The alumni relations sector, historically dependent on institutional influence and face-to-face interaction, is presently confronting a unique challenge: In a time characterized by online engagement and pervasive digital access to social and professional networks, how can alumni associations facilitate the transformation of students and recent graduates into engaged alumni?
At their best, alumni associations provide their members with unparalleled value in terms of social connectivity and professional growth, while also delivering critical support to current students and universities. As a part of Cuseum’s commitment to foster growth and prosperity in alumni relations, we're providing six crucial tips to assist you and your organization in smoothly transitioning students into proactive, committed members of your alumni community.
Let’s dive in!
1. Invest Early
Envisioning the most seamless transition from learner to graduate, it's logical to start with establishing a robust, nurturing foundation from the onset. Alumni associations can and should serve as mutual benefit societies; supporting students' wellbeing and success during their academic journey not only strengthens their ties with the university but also enhances their career prospects, and bolsters their desire to maintain connections with fellow students and the institution post-graduation.
So, HOW IS THAT SUPPORT CONSTRUCTED?
Alumni associations have adopted myriad strategies to engage and develop current students. These range from time-honored tactics like scholarships, mentorship schemes, and academic incentives, to more modern approaches such as remote networking events, online lecture series, and virtual social gatherings. There's no shortage of avenues for enhancing student value and cultivating a vibrant future alumni network.
For instance, enhancing career support and resources before graduation can simplify the transition from student to alumnus. The job market today's youth are entering is drastically altered—with remote work opportunities being offset by financial instability and insecurity resulting from the residual effects of the pandemic and the current economic climate. Research indicates that a consistent, lasting network of social relationships is a crucial determinant of a student's future achievement. By offering mentorship and job assistance, you're not only equipping them with the necessary tools for success but also increasing their odds of becoming active and engaged alumni.
Anita Brothers, the Director of Alumni Relations & Engagement at Dayton University, implements a model that considers student and alumni engagement as comprehensive and interrelated. She posits, "At Dayton, we perceive it as value propositions. How can our alumni contribute value to the admission process? How can they enhance the transition from student to alumnus? And, how can we deliver lifetime services and benefits to our alumni?"
Indeed, investing in students goes beyond just grooming "prospective alumni". Alumni organizations are profoundly dedicated to students' present and future accomplishments, primarily because it serves a fundamental societal benefit. Encouraging a content, healthy, and aspiring student community is vital to fostering a thriving society. Expanding your membership is key to this mission, ensuring a sustained support legacy for both the university and its learners.
2. Communicate Value
The advent of online social networks, coupled with recent challenges like remote education, has fundamentally reshaped the way students interact with their social circles, both before and after graduation. As platforms like social media and other digital networking tools have grown in popularity, they have supplanted many of the benefits and opportunities typically offered by alumni associations.
However, the disruption social media brought to the traditional alumni engagement framework is not without its silver linings. When harnessed by alumni organizations, it can present significant benefits. In fact, data from the most recent VAESE Alumni Relations Benchmarking Study shows that alumni outreach via targeted content on social media outperforms all other types of benefits by 29% in terms of engagement, including on-campus, travel, career-oriented, and event-centered benefits.
As the world gravitates towards a mobile-first model, it is increasingly crucial for alumni associations to exploit the unique interaction opportunities offered by mobile technology. The demand is certainly present, with 75% of alumni would engage more with their alumni organization if their alumni benefits were mobile-friendly. Furthermore, the technological advancements in digital and mobile marketing present an exciting opportunity for other sectors to harness these digital communication channels.
One such method, text message marketing, also known as short message service (SMS) marketing, has proven to be an incredibly effective way for brands to keep consumers informed about product campaigns, exclusive deals, and other value propositions. Its growing popularity as a brand messaging tool has prompted its wider adoption across various sectors such as cultural institutions, nonprofits, public services, and even political campaigns.
That's why Cuseum is proud to offer our cutting-edge SMS solution tailored to boost membership growth and engagement in the alumni affairs sector. Housed within the same integrated platform as our digital membership service, Cuseum's SMS Text Messaging software offers a straightforward, convenient means of maintaining regular communication with your members. Much like our on-demand push notification resource, SMS provides a direct, instant, customizable way to inform potential members about the extraordinary value you offer.
With the increasing emphasis on personalized, mobile-centric communication among university students, it has become more straightforward to engage, inform, and invest in the future of your alumni network.
3. Embrace Virtual and Hybrid Opportunities
Alumni associations have a rich history of adding value to their members through various programs and events. Traditionally, these activities have been largely associated with physical campuses and regional alumni chapters. However, the advent of COVID-19 and the subsequent halt of popular on-site activities like reunions, cultural and sports events, and campus celebrations, compelled universities and alumni organizations to reconsider their strategies. This led to an eventual shift towards a virtual format.
In a recent survey conducted by Cuseum targeting alumni professionals, a staggering 97% stated that they had “initiated or increased their number of virtual events.” Several universities have praised the engagement-enhancing advantages of these online gatherings. Alumni professionals, too, have reported an uptick in involvement and participation attributed to these virtual assemblies. By eliminating geographical limitations, virtual events have demonstrated their effectiveness in boosting membership growth and engagement.
Madeline Goldfischer, Assistant Director of Regional Alumni Chapters at Sarah Lawrence College, encapsulated this sentiment perfectly, saying, “By quickly pivoting to virtual programming, we have been able to engage alumni in locations where they could not previously participate in our events. We have had first-time event participants from across the country and internationally.”
However, the explosion of virtual events during the pandemic has intensified competition for audience attention, escalating the stakes for virtual attendance. The field of alumni relations, like many other professional sectors, has encountered episodes of sluggish growth, reduced attendance, and the rise of “Zoom fatigue.” As we continue to adapt to our increasingly digital reality, the need to deliver unique value via digital channels and virtual events will become more critical.
How to DISTINGUISH YOURSELF IN A VIRTUALLY-DOMINATED WORLD?
Despite broadening their approach to virtual member engagement, alumni relations must retain their flexibility to adapt to the ever-evolving digital landscape in the post-COVID era. As restrictions start to loosen and educational institutions reintroduce in-person learning, the focus has gradually shifted towards a strategy encompassing both virtual and physical events.
Many education and alumni professionals share the conviction that future student and graduate socialization will incorporate a blend of digital and physical events. This implies that organizations committed to expanding and activating alumni networks will need to find the right equilibrium between in-person and virtual engagement opportunities.
4. Get Personal
While a hybrid future seems likely, our current reality is marked by a growing demand for bespoke digital experiences.
The fast-paced shift of work, education, commerce, and culture to the digital sphere has led to a crowded market of virtual goods and services. Consequently, online user experiences can sometimes feel generic, often missing distinct value propositions. To counter this, top-tier brands and corporations across all industries are adopting increasingly personalized approaches for consumer outreach.
As industry leaders like Amazon, Spotify, Snapchat, and Target take personalization to the next level, consumer expectations of tailored experiences rise. Data from Epsilon and GBH Insights found that 80% of U.S. consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers a personalized experience.
These trends are not confined to e-commerce alone; higher education professionals and alumni associations are observing this shift towards personalized digital marketing and are reacting accordingly. Cuseum's survey data disclosed that 77% of alumni relations professionals believe they need to offer more personalized engagement for their members.
However, alumni associations still trail the business sector, with only 30% of alumni emails being personalized in any way. Standardized messages risk being lost in the crowd and are rapidly losing their effectiveness in the contemporary attention economy. To cater to the needs of today's graduates and transition them into future alumni members, associations will need to pioneer innovative forms of tailored communication and targeted outreach.
Fortunately, tools like data analytics, advanced segmentation, and marketing automation are available to aid institutions in implementing and scaling personalized recruitment. Universities and alumni associations, when granted the right access, can now utilize a data-driven approach to decide resource allocation and devise personalized student experiences, with the ultimate aim of strengthening institutional bonds and loyalty.
As Seneca Reyna, Alumni Relations Officer at New Mexico State University, succinctly put it, “Building relationships of substance is the most important part of alumni relations.”
5. Meet Digital-First Demand
For professionals in alumni relations aiming to convert students and recent graduates into alumni members, a key challenge lies in keeping pace with rapidly changing member needs and desires. As consumer demands evolve alongside technological advancements, the same dynamism applies to prospective alumni members.
Special focus will be needed for student outreach, given that younger generations are typically the earliest adopters of new technological frameworks and expectations. Current college students and recent graduates are overwhelmingly digital native, so the membership opportunities that hold value for them will naturally be digital-first.
WHAT DOES VALUE FOR ALUMNI MEMBERS IN THE DIGITAL SPHERE LOOK LIKE?
Virtual membership addresses the perennial need to reduce costs, save time, and streamline processes. By achieving these efficiencies, you're then able to pass these savings onto your constituents, either through more affordable membership tiers for recent graduates, or by offering more generous benefits and incentives to current members.
Embracing the virtual approach links both you and your alumni members to an entire universe of digital tools and services. Ranging from targeted membership initiatives to immediate access to alumni discounts and perks, digital membership programs deliver unparalleled personalization and convenience – an aspect particularly appealing to younger membership prospects.
In the era of contactless technology and mobile payments, physical membership cards can be inconvenient in comparison - as can dealing with complicated traditional membership systems and interacting with member services face-to-face or via phone. In fact, a recent Kobie Marketing study showed that 34% of Millennials refrained from joining a membership program because the enrollment process was too lengthy! On the other hand, virtual cards are user-friendly, impossible to misplace, and provide endless opportunities for member engagement.
Perhaps most critically for alumni organizations, digital membership systems offer the infrastructure and means to cultivate a more united, interactive alumni community.
If digital membership programs are created to cater to the needs of the contemporary consumer, they are also ideally suited for the future alumni member: what better way to pave the way to alumni membership than by instilling a foundational sense of collective identity and community?
6. PLANT THE SEEDS OF LOYALTY
In an era of vast consumer choice and digital engagement, fostering alumni loyalty is pivotal for transitioning recent graduates into active alumni. The challenges of reduced retention and loyalty, especially during the pandemic, have seen many alumni associations witness increases in opt-outs and stagnant member engagement. This situation underscores the need to prioritize member satisfaction over simply acquiring new members, since retaining current members has a higher ROI and aids in building sustainable support.
Key strategies for fostering alumni loyalty include active listening to member feedback, clear and consistent communication, and offering personalized experiences. The significance of personalization in particular is underscored by the fact that 80% of U.S. consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers personalized experiences, and this extends to alumni relations. By leveraging member data for personalized outreach and content, associations can establish substantial relationships, boost engagement, and show their constituents that they are valued.
Innovation in engagement, such as loyalty rewards programs, is also critical in this fast-paced, digital-first world. However, simply offering incentives is not enough. It's crucial to provide a seamless user experience that caters to constituent needs while offering clear value. Leveraging data, too, is essential in understanding what members value most about their membership and offering aligned experiences.
Nurturing loyalty requires understanding member expectations, priorities, and values. With these insights, alumni associations can deepen constituent relationships, turn members into lifelong advocates, and continuously provide value to new graduates and long-term members alike.
As the technological landscapes for work, education, and communication continue to evolve in the digital era, the values and expectations of younger generations will also transform. In this changing paradigm, it's increasingly crucial for the alumni relations sector to address the current challenges, scrutinize their membership growth strategies, and broaden their vision of student outreach. Alumni associations have a distinctive, enduring value to offer students – and with the advent of the latest digital tools and strategies, conveying that value is more effortless and effective than ever. By being actively responsive to their distinct challenges and addressing their changing needs, you can enrich the lives of current students – and smooth their transition to future alumni membership.
Looking to learn more about how technology solutions can help you build a track from student to alum? Schedule a free demo with Cuseum today!