Discovering the Importance of Identifying Alumni Champions: A Step-by-Step Guide.
If you work in the field of alumni relations, you’ll no doubt understand the importance of your alumni, and what they can ‘bring to the table’. They are an invaluable asset for any educational institution and are a testament to the success and effectiveness of the education your establishment provides.
However, not all alumni are created equal in terms of their support and contribution to your institution’s growth and reputation. While some alumni passionately engage in activities that significantly bolster your school’s reputation and financial well-being, others may not be as actively involved or impactful in those areas.
This is where the concept of identifying alumni champions becomes crucial.
These are the individuals who go above and beyond in advocating for and supporting their alma mater. Understanding the significance of identifying these champions and learning how to do it effectively can benefit any educational institution.
The Importance of Identifying Alumni Champions:
Enhanced Brand Advocacy
Alumni champions serve as powerful brand advocates for your school or university. Their enthusiasm and support can influence the opinions of prospective students, potential donors, and the general public.
By showcasing the success stories, and indeed the positive experience of these alumni, your school or university can effectively boost their image and attract more students.
Strengthened Alumni Engagement
Identifying and nurturing alumni champions can foster stronger engagement within the alumni community. These individuals play a pivotal role in organising and encouraging participation in reunions, networking events, mentorships programs and more. They assist in creating a robust and supportive network for current students and fellow alumni.
Increased Fundraising Opportunities
Alumni champions have a strong emotional connection to your institution. Leveraging this connection can open many fundraising opportunities. Their willingness to donate (both financially and their time), can help mobilise other alumni to do the same. This can significantly impact the institution’s financial stability, as well as enable the implementation of various developmental initiatives or campaigns.
How to Identify Alumni Champions:
Data Analysis
Conduct thorough data analysis to identify alumni who have consistently engaged with your school or university post-graduation.
Look for patterns such as regular attendance at alumni events, participation in fundraising activities, logins and engagement via your community platforms, and those that engage (open and click) on your email marketing campaigns. Utilising social media monitoring tools can also be useful to track the online activities of your alumni. Identify individuals who actively promote and engage with you via your social media content. These data points can help pinpoint potential alumni champions.
Alumni Surveys and Interviews
Conduct surveys and interviews to understand alumni sentiments and identify those who express a strong affinity for the institution. Look for those who express a willingness to support various initiatives and those that demonstrate a deep commitment to your school or university’s values and mission.
Personalised Outreach
Initiate personalised outreach efforts to connect with potential alumni champions. Engage them in meaningful conversations about their experiences and aspirations and discuss how they can contribute to the growth and development of your institution. Cultivate a sense of belonging and foster a positive and strong relationship built on mutual trust and respect.
Utilise Alumni Network Mapping
An exclusive SocialArchive® feature, alumni network mapping highlights the links and connections between your alumni by analysing where they appear together. This can be used to easily see how cohorts are connected, allowing you to either find specific alumni or to visualise the most effective ways to contact individuals.
The tool builds you a visual representation of an individual’s network, showing you their most immediate connections, the strength of those connections (i.e. the number of times they appear together in your content) and allowing you to drill down to the material itself. This allows you to pinpoint those that are ‘well connected’, those that played a particularly active part in school or university life, and could therefore be a potential alumni champion.
Conclusion:
Identifying and nurturing alumni champions is a strategic approach that can yield significant long-term benefits for your school or university. The passion, commitment, and enthusiasm of these individuals can act as a multiplier effect on the work you already do to create a thriving alumni network of support, advocacy, and philanthropy that will benefit every member of your current and future school community.
SocialArchive® is a user-friendly digital engagement solution for educational institutions, purpose built for you to turn your history into a powerful way to connect to, manage, and drive engagement with, your alumni and wider community.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you identify your alumni champions, or to book a demonstration of our platform in action.