The period that young adults spent at college is often remembered as some of their best years and they are left with the fondest memories that can last a lifetime. Ask any alumni about their time in college and they will surely share their best experiences with a smile on their faces.
Alumni are considered the backbone of education institutions as they are a valuable asset and resource as they can act as advocates and mentors that could provide consistent support to students.
In the past couple of years, alumni relations and engagement have evolved significantly and universities may be trying to come up with strategies to remain relevant. To keep up, there are certain alumni trends that can help in order for your college to build and maintain stronger relationships with former students.
Using Virtual Platforms
Since the pandemic hindered possibilities to host in-person events in the past couple of years, we have witnessed a host of virtual alumni events being hosted by different institutions. Since things are not looking to be slowing down with the COVID-19 crisis any time soon, there are certain trends that institutions have taken to maintain alumni engagement.
Colleges can now use virtual platforms to engage their alumni and allow them to connect with their peers anytime and anywhere. For instance, if you want to engage and re-invigorate former students, the GradEngage alumni software is a fantastic option that allows institutions to attract alumni on a global scale, digitally engage them and encourage them to interact.
Such software solutions also provide tools to automate matching and offer career opportunities, mentoring options, professional guidance, and excellent opportunities to find available jobs and internships.
Using Social Media
Whether we like to admit it or not, the impact of social media on alumni engagement is major. Social media has been shown as the perfect way to modernize alumni relations as they provide technology tools, digital communications, and virtual engagement.
For instance, Twitter is considered an excellent way for colleges to show off their so-called brand and build relationships with alumni. You can mix interesting and useful information, highlight the college’s accomplishments and through this, emphasize the right image of the institution.
Lately, Instagram has taken over as it’s a visual medium and an excellent place to connect with alumni. You can show carefully curated images of college students having fun and this can evoke a feeling of nostalgia with alumni students who might show interest to establish a more permanent relationship with your college.
Simply put, social media can help your college connect with alumni on an emotional level and make them want to stay connected, be engaged, and be informed about the institution’s activities in the future as well.
Collecting Data and Implementing Data Strategies
When it comes to engaging with alumni, a big trend is to collect and analyze user data. There are several ways in which you can collect and analyze data, such as demographic information of the alumni and using alumni surveys to keep updated information on the employment history and use it for your digital marketing strategies.
You can also keep detailed records on social mentions by tracking hashtags that are associated with your college, seeing which users are most likely to follow you, and get a closer understanding of what posts get the most engagement.
Keyword tracking is also an amazing way to see which keywords bring the most traffic to your website and this can be especially beneficial if you have a specific website for alumni. In the end, collecting data and implementing data strategies is about getting to know your alumni better.
Highlighting Alumni Talents
Every person wants to feel appreciated, respected and valued. To improve any engagement efforts with your alumni, your college should treat these individuals as more than their college degree and major.
A growing trend is seen in how alumni publications and social media posts highlight the alumni’s achievements beyond the scope of their studies and college degrees.
This shows sincere interest and care towards the students and alumni and can be used as a smart marketing tool to show that your institution supports and helps shape well-rounded and successful, graduates.
Final Thoughts
As time passes by, it’s undoubtedly becoming challenging to maintain strong alumni relations. Luckily, new challenges bring new opportunities and now certain alumni trends can help colleges engage with their alumni on a more meaningful and deeper basis.
Trends like using virtual platforms, social media, collecting data, and implementing strategies, but also highlighting alumni talents can make a tremendous shift in the way alumni relations evolve even in times of uncertainty.
