Alumni associations offer both higher education institutions and corporate organizations benefits like donations and other contributions, mentorship, opportunities for new partnerships, and much more. The more engaged alumni are, the more potential benefits your program will bring.
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.
