“If students don’t have a great experience at graduation, they’re less likely to engage as alumni. Graduation is not just a ceremony; it’s the start of their lifelong connection with us.”
Samantha Evans
Senior Development & Alumni Relations Officer at Staffordshire University
How can you turn new graduates into lifelong alumni supporters? Prepare to learn the secrets of building lasting connections with your new grads from day one!
Join Samantha Evans, Senior Development and Alumni Relations Officer, and Laura Allen, social media strategist at Staffordshire University, as they share expert tips for engaging your alumni early.
You’ll learn actionable strategies for a smooth onboarding process, creative ideas to nurture lifelong connections, and pro insights to boost your alumni relations efforts. Don’t miss this opportunity to transform your alumni engagement!
Creating a Holistic Alumni Journey:
Alumni engagement should not start at graduation but should be part of the entire student journey. Both Sam and Laura emphasise embedding alumni relations into various student experiences, from recruitment to graduation.
Fun and Informal Graduation Engagement:
The photo booth initiative at graduation is a fun, free, and informal way to capture memories and engage with students and their families. It’s a low-cost but high-impact strategy that strengthens the connection between students and the alumni team.
Leveraging Social Media for Alumni Engagement:
Social media plays a crucial role in connecting students during and after graduation. Staffordshire University uses Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to build excitement for graduation, capture key moments, and transition students into the alumni community.
Strategic Collaboration with Departments:
Successful graduation events require collaboration between multiple departments, including marketing, estates, registry, and alumni relations. Planning starts months in advance, ensuring that everyone’s objectives are met, from promoting post-graduate opportunities to career services.
Repurposing Graduation Content:
Content created during graduation, such as photos and videos, can be repurposed across multiple platforms, helping maintain engagement with both new and existing alumni. For example, TikTok videos created from graduation moments generate excitement and boost alumni engagement.
Measuring the Success of Alumni Initiatives:
Success is tracked through engagement metrics on social media, such as spikes in followers and interactions during graduation periods. Free tools like StageClip, which provide personalised graduation clips, also help capture data, making follow-up communications more targeted and effective.
Alumni Relations Beyond Graduation:
Maintaining relationships with alumni involves personalised communication, such as following their personal and professional milestones on social media. Creative approaches, like turning student content creators into alumni content creators, further strengthen long-term engagement.
“The student and alumni journey is holistic. There shouldn’t be a hard stop at graduation—it’s about flowing seamlessly from one chapter to the next.”
Laura Allen
Social Media Manager at Staffordshire University
In summary, creating meaningful alumni relationships starts with offering value from the beginning.
Whether it’s through fun experiences like photobooths or career support, giving grads cool freebies in exchange for their engagement builds goodwill and connection. Find mutual value by offering things they’ll love, like a StageClip video, in exchange for valuable info updates.
Start building relationships early by treating students as future alumni and collaborating with student creators to share their stories. Don’t forget to plan your graduation outreach to build excitement and keep the nostalgia alive, and always tailor your messaging to what matters most to each group of grads.
Like to attend our next Forumm Academy webinar? Register (for free!) at the link below:
Like to see more of our Forumm Academy sessions? Just click the images below:
