why did they just leave us?!?!

Why did they just leave us?!?!

Finding Your Alumni on Social Media After They’ve Flown the Nest

Dave TylerMarch 3, 2017

Our alums have moved on They don’t need us anymore

We just took all of their money!

They’ve got jobs or are in grad school

They’re doing all the great stuff we taught them to do!

They’re watching Game of Thrones or This is Us

Yet we keep hovering around● Placement Surveys● Sign up for the alumni association● Departmental email lists● Donate!● Come back for the reunion!● Here’s our alumni mag!● Did you get our newsletter? We’ve got a great departmental newsletter

Why?

40% Spend 30-59 minutes reading each issue of an alumni magazine (CASE Survey)

The bad newsThere’s always bad news

“...the same survey found that the least popular articles were about faculty awards and achievements, donors, and faculty appointments and retirements.”

Social Media to the Rescue!...sort of

We have to earn their attention

This is harder than we’d like to think.

We have to give them something worthwhile that’s going to make them pause while they scroll through their feeds.

Keep it SimpleYou do not have to clone yourself or hire 5 new student workers to get alums attention. A lot of what you need to do involves things you already do.

The first order of business is to find out where your alumni are. And that happens by watching and listening.

ListenJoin social media.

Use the “find your contacts” feature

Observe what other people are talking about.

Use that to inform your own strategy.

Try opening up your classroom to the world

Use What’s Already ThereWe have an alumni Facebook Page, with more than 3,500 followers.

Post your content directly to that page to increase your visibility.

They have a Twitter account too.

Tag that account in your own tweets, follow and RT their content.

The College’s main Facebook page has more than 17,000 followers.

Let us know when you are posting something so we can reshare your content.

Our Twitter account has more than 8,300 followers

Give your fans a suggestion

without being a pain

Upload an excel spreadsheet with emails on it, and you can send a suggestion to your list that they follow you on Facebook

Facebook Suggestions are great tool.

#bportsocial

The Port

Be ConsistentPost regularly

Facebook punishes those who don’t.

It already punishes brands enough as it is.

Twitter and Instagram also value consistency.

Try spinning things forward to generate excitement and produce content.

Be SocialLive up to the name social media

This is not a one-way street

Ask what your alums are up to

Use simple devices such as polls to ask questions

Think of it as user research

Answer your users’ questions.

Be Proactive● Think ahead● Talk to us at College Communications before an event or trip.● Pictures & Videos● Chats● Connect to Current Events

Questions? Comments? Angry Screeds?

Contact me anytime: Dave Tylerdtyler@brockport.edu@dtyler321x2306