Environmental Communication Strategies on TikTok: A Study on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Abstract

This study analyzes UNEP's communication strategies on TikTok, contributing to the understanding of the organization's digital communication strategies, and elucidating TikTok's role in the communication strategies of international environmental organizations. Employing a content analysis, the study scrutinized 402 audiovisual content promulgated via UNEP’s TikTok interface from June 2, 2020, to January 3, 2025. The analytical dimensions encompassed thematic delineations, linguistic modalities, typological classifications, strategic intents, affective undertones, structural configurations, interactional metrics, spokesperson attributes, and the demographic parameters of spokespersons. The findings revealed that UNEP utilized diverse video formats, characterized by varying emotional tones and spokesperson profiles, to convey messages on topics such as climate change, sustainability, food waste, and biodiversity, aiming to foster audience engagement. Nevertheless, the analysis found that the organization does not sufficiently consider the needs of disadvantaged individuals, represents certain groups in a limited manner, and fails to adequately adhere to the principle of multilingualism. Moreover, notwithstanding the recurrent incorporation of subtitles, captions, music, and hashtags within the content, the organization's engagement metrics remained conspicuously low.