How your history can boost your alumni engagement and fundraising

Almost all institutions today are being asked to do more with the same, or even fewer, resources. So increasing the effectiveness of your activities without dramatically increasing the effort involved has become more important than ever.

In this article we will look at how you can harness one asset that every school, college, and university definitely has; your history, to support activities you are likely already carrying out. Making them more personal, more engaging, and ultimately more effective, all without the need for hours of additional work or more resources.

Events

One of the most effective ways to engage alumni, and doubtless something you are already doing, is to host in person events. These might be reunions, regional get-togethers, professional development events, milestone celebrations, or even just social gatherings.

 Using the history which you share with your alumni can support these events in a number of ways: 

·        Help in getting attendees signed-up, why not include a photo from their time with you in the invite?  Studies have shown that personalised emails can achieve transaction rates six times higher than those which aren’t.

·        With making the event more memorable, having a slide show on screen in the venue showing pictures from the attendees’ time with you is a brilliant ice breaker, gives everyone something to talk about and makes the occasion more memorable.

·        Make sure you’re capturing content during any events you run to be used in supporting future occurrences, the event of today becomes part of your history tomorrow!

Technology

With advancements in technology, it has become easier than ever to reach alumni through digital platforms. Social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are perfect to keep alumni updated on the latest news, events, and opportunities.

This opportunity also comes with a big challenge, there are a huge number of other things competing for the online attention of your community. History can provide a significant boost here as well. It’s been proven that people are far more likely to like, share, and engage with material which speaks to them personally, so something as simple as including a photo of a long gone building against a news article on some new construction work can see it reach a far wider audience than were you to just post the article alone.

Your alumni association

An alumni association provides a platform for alumni to connect with each other, network, and give back to the institution. The association can also provide a more direct channel than social media for alumni to stay updated on your latest news and events. 

The only thing that your institution definitely has in common with your alumni is the shared experience of their time with you, so why not make this front and centre of the alumni association, reminding people of the ‘good old days’ creates nostalgia which studies have shown reinforces a person’s social connectedness to the thing about which they are reminiscing, in this case, you!

Personalised engagement strategies

Every alumnus is different, and what works for one may not work for another. Therefore, it is essential to develop personalised engagement strategies that consider the interests and preferences of each alumnus. This could involve sending personalised emails, only inviting them to events that align with their interests, or even reaching out for feedback. Whilst not the only way you can personalise materials, history is a fantastic (and cost free) resource with which to do this.  

You’ll need data to base this on, and what historical content they’re interested in can provide a huge amount of supporting information for this. Understanding your members better makes it quicker and easier to personalise your communications with them.  

Mentorship opportunities

Alumni who have achieved success in their careers can be an excellent resource for current students. Providing mentorship opportunities for alumni can help to build a sense of community and provide valuable guidance and advice to students. 

This is another area where the nostalgia created from shared history can be a great way to bring in volunteers, reminding people of their experience and the benefits they reaped by attending your institution can be an instrumental factor in convincing them to support you by mentoring the next generation of students and/or alumni.

Networking

The connections people make while in education offer many potential avenues for career development and securing job opportunities. Providing an alumni network allows you to connect like-minded individuals who work in similar sectors so when alumni are looking for new opportunities it can be a helpful resource.

History can be used to support this by reminding alumni of the benefits they have received being part of your network but more importantly by growing your community base and a larger network offer more opportunity for all its members.

 Catch alumni early

Getting students signed up before they even become alumni is something which institutions are all too aware of the need to do today and whilst history might not be able to immediately help you in this area, remember that the students of today will one day also want to reminisce about their experiences. Make sure you are building a pipeline of material which will support your future engagement goals!

Going viral

Try and use the viral effect of your alumni’s networks to bring in more members. Yes, increasing the open rate on an email is beneficial, but you will also reach more people with the same open rate sent to a larger number of contacts.

There will be people in the networks of your alums who should be members of your community but aren’t. History can be a brilliant way to get alumni to share messaging, both directly and on social media, without the need to resort to direct requests for help.

Showing appreciation

A simple thank you can go a long way in building strong relationships with alumni. Showing appreciation for their contributions and involvement can help to create a sense of pride and loyalty towards your institution. This is another area where some simple personalisation can really increase the impact of the thank you, why not give your supporters exclusive access to some content from your archives to make them feel special.   

Giving back

Offering alumni something in exchange for being part of your network and supporting your institution. Whilst this might be physical, think hats and t-shirts, or virtual like discounts it needn’t take up a lot of your budget. Providing a platform for your alumni to digitally relive their experiences with you (both as a student and an alum) can feel like a real bonus to a lot of your audience.  

The key to using your history to support your activities is to ensure it is relevant to the audience. Whilst you may have some fascinating history from three hundred years ago, it won’t evoke a nostalgic response from your alumni, and therefore grab their attention in the same way something that they have personal experience of will. The more you can segment your audience the more relevant your communications can be and therefore the more effective.  

Most institutions have huge amounts of this highly engaging material in the form of photos, videos, and documents from their alumnus’ time with them, all of which can quickly and easily be harnessed to help you hit and exceed all your supporter goals. To find out how SocialArchive® can help you utilise this engagement dynamite visit www.socialarchive.com or email us at info@socialarchive.com.