Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-494
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-494
22 Jun 2022
 | 22 Jun 2022

Exploring TikTok as an effective platform for geoscience communication

Emily E. Zawacki, Wendy Bohon, Scott Johnson, and Donna J. Charlevoix

Abstract. With TikTok emerging as one of the most popular social media platforms, there is significant potential for science communicators to capitalize on this success and share their science with a broad, engaged audience. While videos of chemistry and physics experiments are prominent among educational science content on TikTok, videos related to the geosciences are comparatively lacking, as is an analysis of what types of geoscience videos perform well on TikTok. 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). The Terra Explore account is a joint effort between science communication specialists at UNAVCO, IRIS, and OpenTopography. We produced 48 educational geoscience videos over a four-month period between October 2021 and February 2022. We evaluated the performance of each video based on its reach, engagement, and viewer retention to determine the qualities of a successful video. Our video topics primarily focused on seismology, earthquakes, topography, lidar (light detection and ranging), and GPS (Global Positioning System), in alignment with our organizational missions. Over this time period, our videos garnered over 2 million total views, and our account gained over 12,000 followers. The videos that received the most views received nearly all (~97 %) of their views from the For You page, TikTok’s algorithmic recommendation feed. We found that short videos (< 20 s) had a high viewer retention rate, but they often had a low engagement rate, leading to less overall visibility. Lecture-style videos that were between 40 seconds and two minutes in length had more success in both reach and engagement. Our videos that went the most viral featured content that was related to a recent newsworthy event (e.g., an earthquake) or explaining place-based geology of a recognizable area. Our results highlight the algorithm-driven nature of TikTok, which results in a low barrier to entry and success for new science communication creators.

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

23 Nov 2022
| Highlight paper
Exploring TikTok as a promising platform for geoscience communication
Emily E. Zawacki, Wendy Bohon, Scott Johnson, and Donna J. Charlevoix
Geosci. Commun., 5, 363–380, https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-5-363-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-5-363-2022, 2022
Short summary Executive editor
Emily E. Zawacki, Wendy Bohon, Scott Johnson, and Donna J. Charlevoix

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-494', Anonymous Referee #1, 06 Jul 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Emily Zawacki, 27 Jul 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-494', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Aug 2022
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Emily Zawacki, 26 Aug 2022

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-494', Anonymous Referee #1, 06 Jul 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Emily Zawacki, 27 Jul 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-494', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Aug 2022
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Emily Zawacki, 26 Aug 2022

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
ED: Reconsider after major revisions (further review by editor and referees) (15 Sep 2022) by Solmaz Mohadjer
AR by Emily Zawacki on behalf of the Authors (27 Oct 2022)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (03 Nov 2022) by Solmaz Mohadjer
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (03 Nov 2022) by Sam Illingworth (Executive editor)
AR by Emily Zawacki on behalf of the Authors (08 Nov 2022)  Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

23 Nov 2022
| Highlight paper
Exploring TikTok as a promising platform for geoscience communication
Emily E. Zawacki, Wendy Bohon, Scott Johnson, and Donna J. Charlevoix
Geosci. Commun., 5, 363–380, https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-5-363-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-5-363-2022, 2022
Short summary Executive editor
Emily E. Zawacki, Wendy Bohon, Scott Johnson, and Donna J. Charlevoix
Emily E. Zawacki, Wendy Bohon, Scott Johnson, and Donna J. Charlevoix

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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

The first study exploring TikTok's potential for science/geoscience communication.
Short summary
To determine best strategies for geoscience communication on TikTok, we created a TikTok account called “Terra Explore.” We produced 48 educational geoscience videos and evaluated each video’s performance. Our most viewed videos received nearly all of their views from TikTok’s algorithmic recommendation feed, and the videos that went the most viral were related to a recent newsworthy event (e.g., earthquake) or explaining the geology of a recognizable area.