The key to a strong community is solid buy-in from your alumni. Without them, there is no community.

That is why it is so important to nurture relationships with your network and provide them with innovative content and events in order for them to form their own relationships and build on the community.

The fact of the matter is that people want to feel valued and recognized. By acknowledging their skillsets, identifying their interests, and personalizing your communications, you will be able to build a powerful network who are loyal and willing to support you and your alumni initiatives.

In this article, we will delve into what the true meaning of alumni engagement means, why it is important, and the top five ways to improve your efforts.

What Is Alumni Engagement?

Alumni engagement is the term used for when your alumni community is interested and actively involved in your institution. This can include engagement like attending your events, engaging with your brand online, supporting your institution financially, sharing content and driving people to join the network, or spreading positive awareness about your institution.

Alumni engagement is a form of relationship-building with your institution. Instead of simply sharing information with them in a one-way flow, alumni engagement encourages your alumnus to interact with your organization.

Alumni engagement is critical for helping alumni programs achieve their goals. Ultimately, it means institutions can continually benefit from their alumni’s skills, backgrounds, and the networking connections they have formed The more engaged your alumni network is, the more easily you will be able to achieve your alumni objectives.

A key aim of alumni engagement is to get longevity with your members. This means joining from early on in their careers or tertiary education and staying an active member for years.

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Why Is Alumni Engagement Important?

An active alumni member can be pivotal in a number of ways:

  • They can assist with mentoring existing students and offer them informative career guidance and opportunities

  • Act as brand ambassadors for your alumni community

  • Contribute financially or be a key sponsor

  • When hosting an event, they can play the role of a guest speaker and offer valuable expertise

8 Methods To Improve Alumni Engagement

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Engagement is the most important factor when it comes to developing and improving a strong alumni network. 

It’s not necessarily only about how many members you have in your alumni community, instead, it is also about how interactive and interested they are. 

Use the strategies listed above to build the ultimate alumni network that provides long-term value to your institution. 

Get in touch today to see how Aluminate Community Builder can help your organisation develop a strong and meaningful alumni network.