NYU Department of Campus Safety
I was hired by New York University as a Multimedia Communications Specialist to use my social media marketing and product launch knowledge to launch an important product for its community of over 50,000 students: Safety. NYU needed someone to meet their students where they’re at and deliver important information about scams, theft prevention, safety alerts, and NYC safety tips. Together with my colleague, we have revolutionized how college campus safety departments connect with their students via social media and have presented our work to peers at the annual Ivy Plus Conference, highlighting its impact and success.
A content strategy informed by audience research and crime trends
First, we conducted audience research at tabling events and through interviews with our student workers to determine student needs and what kinds of content resonate with NYU students
Second, we continually monitor crimes reported to our department to identify trends. If a crime was reported three or more times in a 45-day period, we created content to raise awareness of the crime.
Lastly, we analyze our Campus Safety Officers’ end-of-shift reports to compile data on observed crimes and any other information students might need to know.
Making content at a highly matrixed higher-education institution requires collaboration. So far, we have collaborated with 12+ departments, including Athletics on locking your belongings to prevent unattended property theft, and Global Services on educating international students about scams intentionally targeting them.
We use a multifaceted approach to create person-on-the-street-style videos that re-enact scams and educate our community on how to avoid and de-escalate these situations, and we use eye-catching graphics to appeal to a wider audience.
We created AI-enabled workflows and agents in ChatGPT Edu to help us intake data, survey the social landscape for NYC and similar college campuses, and recommend supplementary content ideas to save time and keep our department ahead of potential incidents.
The results? +290% social reach, +100% interactions, 288.3K reach, 13.9K interactions, and 40% faster campaign production in the first year. In the case of Athletics’ efforts to prevent theft, abandoned property theft dropped by 20% in their building after our campaign.