Issue link: https://securitytechnologyexecutive.epubxp.com/i/656764
February/March 2016 • SECURITY TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE 33 www.SecurityInfoWatch.com of the most popular channels. The result is an abundance of social data on college campuses that can provide administrators with an extra layer of information to predict developing top- ics and trends, analyze behaviors, and act on real-time conversations to drive engagement and maintain safety. With so much at stake, administrators and other campus departments must add social intelligence to ensure a secure environment. Each department can utilize social data in different and specific ways to mitigate risk throughout all campus activities. Athletic Departments Faced with providing a fun experience for stu- dents, fans and visitors at every event, event staff can engage directly on social media to pro- vide special offers and address complaints or issues. Even more important is maintaining a safe environment for attendees and participat- ing athletes. Social media can often reveal plans for, or witnesses to, altercations between fans or disruptions to the game before security staff is even aware. Identifying this content quickly through a real-time platform and understanding crowd sentiment improves response times and allows for more efficient allocation of resources. Media credential and ticket sharing on social media has also become an issue, especially at large universities and high-profile games. By easily identifying when and where these types of posts occur, counterfeiting or incidents of unap- proved event access decrease. Student Life / Student Affairs Departments Multiple campus activities are happening every day on campus, and while administrators of Student Life/Student Affairs can't be every- where at once, they can understand what is happening and engage with students via social medi a. Analytics tools enable listening of social media in a variety of ways – by location, key- word, topic and more. Depending on the cam- pus activities, Student Life professionals can focus on the topics or locations that matter most. Understanding sentiment surrounding campus activities makes it possible to predict trends or potential issues and mitigate risk before any problems develop. In addition, social media is an outlet for many students who might need assistance. Posts that reveal signs of men- tal health issues, substance abuse or violence are important for Student Affairs professionals to engage in and provide assistance. Identifying and evaluating these situations is vital for stu- dent well-being and safety on campus. Community Relations / Campus Safety Depending on the size of the school, campus- es can have thousands or millions of visitors each year. Community relations and campus safety departments want to ensure that each person who steps on campus has a good experi- ence. Social media can play a big part in that. Engaging with visitors on social media about activities on campus, news, and announce- ments, special promotions or other information enhances the overall visit. Conversations about campus can sometimes span globally, so under- standing international trends and conversa- tions are also important. Should situations such as protests or riots arise, Community Relations departments need to stay ahead of and manage conversations on social media that could have local and global implications. Protecting the university brand and reputation is important for all departments, as it will have an impact on all activities across campus. With real-time information and alerts, inter- nal and external threats to campus can be pre- vented. Crisis situations such as active shooters on campus are all too common in today's world. Social media provides additional intelligence and situational awareness to safety officials working to protect everyone. Information from social media that might otherwise go unnoticed is often integral to campus investigations. Best Practices Each campus should implement a specific social media strategy based on its unique environment and size; however, every school can utilize best practices for more effective implementation and day-to-day use. Here are five ways to ensure campus engagement on social media mitigates risk and drives engagement: • Start with Location: By narrowing the location focus of social media, social data from specific campus locations (buildings, streets, arenas, parking lots, etc.) as well as surrounding areas of campus, provides the most actionable information. Administra- tors should first focus locally, then take into consideration national or global trends for the most success. • Real-Time: Monitoring content as it's cre- ated improves response time and efficiency. Many campuses have a command center or operations center that listens and analyzes many different data sources 24/7. Social media platforms that deliver real-time con- tent and analytics provide instant intelligence About the Author: Phil Harris, CEO and co-founder of Geofeedia. Harris has a long history of operating high- growth businesses. From 1994 to 1996, he worked with one of the largest cable operators, Continental Cablevision (now Time Warner), to develop their Internet broadband strategy. From 1996 to 1998, Harris served on the senior management teams of such ventures as Move.com and Match.com. From 1998 to 2000, he was the SVP of Corporate Development at priceline.com (NYSE: PCLN) where he led a variety of strategic initiatives prior to its IPO. Harris graduated from Ohio State University in 1991 and received his MBA from Harvard University in 1996.