Have we met before?
Online Communities in Alumni
Relations
Barney Ellis-Perry BA ’87 CFRE
University of British Columbia
&
Abe Geiger
Affinity Circles
Where are the kids
at?
• Over 50% of today's college students
report using one or more online
community sites
• 55% of their younger siblings are doing so
also!
• This is only part of their daily online
experience along with MSN, Text
messaging, Virtual world games, online
games and using the internet for studying
What Makes a Social
Network?
• Social Network:
– A structure made of nodes (individuals) which are
connected to one another through various social
relationships
• Small World Experiment, Stanley Milgram
• Strength of Weak Ties, Mark Granovetter
– 6 Degrees of Separation (or Kevin Bacon)
Internet Users
Internet use by demographic
–87% of 12 -17 year olds
–83% of 18-29 year olds, 37.5%
increase since March ‘00
–82% of 30-49 year olds, 50%
increase
–50-64, 97% increase
–91% of college educated people
Pew Internet survey Dec. 2006
Social Network
User Demographics
• MySpace
– 18-24: 18.1%
– 25-34: 16.7%
• Facebook
– 18-24: 34%
– 25-34: 8.6%
- comScore Media Metrix, August 2006
• Affinity Circles
– 18-24: 14.6%
– 25-34: 44.61%
- Affinity Circles user data, February 2007
Samples of time students
spend in social networks:
• Bowling Green State University:
– 65% log on daily to Facebook
– 85% long on at least once a week
– 93% log on at least once a month
• Michigan State University
– 84% members of Facebook in 2005
– 93% in 2006
– 20% spend more than 1 hour/day
Why do Students Use
Facebook?
(Health Education data, Michigan State
University)
• Freshmen at MSU:
– Make it easier to meet new people - 78%
– Help keep informed about social events on
campus - 66%
– Make it easier to keep in touch with friends in other
places - 95%
• How can we capitalize on these motivations?
The Paradigm Shift in
Web Communication
• One-Size-Fits-All
• Static Content
• One to Many
• Personalized & Relevant
• User Generated Content
• Relationship-Driven
Facebook
• User generated
content
• Constant
updates from
people you care
about
• Pictures from
peers
Why does “social
networking” scare us?
Your Brand?
Who’s Brand?
• Circuit City
• Dating Ads
• Unfiltered
Content
Myth Busters
• Social Network =
– Inappropriate discussion topics
– Revealing pictures
– Obscene language…right?
• Not Necessarily
– Locker room =…
– Reunion = …
– Homecoming =…
Behavioral Norms
Behavior is a function of the people and the
environment. This is true in off-line as
well as online situations. Creating an
environment consistent with your brand
will result in behavior consistent with your
brand.
B = f (P X E)
Impact on Your
Alumni
They are leaving you…
• In 2005, only 20% of alumni said
they would pay a fee to join their
alumni association, compared to
56% in 2002.
• The % of alumni making donations
fell to 12.4% in 2005, down nearly
2% since 2001.
• The majority of 2005 graduates do
not feel that they will be interested in
their alumni magazine or in their
Alma Mater.
…and joining social networks
50%
% of Alumni Using
Social Networks “Often”
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Source: eGrad Survey, Jan 2006,
Council for Aid to Education, Feb 2006
2002
2005
Value
For Your Alumni/
Students
User-Centric
–
–
–
Dynamic content
Relevant & Personalized
Offers continuum of experience
Flexible
–
–
–
–
–
Reconnect with friends
Share Media
Find Services
Find Advice
Network Professionally
Private
–
–
–
Authenticated
Verified
Secure & Trusted
For Your
Association
Data & Insights
–More contact updates for your database
–More effective communications that
leverage individual preferences and
social relationships
Engagement
–Increased event participation
–New member acquisition and retention
–Your brand is the centerpiece – the value
you create is attributed back to you
Low Cost
–“Word of Mouth” marketing greatly
increases the impact of marketing
campaigns
–A solution that grows with you while
enabling reduction of manual work
Creating
Expectations
• Generally our customers expect us to
have much more sophisticated data
systems than we do
• For many large public universities 50% or
more of their alumni will be under 30 very
soon!
• By participating you run the risk of
disappointing.
What are people
currently using?
• You might be surprised at the
number of online social
communities already in play
• Start to explore them yourself
• Ask around
• Hold a focus group
Open vs. Closed
Communities
Open/Public
• Free!
• Market driven thus
technologically must
be up to the minute
• You are less legally
liable
• Many alumni are
already users
Closed/Private
• Sense of exclusivity
• Authentication
• More professionally
oriented
• Branding and
awareness opps.
• You can access data
TrekConnect
• Here is a short tour of UBC’s TrekConnect:
www.alumni.ubc.ca
Getting Started
1.
2.
3.
4.
Set your goals at the outset
Be prepared to invest time and money
Be prepared to give up control
Plan for integration across your whole
organization
5. Get ready for fun with lawyers
Getting Started
1. Goals
• Alumni engagement
• New emails
• Service to alumni
• Service to students
• What ever they are set your goals and be
prepared to stand by them
Getting Started
2. Be Prepared to invest
• You need a dedicated project manager
• You need a champion at the Sr. level
• It will cost you money today and every
year in the future
Getting Started
3. Control
• These communities must stand on their
own and be nurtured but not controlled
• They will fail if seen as an institutional tool
• People may say negative things about
your organization – that’s okay!
Getting Started
4. Integration
• While the community must be kept at arms
length you must ensure your organization
thinks about how to promote it and its
benefits at all times
• Promotion and utilization of the community
must become interwoven throughout your
strategic planning
Getting Started
5. Lawyers
• The terms of use statements are very
important and must be carefully vetted by
your legal council.
• If you are opening the community to
students then you must be even more
cautious
• If you are seeking data again be open
about it.
Sourcing a Vendor
What to look for:
• Cultural fit
• Good recommendations
• Constant product upgrades
• Innovation
• Core competency is social technology
• User-Centric development approach
• Clear lines of communications
Marketing
• Its not always build it and they will come
• You must be prepared to aggressively
market your new community
• You will need a marketing plan and money
for implementation
• Email marketing has the highest return but
exposure through other avenues is also
important to create awareness
UBC’s Marketing
Campaign
• Hired a hot young design
agency to create and
execute an email based
campaign
• Three blasts went out in
June, July and September
• After each, the site saw a
spike of on average 2000
new registrations
• Used design in print
materials for consistent
branding
Feeding and
Watering
• Marketing and promotion must be
continual
• Your main conveners may not be the usual
suspects
• New added value opportunities need to be
added regularly
• Share success stories ie: I got a job on
TrekConnect
• Ensure integration in your strategic
planning (worth repeating!)
Questions
Service Providers
• Affinity Circles www.affinitycircles.com
• Harris Connect
• University of Victoria
Note: Define Social Network provision as
ability to map relationships
Thank You!
Barney Ellis-Perry BA 87’ CFRE
Director of Professional Affairs
UBC Alumni Affairs
[email protected]
Abe Geiger
Director of Marketing
Affinity Circles
[email protected]
Professional Profiles for Barney and Abe are available at
www.inCirclePro.com
- To request access to this Social/Professional Networking community
for Advancement and Alumni Professionals please email
[email protected]