Creating Electronic Alumni Communities

      Hopefully you've checked out the SchoolAdvancement eCommunity link at the top of the page at one time or another.

     On line forums are ways becoming an influential information resource on the the Internet.  Blogs are used to share thoughts and opinions; Wikipedias are records of information that can be updated instantly by others with pertinent information to add (think up-to-the-minute encyclopedias).  Forums are way to build communities with others who have the like interests, joining experts with "newbies" to create a worldwide learning community!

     It's also a great way to serve your school's alumni!

     Take a look at our forum if you haven't done so already by clicking here. It will appear in another window so that you can continue with this Marketing Matter.  Just as each forum has its own particular topic, each graduating class could have their own forum.

     So many times, our alumni lists are just that - alumni.  It doesn't take into account the people that left our schools.  Historically for most Catholic Schools, the number of children that graduate from 8th grade represent half the number of students that were in that Kindergarten class.  But, old friends might still keep in contact with one another.  Therefore, these forums allow alumni to reach out to others that the knew so that they can reconnect with old friends.

     And, just because someone belongs to a class doesn't mean that they can't visit other classes.  Some commercial alumni finding services (like Classmates.com) allow you to connect with others in your class, but perhaps not other classes from your school.  With an online alumni forum, you can connect with anyone that's part of the total group.

     The software that created the forum you've clicked to is FREE - you just need to set it up on the same server that hosts your Web site.  Your Web site hosting plan has to provide you with "SQL databases" in order to make this work.  Additional help in setting up a forum is available from your Web site hosting company.

     The real benefit as a forum administrator is that you can send a "blanket" email to all registered users...a great way to contact all of your alumni at once.  If you were to begin a development initative, you want to contact prospects that were most engaged in your mission.  If they're a registered forum participant, chances are they're engaged - so you're correctly aiming for the right target group with an effective email message, and saving postage - rather than spending time making phone calls or writing and stuffing letters that may end up in the trash.

     For more details on what's involved with creating one of these for your school's alumni efforts, you can get more information by visiting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum 

© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2007