2022
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
605

TICK TOCK: IT’S TIME FOR SCIENCE COMMUNICATORS TO TALK ABOUT GEOSCIENCE ON TIKTOK

Paper number: T233-10
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 10:10 AM – 10:25 AM

Authors

Wendy Bohon
Washington, CA
Emily Zawacki Presenting Author
UNAVCO, Boulder, CO
Scott Johnson
UNAVCO, Boulder, CO
Donna Charlevoix
UNAVCO, Boulder, CO

Abstract

TikTok has emerged as one of the most popular social media platforms, especially for younger audiences, creating the potential for science communicators to share their science in a creative way with a critical demographic. While videos of chemistry and physics experiments are prominent among educational science content on TikTok, videos related to the geosciences are comparatively lacking. To increase the visibility of the geosciences and geophysics on TikTok and to determine best strategies for effective geoscience communication on the app, we created a TikTok account called “Terra Explore” (@TerraExplore). In 4 months we produced 48 educational geoscience videos, received over 2 million views, and amassed more than 12,000 followers. We evaluated the performance of each video based on its reach, engagement, and viewer retention to determine the qualities of a successful video. In this presentation we will outline our findings and share tips for successful science communication on TikTok.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-377270

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