Carissa Cabrera, (@carissaandclimate)Marine Biologist and educator, gave us some tips on how to make a TikTok that people will actually watch. She has an audience of over 165K followers and is the CEO of the Conservationist Collective. She’s also a member of EcoTok – a collective of environmental educators and activists who use TikTok as a platform for good. The collective describes themselves as the ‘environmentalists of TikTok,’ where “we see climate change for what it is: a crisis, and we hope to empower the younger generations to do something about it by teaching them about science, activism, and ways to make changes in their own life.”
Here’s what Carissa told us about making TikTok videos that drive engagement:
1. Hook your audience in the first three seconds
2. Make your video no longer than 30 seconds, ideally 20 seconds if possible.
3. Make sure to have good lighting.
4. Use captions in order to increase accessibility.
5. Try to find a niche – share information that isn’t otherwise being shared.
6. Promote future releases in an effort to grow your community and have people coming back for more.
Carissa recommended the documentary Kiss the Ground as an example of the “perfect documentary.” She loves that the whole story is centred around a single solution – rehabilitating soil as a solution for climate change. The documentary made her shift her thinking entirely on soil.
Check out our episode “Bingeworthy: Are Nature Docs Good For Nature” to hear more from Carissa!
