Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Alumni in Student Recruitment and Fundraising Success8/9/2017 “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” —Benjamin Franklin
From the moment we leave high school and college, we inherently and immediately become a walking marketing resource for the school of which we attended. By being able to provide a wealth of knowledge to prospective students and speak on behalf of our beloved alma mater's, alumni are arguably one of the most influential and highly-respected aspects of the referral and decision-making process when it comes to selecting a school to attend – directly impacting your student recruitment efforts. Having said this, alumni are also one of the most underestimated, and at times, under-valued assets when it comes to the promotional, recruiting and fundraising opportunities of high schools and universities. When most of us think of alumni relation programs, the first thing that comes to mind is usually fundraising. However, a strong alumni relations program can be much more impactful from a marketing perspective than what you may initially expect. Alumni engagement is a key component of establishing effective marketing results. If there is no alumni engagement, success will be limited in establishing a strong alumni relations program. Graduates cannot knowledgeably represent a university if they have not been informed of or kept up on the school’s recent events, development and growth. Consistent communication about the school’s successes, philanthropic growth, and alumni engagement opportunities helps create a strong alumni relations program for former students, and forms a pipeline for successful school recruitment and fundraising as well. Successful alumni relations programs can be compared to successful companies that employ strategic marketing and communications to create strong and lasting relationships with their customers. By utilizing newsletters, e-marketing, direct mail, web-based tools, social media and networking events, alumni programs can flourish and maintain communication between schools and alumni, creating a successful alumni database for on-going communication and growth. Encourage alumni to build a successful network of individuals by getting involved with their alma mater and keep in touch with old classmates, friends and faculty to maintain social relationships, and establish great working relationships. In turn, this will create areas of opportunity to keep your school top-of-mind through ongoing communication and networking. Use social media to your advantage. These days, everyone is connecting via the web, and social media forums like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can help you keep alumni engaged through events, classmate forums and news updates about your school. Finally, encourage alumni to get involved in planning events such as reunions, job fairs and homecomings. Social and networking gatherings provide a venue for alumni to reconnect and to continue building a successful network of alumni, while keeping their alma mater top-of-mind for volunteerism, donations, and referring future students. The bottom line is find the marketing tools that work best for your program and implement them to keep alumni engaged and willing to assist their alma mater. What tools have you found to be successful in keeping alumni engaged? What tools do you wish you had?
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