Low engagement is often the cause of a failed alumni network. Address this issue, and your alumni will want to renew the connection. Our strategies will help you to reignite alumni engagement and get your alumni program back on track.

Why dormant alumni are an untapped asset

Perhaps your newsletters suffered a sharp decline in open and click-through rates. Maybe your alumni website or social media pages have experienced a major drop in traffic. Or you’ve noticed a lack of interest in alumni events, volunteering, and networking. What does this all mean?

These are all signs of disengagement and a dormant alumni network. They are also clues as to what you need to do to re-engage them. With the right strategies, you can reignite alumni engagement, rebuild your alumni relations, and experience greater success than ever before. 

The issue of dormant alumni can understandably be very frustrating. But your dormant alumni are, in fact, an untapped asset. 

Barriers to alumni engagement

Navigating alumni engagement is not always easy. Here are the most common barriers you’ll face as you try to reignite alumni engagement.

Ineffective tools

Your choice of alumni community platform and online tools are central to your alumni engagement efforts. Get it wrong, and you will find it very difficult to engage or re-engage your alumni. They will probably just stop using the platform altogether. 

The current alumni engagement platforms you’re using may not be the right ones for your alumni community. Alumni platforms and alumni management software are not all equal. If yours are outdated or have a high learning curve or cluttered user interface, your alumni will not want to use them.

Non-inclusive program

The more alumni participate in the program, the higher their levels of engagement will be. And vice versa. However, alumni participation (and engagement) decline when alumni feel they aren’t recognized and valued by the alumni association they are a part of.  

Your current alumni relations program might not be inclusive enough, leaving members from minority groups disengaged. Alumni networks also often have large generational gaps. This can present problems for senior alumni who are not tech-savvy or may be unfamiliar with modern social networking techniques.

Inaccurate data

Alumni engagement requires consistent interaction. Your failing alumni relations could be due to limited communication. This is rarely deliberate. The reason is often as simple as incomplete or inaccurate contact information. 

Some of your alumni may have changed their phone numbers. Others may have switched to new email addresses for their new jobs. Your alumni engagement efforts can only be successful if you have up-to-date contact information for all your alumni network members. 

The role of technology in alumni reactivation

There are many ways to use technology to build stronger alumni relations and reignite alumni engagement. This is a good place to start, as ineffective alumni management software and alumni engagement platforms are often the biggest barriers to alumni engagement.

Fortunately, you can overcome the obstacles to reignite alumni engagement, with the Aluminati platform. We offer customizable solutions that get results, specifically designed for both academic and corporate alumni communities. 

For enterprises

Aluminate for Enterprise is designed for use in the corporate environment. Benefits include increased employer appeal, internal hiring, and an enhanced company culture.

For educational institutions

Aluminate for Education is designed for use in the academic environment. Benefits include a boost in alumni volunteerism, donations, mentoring, and community involvement.  

Strategies to reignite alumni engagement

Leveraging digital platforms

Get the right digital platform and tools, and half the battle against alumni dormancy is won. The Aluminati platform is user-friendly, dynamic, and engaging. It is also highly customizable to meet your specific alumni network’s needs. And its easy learning curve makes it ideal for everyone. 

Are you actively trying to engage alumni across generations? Our guide to inclusive programming will help. 

Social media storytelling

Social media is a valuable resource for fostering alumni engagement. You can use your alumni network’s social media pages to get your alumni interested in the program again. 

Acknowledge alumni achievements and announce upcoming events. Post-industry-specific news for your corporate alumni, and academic-centered news for academic alumni. And encourage members to share their stories with their peers. 

Social media also offers opportunities for social networking and marketing, but Aluminate can help with this, too. 

It is ideal for use as an enterprise social network that members can use for networking and collaboration in the alumni community. It is also a cost-effective social networking option for marketing your alumni events.

Offering value

The key to maintaining alumni engagement is to offer your alumni value for their membership and participation. 

One of the ways Aluminate addresses this need is with an algorithm called the Intelligent Matching Engine. This helps to match users to other users for mentorship, and to valuable content like job postings, groups, events, news, and courses. 

Your specific alumni network may have different expectations than others. However, there are usually some common needs running through corporate and academic circles. 

For enterprises

Corporate alumni need to know that you value their participation in your company’s alumni program. 

Show them this with networking opportunities, meetups, and career advancement opportunities. Do you want to know more about what your alumni expect from the program? Read the 9 expectations corporate alumni have. 

For educational institutions

Academic alumni need to know that their contributions to the alumni associations at their educational institutions are appreciated. Opportunities for networking, continuous learning, and mentorship will strike the right cord. 

Personalized outreach and segmentation

If you are familiar with marketing techniques, you’ll know about audience segmentation and personalization. These techniques are crucial for boosting customer engagement and are just as useful for reviving alumni engagement.

Segmentation is the dividing of an audience or target market into smaller groups, based on shared demographics, interests, history, and more. Our Groups module allows you to segment your alumni community into smaller groups based on interests, qualifications, skills, or other criteria. 

Personalized outreach entails connecting with members of your audience in a way that feels tailored just for them. With Aluminate, each member also sees news that is relevant to them on the digital dashboard when they log in.

Aluminate also offers personalization across the platform. Every element (photos, discussions, documents, event invitations, and more) can be personalized. Only those who the content is intended for, can view it.  

Keeping data accurate

Your alumni are constantly updating their social media data but often forget to let you know. With our social data sync (SDS) feature, your alumni data stays accurate and up-to-date. 

SDS works with any modern database but is also fully approved by LinkedIn. Once your members give their consent to share their social data, SDS will automatically check their profile data for relevant changes.

Measuring the success of your alumni engagement strategies

Track and monitor your alumni engagement strategies to measure their success. 

Our analytics and Insights will show you what your alumni interact with most. This will allow you to refine your engagement strategies and reignite alumni engagement. 

Watch your alumni engagement skyrocket with Aluminate

Alumni dormancy is most often due to a lack of engagement, and several factors can reduce engagement in your alumni network. If your engagement efforts have not produced the results you’d hoped for, don’t despair. Reviving alumni engagement is easy with Aluminati. 

You can use Aluminate for Enterprise or Aluminate for Education to build a strong alumni network from scratch, or reignite alumni engagement. It offers the user-friendliness your alumni need, with the versatility your organization needs. Request your demo today. 

The post Reactivating Dormant Alumni: Strategies to Reignite Alumni Engagement appeared first on Aluminati Network Group.

So, what does it take to host a successful alumni event? We reveal everything you need to know in this alumni event-planning cheat sheet. Follow these simple steps to become an alumni event pro!

1. Define event goals

Before you can start planning an event, you must define your alumni event planning goals. Ask yourself these questions. What is the purpose of the event? What do you wish to achieve? 

For example, you may be an academic institution wanting to raise funds. Or a corporate organization looking for new business partnerships through networking. Perhaps the event is an awards ceremony or simply an opportunity for alumni to meet in person and socialize.

Whatever the occasion, you will have specific goals in mind. Note what they are, there may be more than one. This will help you with the next steps in planning your alumni event.

2. Know your audience

Get to know your target audience — your alumni network. What do they expect from their alumni program participation? What are their qualifications and unique interests? This will give you vital clues as to the kinds of alumni events they will enjoy. 

Keep all your alumni data up-to-date so you can reach out to your alumni and get to know them.  When you know more about them, you can be sensitive to their specific needs (and partners who may be attending events with them). 

Take special dietary requirements into account when ordering catering. Also, check if wheelchair access or aids for visually/hearing impaired persons will be required at your event. 

3. Use your online alumni platform to streamline planning

You can use your online platform to request event ideas, market events, extend invitations, and invite contributions. You can also request feedback about events. 

Aluminati offers the most customizable online community software, for both academic and corporate alumni networks. With Aluminate for Education and Aluminate for Enterprise, alumni event planning is a breeze.

Use the digital dashboard to announce events or ask for event ideas. Encourage participation through the Groups module. And keep up to date with alumni data through the Social Data Sync feature. 

4. Create a realistic budget

The costs may differ depending on the type of event you are planning. If you are working on a tight budget, remember that you don’t have to break the bank to host an engaging event. 

Create a realistic budget for your alumni event. Break down all the costs expected for the event, such as the venue hire, decor, audiovisual equipment hire, catering, etc. Some of your alumni will be able to contribute to these costs, while others may be able to provide the items or services needed.

5. Encourage alumni event ideas 

Alumni events are not all alike, and the goals behind them will differ. Some events will entertain, educate, and engage, while others will facilitate networking or fundraising. However, there is always a common thread here, and it is the alumni themselves. 

So, encourage your alumni to offer their own ideas for future events. This makes them feel that their contributions are valued, which means they’ll be more likely to stay active in the program. It also makes them feel more connected to the alumni network.

6. Choose the ideal event venue

Your choice of venue can make or break any event. So be sure to choose wisely for the most successful event and memorable experience possible. Try to match the venue to your event goals, budget, and alumni needs.

If you are handing out awards or celebrating big achievements, you may wish to host the event in a high-end venue. But for smaller events, you could use some of your university or company’s facilities.

7. Plan the agenda

Every alumni event should have an agenda. This is a detailed outline of all the activities that will take place during the event. It should include any alumni speeches, guest speakers, meals, networking sessions, and other aspects of the event.

By drawing up an outline, you will easily identify any issues and ensure smoother transitions from one activity to the next. Remember to include time for meet-and-greet, Q&A sessions, refreshment breaks, etc. 

Draw up a list and rearrange things if necessary until there is a more logical progression from one activity to the next. It is this final draft of the agenda that will make it into your event announcements and invitations. 

8. Market your event effectively

Marketing is one of the most important aspects of alumni event planning. Whether your event is open to the public or alumni only, you’ll need to market it.

If only alumni and their partners will be attending, you can limit marketing to the alumni platform. But this will only suffice if all your alumni actively participate on the platform and see your marketing materials. This is where a digital alumni newsletter is particularly useful. 

Your newsletter can inform alumni about the latest network news and upcoming events. The most successful alumni websites are those that have well-written, engaging newsletters. Read our guide on how to write an engaging alumni newsletter.

Avoid a general event announcement for more formal events. Personalized invitations are always preferable in such instances.

9. Incorporate networking opportunities

If your event agenda does not have any networking opportunities, you may want to include them. Create quieter, private spaces where alumni can sit and chat over a drink, and exchange ideas. However, these should be within easy reach of the main event.

Networking has always been an essential component of alumni membership, amongst both academic and corporate alumni. Allow your alumni to network on your alumni platform too, with virtual networking sessions.

Top tips for event planning success

When you’re tasked with alumni event planning, the first few can be daunting. But with the help of our alumni event planning cheat sheet, and these top tips, you’ll be fine.

• Market the event to potential attendees well in advance. This gives your alumni time to amend their own schedules to be free to attend.
• Create a planning timeline to stay focused and keep the event planning on track. Effective time management makes every task simpler.
• Encourage attendees to give feedback. Invite actionable insights that tell you what you got right, and most importantly, what needs to improve before the next event. You may encourage more honest critique through a poll or survey that guarantees anonymity. 

Take your alumni events to the next level with Aluminati

Your choice of alumni platform is essential to the success of your alumni program and its events. This is why you must choose the right one. 

So choose Aluminate for Education for your academic alumni program and event planning, or Aluminate for Enterprise for your corporate alumni network and event planning. 

Create the alumni events and experiences your alumni deserve. Request a demo today. 

The post Your Alumni Event Planning Cheat Sheet appeared first on Aluminati Network Group.

This comprehensive glossary of alumni terms explains the terminology used in both education and enterprise settings in an easy-to-read format. We’ve broken down the most commonly used words and phrases, as well as newly emerging trends.

It’s time to master the jargon and start planning your alumni association with confidence.

Core Alumni Terms

This first section of our glossary of alumni terms deals with the definition and context of frequently used alumni terminology. These key concepts are relevant to alumni across both educational and enterprise environments.

• Alumnus/Alumna/Alumni: An alumnus is a male graduate, and an alumna is a female graduate. But the term alum is also often used for a non-gender specific graduate. The plural term alumni typically refers to multiple graduates and can describe all genders.

• Alumni Network: A group of former graduates and students of an educational institution (academic alumni), or former employees of a business (corporate alumni).

• Alumni Program: A community specifically created for communicating and engaging with alumni.

• Alumni Association: An official alumni network that typically has a formal alumni program. Its primary role and purpose is to foster a sense of community and support for the alumni program.

• Mentorship: A program in which alumni use their experience and expertise to guide and mentor new students or new/junior employees. Although more common in educational institutions, companies are quickly realizing the benefits of setting up a mentorship program.

• Alumni Community: A group of alumni who have a perceived ongoing shared identity thanks to their association with a common alma mater or former employer.

• Alumni Relations: Activities and strategies designed for building, strengthening, and maintaining alumni connections. These may include alumni events.

• Alumni Event: An event that allows alumni to interact with fellow alumni and faculty (in the case of academic alumni) or management (in the case of corporate alumni).

• Engagement: A measure of how eagerly and actively alumni participate in their networks through events, fundraising, mentoring, etc.

Education-Specific Terms

Alumni associations were born in the world of higher education, and are still popular in the best universities and colleges. In this education-specific section of our glossary of alumni terms, we cover terminology most often used in academic alumni situations.

• Alma Mater: An old Latin phrase traditionally used to describe a school, college, or university that a person has attended and graduated from.

• Class Notes: The updates that alumni share with the network about their lives.

• Alumni Reunion: An organized event where alumni can reconnect with their former fellow students and graduates.

• Alumni Fundraising: The practice of reaching out to graduates for financial donations in support of the alma mater’s programs and initiatives.

• Annual Fund: The ongoing fundraising campaigns that target alumni for potential funds.

• Endowment: A financial contribution that an alum chooses to give in support of their former educational institution.

• Legacy Admission: The policy of admitting the children of alumni to their parents’ academic institution.

A good alumni fundraising strategy is the secret to accessing funds for the institution, and more specifically, to run the academic alumni program. Here are some tips for creating your fundraising strategy.

Enterprise-Specific Terms

Alumni networks are no longer limited to the academic world. Many companies and enterprises now have alumni programs for former employees. In this enterprise-specific section of our glossary of alumni terms, we cover terminology unique to these corporate alumni.

• Corporate Alumni: The former employees of a company or organization.

• Corporate Community: An exclusive business community that includes a company’s leadership and management, employees, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders (see below). Corporate alumni are often included in these communities.

• Boomerang Employee: A corporate alum who, like a boomerang, returns to work for their previous employer. Should you hire a boomerang employee? Our boomerang employees guide will help you decide.

• Knowledge Retention: The concept of alumni as a resource for institutional knowledge and expertise.

• Talent Pipeline: The group of alumni or external candidates best suited for potential hire, rehire, or referral sources.

• Networking: The practice of maintaining relationships with other professionals, and sharing knowledge and industry insights that often lead to new partnerships and opportunities. Corporate alumni often engage in networking sessions.

• Corporate Alumni Network: A group of former employees and colleagues who remain in contact with one another and their former employer. Ask yourself these questions before launching one for your company.

• Talent Pool: A database of potential job candidates. Because corporate alumni are often the best candidates for high-level and leadership succession roles, it’s a good idea to overlap your alumni database with your talent database.

• Talent Management System: An integrated software solution used for maintaining talent pool data, recruitment, succession planning, onboarding, and even new employee performance management. Be sure to read our guide to the benefits of a talent management system.

• Stakeholders: Internal stakeholders are individuals or groups that participate in managing a company. External stakeholders are individuals or groups who have a vested interest in the company’s operations and outcomes. It is a good idea to include both internal and external stakeholders in your alumni network.

Emerging Trends in Alumni Terms

This last section of our glossary of alumni terms includes new and evolving alumni terminology. These terms, driven by technology and changing alumni practices, describe facets of modern alumni management and engagement.

• Alumni Platform: A digital space where alumni connect with their alma mater or former employer, and their fellow alumni.

• Alumni Software: Software dedicated to the creation or management of a digital alumni platform, The Aluminati range of products is an example of alumni software.

• Virtual Alumni Events: These are like in-person events but instead happen in an online environment. They include webinars, virtual networking, and online conferences for alumni engagement.

• HR Software: Software designed for human resources management tasks such as tracking new recruitment, employee performance, and employee benefits. HR software can also be used to share further learning and career advancement resources with employees.

• Enterprise Social Network: A private, internal social network, similar to social media networks, that a business uses to facilitate collaboration, communication, and engagement between employees. Learn more in our comprehensive overview of enterprise social networks.

• Affinity Groups: The subgroups within alumni networks based on shared interests and other common criteria. Our Aluminate Community Builder’s Groups module allows you to create affinity groups for your alumni network.

• Alumni Analytics: Data-driven insights into alumni activity and preferences, specifically on the digital alumni platform. Our Insights feature gives you greater awareness and understanding of your alumni engagement and the success of your program.

• Global Alumni Network: The expanding of an alumni network across borders, particularly in international organizations.

• Algorithm: The feature of Aluminati’s Intelligent Matching Engine that facilitates admins’ work and increases your community’s engagement. It matches members with other members, events, resources, jobs, and more.

Both academic and corporate alumni programs are increasingly leveraging technology to manage and engage alumni networks. Learn how to use technology to engage your alumni.

Launch Your Alumni Network with Aluminati Today

This in-depth glossary of alumni terms explains the most important terminology used for alumni groups in both academic and corporate environments. Now that you’re confident about the basics, it’s time to build your own alumni network, with Aluminati.

We offer highly customizable and scalable software in two products: Aluminate for Education, suitable for academic alumni programs, and Aluminate for Enterprise, specially designed for corporate alumni programs.

Aluminati is the world’s most customizable online community platform, ideal for alumni management and engagement in the digital age. Contact us for more information, or to book a demo.

The post Comprehensive Glossary of Alumni Terms: Education and Enterprise Explained appeared first on Aluminati Network Group.

Fortunately, there are many ways to interact with and engage your alumni. But as society becomes increasingly digitized, alumni associations do too. Do you want to learn how to use technology to engage with your alumni? This guide tells you all you need to know.

Why is digital alumni engagement important? 

Your alumni have become familiar with digital engagement through the internet, and especially social media. Many of them likely use social media daily. To retain their interest in your alumni program, you must offer the same level of engagement to which they have become accustomed.

A digital alumni engagement strategy will ensure that your alumni network stays in step with modern demands. This is what will keep your alumni members more active in the program, and entice new alumni members to join.

How to use technology to engage with your alumni

Discover how to use technology to engage with your alumni, in the nine simple steps below.

1. Invest in alumni management software

Even the most well-planned engagement strategies cannot thrive without the right software. This is why your first course of action when learning how to use technology to engage with your alumni, is to invest in alumni management software.

Our customizable Aluminate for Education and Aluminate for Enterprise software allow users to create an alumni inventory and alumni engagement platform.

You can use the software to create an alumni database of all members including contact details, skills, expertise, and more. Users can build an alumni association platform for communication, collaboration, and engagement. Keep data up-to-date so you never miss an opportunity for engagement.

2. Create a dedicated alumni portal to improve alumni relations

Use your alumni management software to create a dedicated portal for alumni communications. This is where you and your alumni members can interact, and where they can interact with their fellow alumni as well.

However, this does not mean you can’t incorporate alumni within your broader community. Alumni engagement strategies tend to lead to better results when alumni interact with current students and employees, too.

3. Use integrated communication tools

Use online tools that integrate with other online resources your alumni programs depend on. Our platform offers many modules and tools that integrate with other online resources and enhance alumni engagement.

Our Groups module lets you create sub-communities within your broader alumni community. Here, alumni can meet other alumni with shared interests. Our chat feature allows constant, instant communication. With our email for life tool, you can provide alumni with a lifelong email account as part of your program.

However, one of the most useful features is social data sync. It tracks data on social media like LinkedIn, allowing you to update data as your alumni update their profiles. This is important because engagement relies on staying up-to-date with alumni contact information and new achievements.

4. Share valuable content for a more engaged alumni community

Your alumni are looking for engaging content that reflects both their personal and professional interests.  Share relevant and valuable content including job posts, further study courses, event invites, mentorship programs, news, and alumni success stories.

This will enhance your alumni engagement levels dramatically, as your alumni realize all the value they are getting from the program.

Aluminati’s Community Builder software makes this easy, too. The digital dashboard is the core of the platform. Use it to share content that will inform and engage your alumni. Each user sees what is most relevant to them, on sign-in.

5. Host virtual events and webinars through the platform

Virtual events are another way to use technology to engage with your alumni. They are not intended as a replacement for in-person events, but rather as an additional form of engagement.

Geographical distance and busy schedules may prevent some of your alumni from attending in-person events. Hosting virtual events and webinars through your alumni platform allows more alumni to participate, increasing their engagement.

These can be fun virtual meet-and-greet sessions, networking sessions, or industry-specific webinars. Virtual events are highly flexible and can meet many needs. See our virtual alumni engagement ideas to get started today.

6. Segment your audience and personalize content

Your alumni may have their alma mater or former employer in common, but they have vastly different interests, skills, and expertise. That is why you should segment your audience and personalize your content to meet each audience segment’s interests and needs.

Our Intelligent Matching Engine takes the hard work out of this crucial task. It automates matches between alumni members and suitable content, saving you time and boosting engagement in the process.

7. Use data analytics

Leverage data analytics tools to assess your alumni engagement levels. Measure metrics that show what your alumni are interacting with the most on your platform. What are they clicking on and reading? What are they responding to?

Our Insights feature provides users with a detailed, real-time view of what alumni are most engaged with. This lets you adapt your engagement strategies as needed, for fast results. Alumni engagement is an ongoing process. Regular analyses of your progress are essential for a thriving alumni program.

8. Encourage user-generated content (UGC) for self-styled engagement

Alumni engagement is assured when your alumni members can contribute to it themselves. Encourage user-generated content on the platform. Alumni success stories told first-hand are particularly engaging. They inspire others on the platform to reach their full potential.

UGC can be professionally slanted, but it doesn’t have to be. However, make your alumni aware that they must only share personal details that they feel comfortable with. Be sure to draw up a list of basic rules for UGC and data sharing on your alumni platform to protect your members’ privacy and security.

9. Make your platform mobile-accessible

If your alumni association’s digital platform is not mobile-friendly, you risk decreasing engagement levels. Many of your members are using their mobile devices for their everyday communication and other tasks. It allows them to stay up-to-date with what’s happening in their world, on the go.

So, if you really want to know how to use technology to engage with your alumni, make your platform mobile accessible. We understand how important mobile device-friendliness is to alumni engagement. That’s why the Aluminate platform is also accessible with a mobile app, for users’ convenience.

Elevate alumni engagement with Aluminati’s community-building platform 

Learn how to use technology to engage with your alumni network, and you’ll build a robust and future-proof alumni program.

The first step in your alumni engagement strategy is to invest in alumni management software. You need customizable software you can tailor to your program’s unique requirements. It should serve as an alumni inventory, offer a dedicated space for information and communication, and boost engagement.

You need Aluminati, the world’s most customizable online community platform. Our dynamic Aluminate for Education and Aluminate for Enterprise products are specifically designed to meet the demands of modern alumni associations.

Request a demo today.

The post How to Use Technology to Engage with Your Alumni appeared first on Aluminati Network Group.

But what are the best ways to keep alumni data updated? And what other benefits will it offer them and you? Discover the answers to these questions in this short guide on the 10 best ways to keep alumni data updated.

Why is it important to keep your alumni database updated?

An alumni database is a detailed repository of all your alumni information. This includes their personal profile data, contact information, and even their skills and workplace experience.

An accurate alumni database is crucial because, without up-to-date information, you can easily lose contact with top alumni. However, there’s a lot more to it than that. Outdated data can negatively impact both you and your alumni.

The problem with outdated data

You may lose out on potential revenue and contributions for your academic institution. Why? You aren’t up to speed with your alumni professionals’ latest achievements and thus do not know who best to approach for funding.

Alumni may lose out on exciting new job opportunities, event registrations, and networking sessions arranged through your company. Why? You don’t have the right contact information and can’t reach them in time.

Keeping alumni network data on track is essential for an alumni program that benefits everyone.

10 Best ways to keep alumni data updated

These are the 10 best ways to keep alumni data updated, for any type of institution or organization.

1. Invest in dedicated alumni management software

The best way to keep alumni data updated is by investing in alumni management software.

Dedicated alumni management software is so much more than just an alumni directory. It offers alumni a platform for communication with their alma mater or previous employer. It also boosts engagement and, when necessary, re-engagement. However, the right choice in alumni management software is key.

Aluminati is the world’s most customizable online community platform, trusted by academic institutions and corporate organizations for their alumni program management needs. It includes a wide range of features that you can tailor to meet the unique demands of your alumni network.

2. Facilitate regular communication and alumni engagement

Facilitate regular communication with your alumni, and keep them engaged. This will make it easier to stay in touch with alumni and request updates. Your alumni will also be more likely to update their data themselves, without being asked to do so.

So, what sort of communication and engagement are we talking about here? One of the best ways to keep alumni engaged and informed of recent events is with a regular alumni newsletter. Include a CTA to update their profile data or contact info in the newsletter, at regular intervals.

If you’re dedicated to ongoing engagement, you’ll love the Aluminate Intelligent Matching Engine feature. It takes the hard work out of matching alumni to their most relevant interests, by automating these matches. Now you can create even more alumni engagement without all the admin hassles.

3. Establish self-service portals for more accurate data

Another way to keep alumni data updated without much hassle is to establish self-service portals.

This allows your alumni to maintain their alumni program profile data easily, at any time that is convenient for them. Your alumni will appreciate this, as it puts control in their hands, and can easily slot into their busy schedules.

4. Encourage your alumni to stay connected via events

Encourage your alumni to stay connected via alumni events. When they see how much value they are getting from these events, they will want to keep their profile data accurate and up-to-date.

The Aluminate platform makes it easy to keep alumni informed about upcoming events, on the digital dashboard. This is a highly dynamic tool that shows users the most relevant posts for their specific interests.

5. Use data enrichment tools

Ensure data accuracy with data enrichment tools. These are automated software solutions that help you gather, edit, enhance, and update your data.

This is a simple yet effective step toward keeping alumni data accurate and functional. If you’re a company with a corporate alumni program, this will also lighten the burden on your HR services team. They’ll have the most accurate data on hand for everyone, including your former employees.

(As many top businesses know, corporate alumni are often ideal candidates for top positions).

6. Offer surveys and feedback forms

Surveys and feedback forms not only help keep your alumni data updated, but they can offer insights into alumni interests.

Any survey or feedback form should include a section for updating personal data, contact information, and any new work experience or achievements. This should be right at the start, to avoid being missed if the survey is abandoned before completion.

It can be followed by questions on interests and suggestions for the program.

7. Leverage social media networks

Leverage social media networks to keep your alumni database updated. Your alumni probably spend a great deal of time on social media platforms for professionals, such as LinkedIn. And they likely update their information on those platforms regularly. This is where you will find the most up-to-date data.

We make this even easier for you, with our social data sync feature. It is approved by LinkedIn to be used for data updates of your official alumni programs. This sync feature offers the best way to access legitimate and accurate data from social media.

8. Enable mobile-friendly data collection

Simplify keeping your alumni database updated by enabling mobile-friendly data collection. This takes your alumni program forward in terms of modern convenience and makes alumni participation possible on the go. It’s a must for keeping busy alumni professionals engaged.

9. Incentivize alumni data updates

One of the best ways to keep alumni data updated, particularly when other efforts don’t seem to be getting results, is incentivization. Are your alumni reluctant to update their info, or do they take too long to get around to it? Make it worth their while to do so, by offering small incentives.

10. Implement continuous data monitoring and reporting

Implement continuous data monitoring and reporting and your alumni data will naturally stay current and accurate. You’ll enjoy another benefit too. Data monitoring and reporting will highlight all the areas of your program that are working, as well as those that aren’t, so you can make the necessary changes.

Get deeper insights in real time with the Aluminate platform’s Insights feature. This allows you to analyze alumni participation, gauge their interests, and assess their engagement levels. Pinpoint the ways to keep alumni interested in the program, and you’ll find them willing to update their data, regularly.

Keep alumni data up-to-date, with Aluminate

The best way to keep alumni data updated is to invest in alumni management software. It will make light work of your alumni program admin tasks. But more importantly, it will enhance the communication and engagement that every successful alumni program relies on.

We offer Aluminate for Education for the academic alumni community, and Aluminate for Enterprise for the corporate alumni community. As part of the world’s most customizable online community platform, each offers multiple benefits for any alumni association.

So, make the right choice for your alumni program. Request a demo today.

The post 10 Best Ways to Keep Alumni Data Updated appeared first on Aluminati Network Group.

Stop wasting time and resources on alumni newsletters that don’t bring results. It’s time to learn how to write a more engaging alumni newsletter. This guide will show you how, in eight simple steps.

The benefits of an engaging alumni newsletter

An alumni newsletter is not only the ideal tool for keeping alumni engaged, but it also offers several other benefits.

• Promotes your institution/organization, alumni program, and alumni events. Informs alumni about fundraising drives, thereby increasing fundraising opportunities and donations.

• Makes alumni feel recognized, valued, and essential to the alumni program. This boosts alumni engagement, facilitates re-engagement, and drives alumni participation.

• Creates mentorship,  networking, and business opportunities with other program members. This strengthens members’ relationships with their alma mater/former employer and the greater alumni community.

• Advertises upcoming events such as networking sessions and seminars, ensuring more alumni attend. Alumni who feel connected to their alma mater attend more events.

How to write an engaging alumni newsletter in 8 steps

These eight simple steps incorporate the best practices for writing an engaging newsletter.

1. Collect and update contact information

If you don’t keep alumni profile data, especially contact info, up to date, you’ll lose valuable connections. There is another downside to letting this admin task slide. If alumni notice that their profile data is incomplete or outdated, they’ll lose interest. To keep them engaged, you need to update info regularly.

The Aluminate platform acts as a central database of alumni community information. It allows alumni to update their profiles, contact info, and more. And our social data sync feature makes this even easier, tracking LinkedIn and Facebook (with users’ permission, only) for the most up-to-date profile changes.

2. Segment your audience

An alumni community has one thread holding them all together. In the academic world, it’s the alma mater. In the corporate world, it’s their former employer. However, they all have unique interests, skills, talents, and affiliations. Segment your alumni audience according to the criteria that seem most relevant.

Whether you’re an academic institution dealing with former students, or a corporate organization dealing with former employees, the aim is the same. Segmentation allows you to reach out to them with more targeted, and therefore more engaging, content.

The Groups module on the Aluminate Community Builder allows you to create sub-communities within the wider alumni community.

3. Understand alumni interests

To ensure that your alumni readers find your newsletter content engaging, you need to gauge their interest and match their expectations. Aluminate’s Intelligent Matching Engine can help you do this, effortlessly.

This feature in the Aluminate Community Builder automates what used to be a major administrative burden. It matches alumni members to each other, and relevant valuable content, in the alumni program.

With just a few clicks, it can match alumni program members to :

• Available jobs, courses of study, training programs, etc.
• Upcoming alumni networking events
• Fundraising campaigns and volunteering opportunities
• Mentors to mentees (or vice versa)
• Affinity groups
• Updates to the alumni program, alma mater news, industry-specific news, etc
• Special offers

And so much more. If it’s on your community platform, our matching engine will find it, and match it to the right recipients. Matches can be downloaded and concluded manually, or automated for your convenience.

4. Create valuable content

Create valuable content that will keep your alumni coming back for more. Highlight their achievements in alumni feature stories. Offer further study and career resources. Promote upcoming alumni events.

The Aluminate platform’s digital dashboard is the perfect tool for posting and sharing a regular newsletter and other engaging content. You can use it to showcase inspiring alumni success stories, and alumni can contribute their personal stories to share with others in the program.

A Harvard University survey found that their alumni are deeply engaged and strongly committed to social responsibility through entrepreneurship and volunteerism. Indeed, 39% had founded a for-profit or nonprofit venture. These are the kinds of stories that engage alumni and inspire them to do the same.

5. Keep the design clean and engaging

It’s a fine balance between engaging, and overwhelming. Keep the design of your alumni newsletters clean and uncluttered. A page full of text and nothing else will do little to capture alumni’s attention. On the other hand, too many colorful elements and images may create sensory overload.

Introduce multimedia elements here and there to break up text and increase engagement. Indeed, interactive features are highly effective in keeping readers actively engaged. The key here is a healthy balance of information and entertainment.

6. Craft catchy subject lines

Your alumni readers already see countless emails and newsletters from various organizations every day. They may be reluctant to open yet another newsletter. It’s your job to entice them with an eye-catching subject line.

Craft some catchy subject lines for your alumni newsletters, and you’ll soon see an uptick in opening rates. You may also personalize them with their names. Avoid too many emoticons, emojis, exclamation points, and other common attention-grabbers here. Less is more, so limit these to one or two at most.

7. Include clear calls to action

Your newsletter should include a clear call to action near the end. For example, it could encourage alumni to RSVP to participate in an upcoming event, or sign up for a new free course, etc. Whatever you’re hoping your alumni will do more of, that’s what the topic of your call to action will be.

Consider the placement of your CTA. Near the end of the newsletter is good, but be sure to make it visible. Bold, contrasting colors against a white background are best. Don’t get carried away describing the benefits of the desired action – that’s what the main body of content was for. Keep it concise.

8. Measure and improve

Measure your engagement metrics such as your click through rates. This will allow you to adapt and improve your content strategy for higher engagement.

In today’s world, both academic institutions and corporations focus on data to make better business decisions. That is why the Aluminate Community Builder offers users Insights, for a deeper understanding of their alumni communities’ engagement score at a glance.

The Insights tool is dynamic and highly customizable. Use it to track relevant key performance indicators such as generated business/donations, content clicks, re-hires, and HR savings. Track the metrics that are relevant for your organization, to assess the return on investment (ROI) of your alumni program.

You can choose from a library of pre-set reports, or create your own. Insights help you determine the success of your alumni program, and discover what produces the most engagement. This in turn lets you optimize your program’s budget allocation.

Engage more alumni with Aluminate

An alumni newsletter does much more than make alumni aware of the program and its activities. It informs, educates, entertains and engages them, ultimately driving more participation. If you want your alumni association to be successful and profitable, your newsletters and other content must be engaging.

The Aluminate platform makes this so much easier.

Aluminate is the world’s most customizable online community platform. Aluminate for Education and Aluminate for Enterprise help academic institutions and companies stay connected to and engage their alumni community members.

Request a demo and start engaging more alumni today.

The post How to Write an Engaging Alumni Newsletter appeared first on Aluminati Network Group.

When alumni engagement levels are high, you will enjoy more resilient alumni relations and more active participation in your alumni events.

This is good news, whether you’re an academic institution looking for support from former graduates or a business wanting more corporate alumni to attend networking events. But how can you ensure that your alumni engagement levels remain high? It often comes down to the design of your alumni software.

In this article, we cover why alumni engagement is so important, how the right software can help, and how to design your alumni software to facilitate engagement.

Why is alumni engagement important?

Before we address the issue of using software to engage your alumni, let’s consider why their engagement is so important.

• Alumni engagement helps to build (and maintain) meaningful, lasting relationships between former students/graduates and their alma mater. Or between former employees/executives and their employer.

• Engaged alumni are more likely to contribute to their former educational institution or employer. Academic alumni may lend financial support and donations or help with fundraising. Corporate alumni may help with referrals and networking to help the company form new partnerships.

• When alumni are engaged, they may want to remain involved in campus life or the workplace culture. They may offer their time, knowledge, and skills through online mentoring programs or other services.

• Engaged alumni are the best tool you have for building a strong reputation and attracting new students or employees. They will also encourage other alumni to become more active in exclusive alumni events.

These are only a few of the many benefits that alumni engagement can bring. That’s why you must have the right software to encourage alumni and facilitate engagement.

How does alumni software help facilitate engagement?

Alumni software is specially designed to handle all the requirements of an alumni program. It integrates with other tools that your alumni program may need. And it is scalable so that as your academic or corporate alumni program grows, your software grows with it.

But to ensure engagement, the software you use must play many roles. It must serve not only as an alumni database and communications channel, but also as a platform for special networking, and a center for invitations to upcoming events or special announcements.

The list of potential uses is endless, which is why you need an online platform that adapts to your unique requirements.

As the world’s most customizable online community platform, Aluminati offers alumni software products for academic alumni (Aluminate for Education) as well as corporate alumni (Aluminate for Enterprise).

Once you have chosen your software, the next step is learning how to design your alumni software to facilitate engagement.

7 Ways to design your alumni management software to facilitate engagement

Are you ready to learn how to design your alumni software to facilitate engagement? These are the top seven ways to engage alumni and keep them engaged, with the best alumni software strategies.

1. User-friendly interface

Start with the basics — great alumni management software with an intuitive interface that’s easy for you to manage and for your alumni to navigate. This will encourage more activity in your alumni association’s online community, and boost engagement.

At Aluminati, our customizable, dynamic digital dashboards cater to the diverse needs of our users. Alumni admin and members can access the information and tools they need quickly and easily.

2. Advanced communication tools

The most engaging alumni programs are those that have a variety of communication channels. Integrate popular direct communication channels, including messaging and email, to keep your alumni informed and connected.

The Aluminati platform offers a range of communication options, including personalized email campaigns and group messaging. This helps to form stronger relationships between academic alumni and their alma mater and between corporate alumni and their employers.

3. Alumni community-building features

Your alumni software is more than just an alumni database. It’s an online community. Creating a stronger sense of community through special interest groups and social network invitations to team-building activities.

With features like alumni directories, event management, and networking opportunities, our software helps to bring people together. Customize the platform to better represent your institution or organization.

Personalize the features to encourage more communication amongst alumni program members. Our Groups feature lets you segment your alumni member base into sub-communities with shared common interests and sector affiliations. That’s the ticket to truly engaging interactions.

4. Engagement analytics

As your alumni association grows, you will see certain patterns emerging in their use of your alumni program software. Analyze your alumni engagement data to gain a deeper understanding of their online interactions and valuable insights that will improve your engagement strategies.

We give you the analytics tools that you need for data-driven insights into alumni behavior. This will help you to adapt and refine your alumni engagement program so that it works harder for your alumni and for you.

5. Career development support

Career support is always a very strong engagement driver. It shows your alumni that you care about their career development and future success. So, incorporate mentorship programs, professional networking opportunities, and job boards in your alumni program software.

Our software lets you offer your alumni the career development tools they need. Job boards, mentoring programs, and professional networking opportunities — it’s all possible with Aluminati. These are the engagement tools that will keep your alumni coming back for more.

6. Alumni network event management

Alumni events, both online and offline, are the key to keeping your alumni engaged. Every successful alumni engagement strategy includes a lively mix of these in-person and virtual events. While many of these will be more formal, it’s good to offer more casual and fun activities, too, from time to time.

You can use our software as an alumni event management tool, too. It will streamline the entire process, from the planning and promoting stage, to scheduling and managing alumni events. That’s how you ensure higher participation.

7. Personalization and customization

The more that your alumni feel that the alumni program speaks to their needs and interests, the more engaged they will be. So, make the most of your alumni engagement efforts by customizing your software and personalizing your online content and experiences.

Offer your alumni more relevant and personalized content, with Aluminati’s software. The Aluminate Community Builder includes an Intelligent Matching Engine that matches each member to content relevant to their interests and past interactions.

Members can be matched to job openings, events, news, courses, volunteering opportunities, mentors/mentees, and much more. This process can be done manually or automated to save your admin time.

This feature is ideal for driving engagement as it invites members to spend more time on the platform, engaging in content that interests them.

Use Aluminate to create the most engaging alumni platform

The success of any alumni association revolves around how engaged its members are. Create an effective alumni engagement program, and you will raise interest in membership, increase event attendance, and encourage more active contributions.

You now know how to design your alumni software to facilitate engagement in your alumni community. All that’s left to do is to choose the best alumni management software and start building a better, stronger alumni community.

Discover what Aluminate for Education or Aluminate for Enterprise can do for your college, university, or company, and become another one of our success stories.

Request a free demo of our alumni software today.

The post How to Design Your Alumni Software to Facilitate Engagement appeared first on Aluminati Network Group.

However, many institutions lament the fact that they aren’t seeing these alumni benefits. Could it be that too little attention is given to how the alumni themselves benefit?

When alumni receive value for their participation, they are more likely to give their alma mater something in return. Here are seven benefits your institution can offer your alumni.

Why is it important to offer benefits to your alumni network?

Educational institutions can reap many benefits from their alumni networks, yet too many simply don’t offer enough to them. When you offer benefits to your alumni network, you show your alumni that you appreciate their participation, recognize their achievements, and value them and their contributions.

Builds a culture of ongoing engagement

Have you noticed a dramatic decline in alumni association interest and involvement?

When you offer alumni benefits, you build a culture of ongoing engagement that promotes future involvement in the program. This will lead to more of your graduates wanting to join your alumni programs.

Encourages financial support

Is your college or university in dire need of some extra funds?

Giving alumni benefits encourages your graduates to lend financial support to your institution. This may take different forms, such as through a set monthly, quarterly, or annual financial contribution, or a large once-off donation.

Boosts your institution’s reputation

Does your institution need to improve its public image and reputation?

A strong alumni program that offers its alumni benefits they value, can be the precursor to some free PR. Your former students will think (and speak) more highly of their alma mater in conversion, in speeches, and in the media, thus boosting your reputation.

7 Valuable benefits your institution can offer alumni

Research shows that 81% of alumni feel unrecognized and unappreciated by their alumni organizations. These are the alumni benefits your institution can offer alumni to show them that you care, thus boosting engagement and financial support.

1. Career services and educational resources 

Invest in your alumni relations by providing your graduate students with career advice and other valuable career services. Give them the tools they need to succeed, and allow them to access an exclusive library of educational resources.

You can do all of this and more with an online community platform like Aluminate for Education. This platform serves as an alumni online community that can be customized to your unique requirements.

The Aluminate platform features a dynamic digital dashboard where your alumni can access job postings, an educational resource library, informational articles, important alumni announcements, and so much more.

2. Continuing education discounts

Create a culture of lifelong learning with alumni benefits that will enhance career development and ultimately, quality of life. Promote continuous learning, such as continuing education classes and discounted certificate programs and courses.

An educational discount alumni benefit allows your college or university to give alumni more value for their money. Meanwhile, your institution is continuing to earn a profit from these follow-up courses of study.

This is the perfect example of how the benefits given to your alumni will lead to benefits from your alumni. In this scenario, everyone wins.

3. Alumni networking opportunities

Create connections by hosting networking opportunities for your university’s alumni association. Networking events build a stronger alumni network and can lead to job referrals, business partnerships, and lifelong friendships.

They also offer your alumni the opportunity to brainstorm with their fellow alumni on fundraiser ideas and other projects for your institution. That makes this an alumni benefit that is in your best interests, too.

The Aluminate platform is ideal for your alumni association’s webinars and virtual social networking events. Announce all upcoming networking opportunities on the digital dashboard. Here, your alumni will see the content that is most relevant to their chosen industry and personal interests.

4. Exclusive alumni association events

Create opportunities for fellowship, friendship, and support by allowing your alumni to socialize with fellow alumni at exclusive events. They don’t have to be formal affairs. Here are some creative ideas for alumni events to inspire you.

You can also create virtual activities on your alumni online platform that allow graduates who now live further afield, to join in the fun. By segmenting your alumni network with the Aluminate Groups feature, alumni with similar career paths, passions, and interests can communicate and collaborate.

Remember to keep alumni data accurate and up-to-date. It will make it easier for your institution to reach out to alumni and invite them to join your programs. Aluminate’s Social Data Sync feature makes this easy and convenient so that they don’t miss out on these exclusive events.

5. Discounts and perks

Offer your alumni network special discounts and perks, for example, branded merchandise bearing the institution and alumni association’s names or emblems. These items will engage alumni and instill pride in their alma mater.

Don’t dismiss these as too small or insignificant to engage your alumni. Alumni benefits like these, while relatively inexpensive, can have a big impact.

Perks like free or discounted branded merchandise help to solidify the connection between graduates and their alma mater. And as a bonus, they also serve as marketing materials for your institution when used in public.

6. Volunteer and mentorship opportunities

Arrange volunteer opportunities on your campus or out in the public sphere for your alumni to be a part of. This will make them feel needed and appreciated, and they will see firsthand how their program membership makes a difference to the community.

Create a mentorship program where your former students can mentor current students. This allows alumni to share their knowledge, skills, and talents. Aluminate’s mentoring feature makes it easy for these prospective mentors and mentees to find each other.

Such services don’t only benefit your current students. The members of your alumni associations who offer such services benefit, too. They share their knowledge and skills while feeling recognized and appreciated.

7. Recognition and rewards from their alma mater

Does your institution give alumni the recognition and reward they deserve for their outstanding accomplishments? If not, it’s time to start implementing these crucial alumni benefits into your alumni association.

Create a recognition and rewards program that fits your institution’s culture and budget. Invite alumni to contribute to it as well, should they have the means.

Whether it’s a virtual mention on the alumni network online platform or a formal awards ceremony, the effect is the same. Your alumni will know that even after graduation, you continue to be proud of their achievements.

How Aluminate for Education helps manage alumni initiatives

At Aluminati, we understand the growing need for automation to relieve admin burdens. We also realize the importance of data analysis and insights into how well your alumni benefits program is doing. That’s why we added these two exclusive features to help admins manage alumni initiatives, and better understand their communities’ engagement.

Intelligent Matching Engine

The Aluminate Community Builder includes a powerful Intelligent Matching Engine. It automates what used to be a burdensome job — matching program members to one another, and relevant content in the network.

In just a few clicks, the Intelligent Matching Engine can match program members to :

• Further study courses
• Networking and social events
• Volunteering opportunities
• Mentorship opportunities (matches mentors to mentees, and vice versa)
• Special interest groups
• The program’s (and the institution’s) latest news and developments
• Relevant job vacancies
• Exciting offers exclusive to alumni

And so much more.

Matches can be downloaded and concluded manually if preferred, but the engine can also automate the process.

This handy feature ensures that your alumni reap the most benefits from your program, increasing engagement.

Insights

Everyone from leading businesses to top academic institutions relies on data analysis and insights to determine the return on investment their alumni programs offer. This helps them make more data-driven decisions in the future.

The Aluminate Community Builder makes this process even easier, with Insights. This highly dynamic and fully customizable admin tool is suitable for both academic and corporate use. Simply choose from a library of pre-set reports, or create your own, to better suit your needs.

The Insights tool lets those in the corporate sector track relevant Key Performance Indicators such as generated business, re-hires, and HR savings. In the academic world, it can be used to track generated donations, and interest in volunteerism and mentorship.

So, how does this help you manage your alumni initiatives, and offer alumni the benefits they want? It offers you an in-depth understanding of what drives your community’s engagement. And that allows you to adapt your strategy, and optimize budget allocation to the benefits they really want.

Aluminate for Education is the best platform to deliver benefits to your alumni

Part of building a strong alumni network is offering alumni benefits that boost engagement and encourage further participation. However, just as any building needs a firm foundation, so too does your alumni association. And you can give it that, with Aluminate for Education.

With Aluminate for Education, you can build a new alumni network, update existing pages, and scale your online community as its membership grows. Give your alumni benefits that matter, through a platform that’s customizable, dynamic, and rich in innovative features.

Request your free demo today.

The post 7 Benefits Your Institution Can Offer Alumni appeared first on Aluminati Network Group.

Of course, your alumni network is also an ideal source of funding, ensuring revenue through alumni engagement. This is especially relevant now, as decreasing FAFSA submissions and the resulting decline in tuition revenue place educational institutions under great financial stress.

This situation, coupled with the high cost of maintaining university or college infrastructure, means schools are more dependent on fundraisers and donations than ever before. Read on to learn how creating a strong, engaging alumni network can be the solution to your school’s financial woes.

The role of alumni in institutional success

Establishing an alumni community and managing it effectively is crucial for ensuring revenue through alumni engagement.

Lifelong community members

Create a robust alumni network to reach out to and engage alumni and you reap the benefits of lifelong community members. By encouraging constant participation and camaraderie, you ensure a consistent potential revenue stream, too.

As more alumni join the community, it takes on a life of its own as a thriving alumni network loyal to the institution that binds them. As a result, other influential groups they are now affiliated with can play a role in your school’s success.

Financial contributions

As the alumni network grows, this ensures a constant revenue stream through alumni membership fees. Make the effort to keep your alumni engaged and involved with their alma mater and you also have access to a list of potential donors for every fundraising campaign.

This is essential for schools that rely heavily on the proceeds of fundraising to provide better services to their students. And these alumni contributions are not the only source of revenue. Through their new contacts, alumni can also open doors to new corporate donors, and sponsors of scholarships.

Strategies for enhancing alumni engagement

If ensuring revenue through alumni engagement is your goal, you need to lay the foundation with the following strategies.

Personalized communication

The more personalized your alumni community communications are, the more engaged your alumni community will be. Take note of your community members’ interests, and use this knowledge to reach out to them and capture their attention.

Go a step further and create sub-groups to facilitate alumni involvement within your wider alumni community where they can communicate with like-minded individuals.

Regular events and reunions

Alumni engagement requires consistent involvement.

Set up alumni events like networking sessions and reunions. These don’t always have to be in-person events, nor do they need to be hosted in lavish settings. They just have to be regular so keep the school present in alumni’s thoughts.

A mix of formal in-person and virtual alumni events offers flexibility and convenience for alumni who have moved further afield.

Alumni volunteer programs

Often, alumni want to be involved in the school and student community’s continued success but do not know how best to help.

Establish volunteer programs where they can make a difference by donating their time and/or funds to important causes. Donors need motivation to keep donating.

Keep alumni informed about volunteering, fundraising, and sponsorship opportunities. This can be the catalyst for renewed interest in alumni giving.

Providing value to alumni

Providing alumni networks with value for their participation is vital to ensuring revenue through alumni engagement.

Career development opportunities

The world of work beckons after graduation, but some alumni find it more daunting than others. Help them to transition to their new role in society. Use your alumni network to keep alumni informed about professional development and career services within your university.

Lifelong learning

Your alumni’s learning journey does have to end when they graduate. Encourage this cycle of lifelong learning by offering a digital repository of academic journals, research papers, tutorials, and other learning resources.

Exclusive benefits

If you’re set on ensuring revenue through engagement, remember that you need to give to receive. Offer your alumni exclusive benefits like special events and memorabilia that strengthen the bond and make them want to stay involved with the alumni association.

Leveraging technology for engagement

The first step to ensuring revenue through alumni engagement is to use the right technology, like the Aluminate for Education alumni engagement software. Here are two methods of using technology to your advantage:

Alumni portals

An alumni portal is an online platform that allows graduates and former students to maintain and update their contact info, employment status, particulars, achievements, and communication preferences. But it also serves a deeper purpose: continued interaction and engagement.

Alumni engagement software like Aluminate for Education provides a customizable alumni portal that can be used to manage alumni data. And with the Social Data Sync feature, it’s even easier to keep your community data accurate.

This makes it a breeze for the university to remain in contact with its alumni. It also allows former students to stay in contact with fellow alumni. This is vital to the continued connection between students and their alma mater, regardless of future geographical distance.

Social media engagement

Social media platforms are an excellent choice for boosting engagement in these increasingly digital times. However, it’s crucial that you choose the right social media platform, one that caters specifically to the needs and interests of academic alumni.

Aluminate for Education is the world’s most customizable community platform. It is therefore an excellent tool for creating your very own alumni social network, similar to other social media platforms, but tailor-made to facilitate alumni interaction and increase their engagement.

You provide links to digital resources relevant to alumni like academic journals. Or advertise upcoming reunions and networking events. And, of course, you can use the platform’s digital dashboard to announce important fundraisers.

Measuring success

The key to ensuring revenue through alumni engagement is consistent monitoring of alumni engagement rates.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Your Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, are the quantifiable measurements that show how effective your engagement tactics are. They are the metrics that highlight how well your alumni engagement platforms are performing. Keep a watchful eye on these.

Look at which of your online social posts are getting the most attention, likes, and comments. What is clicked on the most, and how many of these are shared? Analyzing metrics like these will give you a better idea of what your alumni find most newsworthy, entertaining, and engaging.

Feedback mechanisms

Your feedback mechanisms are another rich source of alumni engagement potential. Encourage such feedback by allowing comments on social media posts, inviting participation in interactive activities, and crafting alumni-centric surveys.

Such feedback will give you deeper insights into how your alumni think and what drives their participation, This will enable you to engage them more thoroughly and give you more direction for your fundraising appeals.

Invest in Aluminate for Education to boost alumni engagement and revenue

Are you ready to ensure a consistent revenue stream through alumni engagement?

You’ll need a platform for managing alumni data, communicating with alumni, and encouraging their participation. The type of platform that can be customized to your specific needs, while offering the type of value that will encourage alumni donations.

Thanks to its customizable, user-friendly software catering to the academic world, Aluminate for Education offers the ideal platform for ensuring revenue through alumni engagement.

Request a demo and learn why so many leading institutions trust Aluminati for building alumni communities.

The post Ensuring Revenue for Institutions Through Improved Alumni Engagement appeared first on Aluminati Network Group.

The truth is that they are not so far removed at all, and both rely on thriving alumni networks for growth and development. We get to the crux of the matter in this short guide, which explains what alumni involvement can mean to their respective communities.

Definition of alumni

The simplest definition of an alumnus (plural: alumni) is a former member of a specific group. This is most commonly used in the academic setting, but companies can have alumni, too.

So, former students and graduates can be alumni, and former employees can be alumni. Investing in alumni associations for your academic or corporate alumni can offer multiple benefits for both the alumni and your institution or organization.

Alumni in education

In higher education, the term alumni typically refers to former students and graduates of an academic institution like a college or university. These are academic alumni, and what unifies them is their former ties to a common alma mater.

Roles and contributions 

Academic alumni play an important role, and often make very valuable contributions, to the following areas of academia.

Networking and mentorship 

After graduating, college and university students pursue careers in their respective fields of study. They form new connections with industry peers and acquire new skills and expertise. These academic alumni are the best matches for mentoring the next generation of students at their alma mater.

Networking events bring these academic alumni together. Although they may have moved in completely different directions to further their respective careers, this is a good thing. They all bring unique perspectives to the table, and together, they can rebuild a struggling alumni community.

Philanthropy and fundraising

Academic institutions all have different-sized budgets and unique approaches to campus resource allocation or community involvement. However, they all need help with their various philanthropic ventures and fundraising drives from time to time.

Academic alumni, having established themselves in their careers, and perhaps even started their own businesses, are ideally suited to assist with these endeavors. Among them, they have the connections, knowledge, the solidarity, and the financial means to get these projects off the ground.

Ambassadors and advocates

Notable alumni are also the ultimate ambassadors for the educational institution and the best advocates for its various causes. The more successful they have been since graduation, the more they represent the opportunities that an education at that particular institution can offer prospective students.

That is why alumni engagement is so crucial. Their lives will have become a lot busier after graduating, and memories of their student days and friendships can soon fade. An alumni organization will foster continued fellowship and interest in the educational institution that paved their path to success.

Alumni in enterprise

In an enterprise, the term alumni refers to former employees of a business, especially a corporate organization. These are corporate alumni, and what unifies them is their former employment in the same company.

Roles and contributions

Corporate alumni play an important role and often make very profitable contributions to the following areas of the corporate sector.

Knowledge sharing and networking

A corporate alumni network offers former employees of an organization the chance to network and share knowledge with their fellow alumni/former colleagues. However, their entrepreneurship advice and knowledge sharing do not have to end there.

Corporate alumni are the best mentors, in-person or online, for new and junior employees. Because they have faced the same challenges in the same organization, they know best how to overcome them. Employees struggling to fit into new work roles will learn much from their predecessors’ industry insights.

Business development

In any corporate alumni network, at least one (and typically more) will have started their own business or moved up through the ranks to a higher position of influence. Such individuals offer much value to the future success of the business that formerly employed them.

Corporate alumni are ideal candidates for hosting talks on business development and also individual professional development. They can also arrange meetings with influential figures and thus open the door to new business partnerships.

Talent acquisition

Talent acquisition is of paramount importance in any enterprise, which is why so much effort and money is poured into recruiting and headhunting. Corporate alumni can be the solution here, too, and in more ways than one. You may want to consider incorporating your alumni network into your recruitment drives and talent management system.

These former employees can refer people from their new corporate communities as candidates for consideration. However, the alumni themselves are often the best candidates, as they are already familiar with the company culture and organizational structure. The increase in boomerang hiring proves this.

The importance of alumni networks

Alumni are the bridge between their former academic institution, or employer, and the outside world. They are the best mentors and fundraisers, and the ultimate brand ambassadors. They can also inspire current students and employees, and lead to new, exciting, and profitable partnerships.

These are just some of the advantages that make alumni vital to the success of their alma mater or previous employer. However, establishing strong alumni networks, and engaging alumni, is also beneficial for the alumni themselves.

Communicating, networking, collaborating, and socializing with other alumni and maintaining ties to their common institutions, offers the following benefits:

Building strong communities

Higher education institutions and business enterprises with thriving alumni networks enjoy a stronger sense of community. This is keenly felt by the alumni, too. It gives them more reason to remain connected to the academic or corporate community through social networking and community events.

Enhancing reputation and influence

The networking that alumni networks offer can lead to significant new partnerships. As a result, both the alumni and the institutional or organizational bodies that unite them may experience enhanced reputations and greater influence in current affairs.

Facilitating lifelong learning and growth

Alumni networks promote and facilitate a culture of lifelong learning and growth. Through mentoring new students or team members, or lending support to new projects, everyone involved keeps learning and evolving. This encourages more creativity and sparks new ideas and innovations.

Make the most of your alumni with Aluminate

Regardless of your academic field or business sector, your alumni are essential to your success. They can help you build the college or university community you always envisioned, or the corporate community you have always aspired to. In turn, they will experience camaraderie and connection.

But to make the most of your alumni, you need a strong alumni network. One that is well-maintained, and keeps alumni engaged. And Aluminati can help.

Our Aluminate for Education alumni engagement software is completely customizable, for engaging students, teaching staff, and alumni, your way. Our Aluminate for Enterprise alumni management platform is also totally customizable, for managing corporate employee and alumni programs that work for you.

To learn how to make the most of your alumni, request a demo today.

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