Alumni engagement is one of the best ways for institutions to maintain and nurture relationships with previous graduates to build a strong professional network. Alumni engagement strategies should start well before students graduate to build more effective relationships and long-term networks. 

You’ll find in this article some key tips to improve your alumni engagement. For more details, download our guide on alumni engagement 👇

1. Know your audience

The first question you should ask yourself is who’s your user persona? Who are you talking to? Who are you trying to engage? The answer is quite easy because you already have a lot of information about your former students. The subjects they studied, their interests (in what clubs were they involved? What sports did they play?)... Use it to tailor your communications.
You can also use social listening tools like Hootsuite to find out what your alumni are talking about. What keywords do they use? What’s their main pain points? What is important to them in terms of career development? 

2. Treat your alumni like customers

47% of undergraduates in the UK say they would regard themselves as a customer of their university*. If you also think of your graduates as customers, the more you provide them value, the more they are likely to engage and give back. But what does value mean? It can take several forms: 

✍️ Delivering interesting and useful resources (articles, videos, testimonials, concrete advice, practical guides…)
📣 Organising events to gather your students, alumni, professors and administrators and encourage networking 
🎙️ Sharing stories and memories to strengthen the sense of belonging and share good times together 

3. Look after your database

If you want your communication strategy to be effective, you need an updated database. We recommend keeping contact information up to date for a successful outreach. It can be a great way to expand your online community. As Jacob Jenson, Technical University of Denmark said, “Consider data as fuel for your database. You need enough fuel to get where you want to go. Too much data, or the wrong type, will waste your resources”.

4. A targeted communication

Using segmented data to communicate is key to getting the right messaging to the right people. With the correct information, you will know who is more likely to donate, speak at an event, facilitate a workshop… As it is the case for any type of communication, the more targeted, the more effective it will be and the better user response you will receive.

5. Provide a personalised alumni experience

As Tom Jirat, Head of Operations at the University of Manchester, says, it is key to use the right communication channels for the right audiences based on their expectations and social experience. 

Today’s generations of students have only known fast internet and have grown up with a multitude of social and communication channels. Their expectations regarding how their institutions communicate and build relationships with them need to be taken into account. And in that context, an online community seems to be fitting well. 

Whereas GenX grew up with email communication, GenY utilises technology as much as possible (text, instant messages, mobile apps…). As for GenZ, one of the best ways to communicate with them is by leveraging their comfort with multitasking and technology. Focus on multiple platforms, short snippets, visually stimulating content, etc.

Ready to build your alumni community? 

*Source: www.universitiesuk.ac.uk 

*Source: whitepaper Mind the Gap: Communicating Through the Ages