52-5 Increasing Engagement in Geoscience through Strategic and Collaborative Social Media Outreach

Session: Geoscience Outreach Efforts to Broaden Participation, Part II

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Abstract:

Geoscience is currently facing declining enrollment and a lack of public awareness and engagement. Social media offers an opportunity to increase interest among both students and the public on a global scale. However, not all content is equally effective. In this presentation, we explore how strategic collaborations among geoscience communicators and immersive field-based content can increase the effectiveness of outreach and broaden participation in the field. We produced a series of collaborative videos, which were shared on the YouTube channels @GeoGirl and @GroovyGeologist, and the Instagram channels @GroovyGeologist, @Seismo_Cam, and @GeoGirlGram. By integrating our distinct audience bases, these collaborations broadened the reach of our content. For each piece of content, we collected audience feedback and carried out comparative analyses of quantitative viewer data, including view counts, watch time, viewer demographics, and engagement metrics. The audience feedback suggests that the complementary expertise shown in these collaborative posts increased learning outcomes among viewers. We also compared audience engagement with field-based videos (shot on location in geologically significant landscapes) and non-field videos (filmed in studio or lecture-style settings). Preliminary data indicate that field videos not only generate higher engagement but also increase audience-reported interest in geoscience. This suggests that immersive, place-based storytelling connects more deeply with audiences, making geoscience tangible and relevant. Overall, our work indicates that collaborative and field-based content effectively engages viewers of diverse backgrounds, and insights from this research can inform scalable outreach strategies to transform misperceptions of geoscience, attract students to the field, and increase public awareness and engagement with geoscience—helping to secure the future of the discipline.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-9076

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