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Fall comes to private college and university campuses with the fragrance of apple cider… and Alumni Relations events! It’s time to crank up your alumni cultivation efforts — so here’s how to get the most out of your alumni event marketing this season.
If you don’t have a clear goal for your upcoming alumni events — stop right now!
Go to your campus coffee shop. Sit down with your favorite caffeinated beverage.
It’ll be easier to craft your alumni event marketing strategy when you know what each event is supposed to do and the types of marketing media you need to create to make it a success.
Social media marketing means you can get a lot of mileage out of your alumni event without a huge budget.
According to Twitter, a hashtag is “any word or phrase with the # symbol immediately in front of it.” Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram then organize the content on their sites using those hashtags.
Check out my recent article to learn more about streams and see how hashtags can amplify your social media marketing messages.
It’s amazing what happens when you just ask. One Hubspot study showed that simply using the words “Please Retweet” generated four times more retweets!
No matter how much groaning you hear about it — people love selfies! And they share them…
So assign at least one student, staff, or faculty member the selfie stick and gather executives, alumni, and other guests for group selfies.
(And remember, put your hashtag on them when you post them.)
Taking selfies with attendees at your alumni event will expand your social media marketing reach.
Post pictures and videos of memorable moments before and after your alumni event. It creates energy to see the setup and preparation for an event, so don’t be afraid to…
Especially if you have a vibrant foreign exchange student program or scholarship program, you need to get these students out on the floor mingling and meeting your alumni.
Alumni love meeting the new generation of students and hearing how your school is making a profound difference in their lives!
These students can assure that your guests are where they need to be and are getting an example of your finest students. Be sure to adequately train the students and help give them tools to provide the very best experience.
Give your attendees something to remember the evening with brandable items such as T-shirts, polo shirts, and string backpacks.
Also, this is the perfect time to put your print marketing to work for you.
Insert brochures, magazines, flyers, yearbooks, and other high quality print items in alumni goodie bags to take home and share with their friends.
There are so many ways that you can set your alumni event apart by involving the strengths of your academic and artistic programs.
The point is… get away from the ordinary and create an event your alumni will never forget.
Did you know that mothers are the number 1 influencer of college decisions?
Make sure your event has a way to connect and honor the parents that attend with their children. More than likely, they’ll be the ones making the gifts later in your year-end fundraising campaigns.
This one might be the most obvious one on the list — but I really encourage you to think out of the box on this one.
Every alumni marketer knows that alumni events should connect alumni to each other so everyone benefits from the relationships.
But have you ever gone to an event where you’re expected to make friends, like networking mixers?
By making networking less stressful, alumni at your events will be more likely to enjoy themselves and share about their experiences on social media.
With these alumni event marketing hacks, you’ll have all of your marketing potential running full blast.
And with decades of alumni marketing experience, the Caylor Solutions team is here to help you get the most out of your alumni events.
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation and see if we’re the right fit for you!
Set yourself free from your shrinking marketing budget with my popular ebook Marketing on a Shoestring Budget! This ebook is jammed with practical ways to produce high-quality marketing on the cheap.
Inside, I’ll show you proven marketing tactics like…
No hype. No pie in the sky. Just real solutions for getting the job done with the budget you’ve got.
Featured Image by Rawpixel.com via Adobe Stock
Selfie Image by william87 via Adobe Stock
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