.svg)
How to keep your alumni community continuously engaged
Almost every advancement team has probably tried to build some kind of alumni community by now. The idea of having a well-connected alumni community with thriving conversations sounds great, right? But in reality, it's quite different.
Starting an online community is the easy part. Everything that comes after? Not so much. The initial buzz, most of the time, fizzles out.
Initially, the community members participate actively, engage in events, share content with each other, and some relationships form. Engagement is high, and there’s good energy.
Some members even take charge, helping to organize events and engage others in the community.
Then, over time, the decay sets in. Some people stop talking as much as they used to. Fewer people post. People stop checking the feed, forum, or board.
Eventually, the community dies, an empty shell of a once-bustling virtual town
BUT why do most communities fail?
Lack of consistent engagement
Think about it—how many communities have you joined and eventually forgotten? How many WhatsApp or Facebook groups are buried somewhere in your archives?
Keeping an alumni community active isn’t just about setting it up; it’s about maintaining consistent and meaningful engagement. Over time, people get busy and lose interest, and the community becomes just another forgotten group.
The key question is: Is there value being added regularly? Are you sharing content and initiating programs that genuinely benefit your alumni? Without consistent, relevant communication, your community risks fading into the background.
Equally important is providing self-serve engagement options. Whether it's accessing job boards, updating class notes, or participating in networking and mentorship opportunities, giving alumni the ability to engage at their own pace ensures they feel more connected and empowered within the community.
Failure to address diverse member needs and interests
In today's world of hyper-personalization, a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works. Think about why you started your community. What was the goal? Who exactly are you trying to reach? Are you offering value that resonates with your audience? And most importantly, what’s in it for them to stay engaged?
Content plays a central role in keeping your alumni community active. Alumni need to see relevant, engaging content consistently—otherwise, they quickly lose interest. Sporadic updates or generic posts won’t cut it. Tailored communication and programs that align with the diverse needs and interests of your members are key. If your community doesn’t offer consistent value through personalized content, it risks becoming irrelevant.
Imagine sending the same newsletter to all alumni, regardless of their class year, profession, or interests. One month, the newsletter highlights a reunion for the Class of 1995, the next, it promotes a networking event for tech professionals. While the intention is good, the content might not resonate with everyone. A recent graduate in tech might not be interested in a reunion event for a class they weren't part of, just as much as a mid-career professional might not find a networking event for young alumni relevant.
Lack of proper infrastructure to keep the momentum going
A common reason alumni communities falter is the lack of a solid infrastructure. Deciding where to host the community—be it a dedicated platform, email, or social media—can be tricky. As the community scales, tracking all the data and interactions in one place becomes challenging, making it hard to deliver tailored content.
To make matters worse, a short-staffed team can struggle to manage the growing demands, leading to a loss of momentum and declining engagement.
Feels like yet another social media platform
No one wants to deal with yet another app or website where they constantly need to sign up to access any information. Sure, having a sign-up wall creates exclusivity and keeps things secure when needed, but it’s crucial to strike a balance.
The key is to ensure alumni don’t feel like they’re jumping through hoops to participate. Tailor the content and provide self-serve engagement options, like job boards or class notes, so they can access valuable resources easily. More importantly, alumni need to feel motivated to contribute their own content. Whether it’s sharing job openings, posting updates, or joining conversations, they should be encouraged and nudged to engage regularly.
Equally important is how this content is shared. A well-designed distribution system ensures the right content gets to the right people in relevant formats, keeping the community active without feeling like a chore.
What can you do differently, and how can you leverage tech?
Automation for Consistency
Managing multiple communities is a daunting task for a small team. That's where a modern tool comes in. Consistent communication and engagement are crucial, but doing this manually is time-consuming and prone to human error. This is where automation becomes a game-changer.
Here’s how Almabase helps you keep your community actively engaged through automatic event notifications, auto-digests, program alerts and more!
Segmentation and Personalization
To create granular segments and personalize engagement, you need the ability to filter your alumni community data into various categories, such as interests, affinities, demographics, location, engagement levels, class years, and more.
For example, if a significant number of alumni are clustered in the Santa Monica area, you could host a regional chapter event. Or, you might create a special athletics newsletter for those who were part of sports teams in college. The key is to categorize your alumni into smaller, more focused groups to enhance your engagement efforts.
Data-Driven Insights
Leverage analytics to identify trends and pinpoint areas needing attention. Use these insights to guide content creation and community initiatives. With the right tools, you can create custom dashboards and reports to see what's working and where improvements are needed. In addition to these metrics, conducting surveys or polls is helpful to understand the community’s preferences and needs.
With real-time data providing a bird’s eye view of your constituents' engagement journey, you can swiftly identify potential donors, those most likely to engage or become mentors, and those highly active on your alumni site or in emails. This immediate insight into their intentions empowers you to act strategically and enhance their involvement.
Keeping an alumni community active isn’t just about getting people to join—it’s about making sure they stay engaged. With the right mix of personalized content and smart tech, you can build a community that keeps alumni coming back for more.
Almost every advancement team has probably tried to build some kind of alumni community by now. The idea of having a well-connected alumni community with thriving conversations sounds great, right? But in reality, it's quite different.
Starting an online community is the easy part. Everything that comes after? Not so much. The initial buzz, most of the time, fizzles out.
Initially, the community members participate actively, engage in events, share content with each other, and some relationships form. Engagement is high, and there’s good energy.
Some members even take charge, helping to organize events and engage others in the community.
Then, over time, the decay sets in. Some people stop talking as much as they used to. Fewer people post. People stop checking the feed, forum, or board.
Eventually, the community dies, an empty shell of a once-bustling virtual town
BUT why do most communities fail?
Lack of consistent engagement
Think about it—how many communities have you joined and eventually forgotten? How many WhatsApp or Facebook groups are buried somewhere in your archives?
Keeping an alumni community active isn’t just about setting it up; it’s about maintaining consistent and meaningful engagement. Over time, people get busy and lose interest, and the community becomes just another forgotten group.
The key question is: Is there value being added regularly? Are you sharing content and initiating programs that genuinely benefit your alumni? Without consistent, relevant communication, your community risks fading into the background.
Equally important is providing self-serve engagement options. Whether it's accessing job boards, updating class notes, or participating in networking and mentorship opportunities, giving alumni the ability to engage at their own pace ensures they feel more connected and empowered within the community.
Failure to address diverse member needs and interests
In today's world of hyper-personalization, a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works. Think about why you started your community. What was the goal? Who exactly are you trying to reach? Are you offering value that resonates with your audience? And most importantly, what’s in it for them to stay engaged?
Content plays a central role in keeping your alumni community active. Alumni need to see relevant, engaging content consistently—otherwise, they quickly lose interest. Sporadic updates or generic posts won’t cut it. Tailored communication and programs that align with the diverse needs and interests of your members are key. If your community doesn’t offer consistent value through personalized content, it risks becoming irrelevant.
Imagine sending the same newsletter to all alumni, regardless of their class year, profession, or interests. One month, the newsletter highlights a reunion for the Class of 1995, the next, it promotes a networking event for tech professionals. While the intention is good, the content might not resonate with everyone. A recent graduate in tech might not be interested in a reunion event for a class they weren't part of, just as much as a mid-career professional might not find a networking event for young alumni relevant.
Lack of proper infrastructure to keep the momentum going
A common reason alumni communities falter is the lack of a solid infrastructure. Deciding where to host the community—be it a dedicated platform, email, or social media—can be tricky. As the community scales, tracking all the data and interactions in one place becomes challenging, making it hard to deliver tailored content.
To make matters worse, a short-staffed team can struggle to manage the growing demands, leading to a loss of momentum and declining engagement.
Feels like yet another social media platform
No one wants to deal with yet another app or website where they constantly need to sign up to access any information. Sure, having a sign-up wall creates exclusivity and keeps things secure when needed, but it’s crucial to strike a balance.
The key is to ensure alumni don’t feel like they’re jumping through hoops to participate. Tailor the content and provide self-serve engagement options, like job boards or class notes, so they can access valuable resources easily. More importantly, alumni need to feel motivated to contribute their own content. Whether it’s sharing job openings, posting updates, or joining conversations, they should be encouraged and nudged to engage regularly.
Equally important is how this content is shared. A well-designed distribution system ensures the right content gets to the right people in relevant formats, keeping the community active without feeling like a chore.
What can you do differently, and how can you leverage tech?
Automation for Consistency
Managing multiple communities is a daunting task for a small team. That's where a modern tool comes in. Consistent communication and engagement are crucial, but doing this manually is time-consuming and prone to human error. This is where automation becomes a game-changer.
Here’s how Almabase helps you keep your community actively engaged through automatic event notifications, auto-digests, program alerts and more!
Segmentation and Personalization
To create granular segments and personalize engagement, you need the ability to filter your alumni community data into various categories, such as interests, affinities, demographics, location, engagement levels, class years, and more.
For example, if a significant number of alumni are clustered in the Santa Monica area, you could host a regional chapter event. Or, you might create a special athletics newsletter for those who were part of sports teams in college. The key is to categorize your alumni into smaller, more focused groups to enhance your engagement efforts.
Data-Driven Insights
Leverage analytics to identify trends and pinpoint areas needing attention. Use these insights to guide content creation and community initiatives. With the right tools, you can create custom dashboards and reports to see what's working and where improvements are needed. In addition to these metrics, conducting surveys or polls is helpful to understand the community’s preferences and needs.
With real-time data providing a bird’s eye view of your constituents' engagement journey, you can swiftly identify potential donors, those most likely to engage or become mentors, and those highly active on your alumni site or in emails. This immediate insight into their intentions empowers you to act strategically and enhance their involvement.
Keeping an alumni community active isn’t just about getting people to join—it’s about making sure they stay engaged. With the right mix of personalized content and smart tech, you can build a community that keeps alumni coming back for more.
Blackbaud, the leading provider of software for powering social impact, and Almabase, the digital-first alumni engagement solution, have announced the expansion of their partnership to the education sectors of Canada and the United Kingdom. The partnership will provide institutions with a modern, digital-first solution to improve constituent data, drive self-serve engagement, and boost event participation.
A Unified Vision
The partnership aligns with Blackbaud’s commitment to customer-centric innovation across digital engagement, Advancement CRM, and financials.
“Partners bring integrated capabilities that extend capabilities and outcomes for Blackbaud customers. We are thrilled that Almabase’s offering, integrated with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® and leveraging Blackbaud’s best-in-class payment solution, Blackbaud Merchant Services™, is now available to even more of our customers around the world.”
- Liz Price, Sr. Director of Global Partners at Blackbaud
