Emergency Gone Viral!How to Use Social Media to Your Advantage During a Crisis Abroad

U.T. System 2018 Higher Education Risk Management ConferenceMarch 2018

Jess Miller, International Risk & Insurance Analyst

What Would You Do?

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Social Media Can be Both a Tool and a Challenge

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Agenda

• Tracking Travelers• Intelligence Gathering• Accountability Post-Crises• When Students Don’t Respond• Social Media as a Tool• Social Media Options• Platforms for Official University Communications• Lead the Conversation• Q&A

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Why is This Important?

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Tracking Travelers Emergency Assistance Providers

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• Trip registration (some with “forward your itinerary” features)

• Travel tracking • Incident response messaging• Smartphone apps• Pre-departure resources

– Promote medical and security info available online

• 24/7 accessibility via phone, email, sms, mobile apps, etc.

Tracking TravelersEmergency Assistance Providers (Cont’d)

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• Quickly locate travelers • Some tracking systems allow for

“incident response messaging” with travelers

• Access security alerts• Timely travel updates• Medical alerts• Special advisories• Locate assistance

centers/clinics/embassies• See traveler check-ins

Tracking TravelersOff-the-Shelf Solutions

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• Start with mechanisms already in place– Study abroad application process– Travel authorization (RTA) process– Research / Institutional Review Board approval process

• Interoperability is key– Utilize integrated student record databases if possible– Less manual work = less potential for human error

Intelligence Gathering

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• Monitor worldwide events• Follow trustworthy sources for timely

notifications• @TravelGov, @OSACState, and

@AP are excellent resources• Even if an event is unverified, early

notification can be essential in locating travelers quickly– Prepare communications to send

once verified– Alerts you to situations that could

deteriorate quickly (e.g., natural disasters, political turmoil, civil unrest)

Accountability Post-CrisesEmergency Assistance Providers

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• Some assistance providers offer mobile check-in services

• Features interface with maps used by administrators and offer exportable results

Accountability Post-CrisesOff-the-Shelf Solutions • Use automated methods for tracking accountability whenever possible• Be aware of low-cost resources available

– Microsoft Outlook voting buttons – free if you use Microsoft suite– Google Mailtrack - ~$5 per month

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When Students Don’t Respond

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When Students Don’t Respond (Cont’d)

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Social Media as a Tool• When students are not replying, WhatsApp is a great

tool since you can see that a message has been delivered and then read

• In Asia, better to use WeChat

• GroupMe, Skype, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger are other options

– Facebook Messenger security settings might send messages to spam if you are not “friends” with the traveler

• All of these are free services

• Be cognizant of the fact that most Twitter messaging is visible to everyone with an account; posts are not private

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Social Media Options

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Social Media Options (Cont’d)• One checkmark = sent, two = delivered, two blue = read• If you have not previously connected with the individual, you need to add the contact

and validate the phone number

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Social Media Options (Cont’d)• Facebook Safety Check

– Only works if “friends” with traveler– Works best in smaller groups, such

as specific exchanges or faculty-led programs

– Recommend using work-specific accounts from coordinators and administrative staff

– General Counsel is a great resource for addressing privacy concerns when building processes

– Build into overall accountability protocols

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Platforms for Official University Communications

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Lead the Conversation

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• Intentional Messaging from the Beginning– Get in front of rumors and speculation– Caveat statements for knowns and unknowns– Example: “We are working diligently to account for #UTAustin students, faculty

or staff members currently on official travel in XXX. Updates and assistance resources at <add short link to page with more info>”

Lead the Conversation (Cont’d)

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• Lessons Learned – Media focus can result in concern even

when travelers are not registered in the vicinity of an incident

• Especially true of popular tourist destinations

• Be aware of the potential for unregistered travelers and vacationers

– Communicate to alleviate speculation– Example: “The University of Texas at Austin

extends its deepest sympathies to the victims of the XXX in XXX and the citizens of XXX. No UT Austin students, faculty or staff members are currently on official travel in XXX.”

Summary

• Tracking Travelers• Intelligence Gathering• Accountability Post-Crises• When Students Don’t Respond• Social Media as a Tool• Social Media Options• Platforms for Official University Communications• Lead the Conversation

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Questions?

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