The university alumni associations face an unprecedented situation – how to manage alumni relations amid a pandemic.

The COVID-19 outbreak continues to be a roadblock to conventional alumni engagement opportunities such as alumni chapter meetups, in-person gatherings, homecoming, tailgates, football, and class reunions.

Without question, these alumni events are important for enhancing alumni relations.

Unfortunately, they either remain in limbo or have been suspended. Despite these uncertain times, it is indeed possible to ensure active alumni engagement through virtual alumni events.

Why Virtual Alumni Events?

Without a doubt, alumni engagement is vital for inculcating a sense of community, securing donations, and strengthening your institute’s brand presence.

With the second wave of infection raging across the world, you can expect more event cancelations. Virtual eventscan thus help alumni adjust to the new normal.

Given such unforeseen circumstances, you need to adopt a new digital engagement strategy for alumni.

Here’s why:

Encouraging Support and Contribution

The pandemic has been tough for universities and alumni alike. Besides rapidly adopting the online learning format, colleges had to ensure continued contributions amidst the viral outbreak.

A major part of the monetary support comes from alumni associations. When alumni find their network to be highly valuable, they are likely to give back more than what they had in mind previously.

Did you know that the alumni giving rate is a crucial metric of success?

Yes, as a matter of fact, your university can rank higher with alumni donations. For instance, Princeton University is among the top-ranked universities in the United States. The alumni giving rate in Princeton is an incredible 59%.

Since the conventional get-togethers are no longer feasible, the virtual alumni events can prove to be a boon for your fiscal security. You just have to ensure that the virtual events for college alumni offer great professional and social value for alma maters.

Consequently, with the help of virtual alumni reunion, you can enhance the prestige and ratings of your university.

Offering Networking Opportunities with Virtual Alumni Events

As you may already know that the unemployment rate has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, people are seeking new job opportunities. Unfortunately, the job hunt has become more challenging than ever due to the global economic crisis.

In that case, alumni offices can organize online alumni events that could serve as valuable networking opportunities. Besides, alumni get to interact with their community during these tough times further strengthening the relations.

Eliminating Distance as a Barrier

Socializing has certainly taken a massive hit due to the global outbreak. The virtual alumni events can ease things for students and alumni who have been in isolation for a while.

Just like language, distance shouldn’t be a barrier either. After graduation, alumni spread across the globe once they land their dream job. Even during traditional alumni meets, it’s not always convenient for them to travel places due to prior commitments.

We are hinting at the possibility of organizing Hybrid university alumni virtual events even after the pandemic abates. This way, alumni residing in far-off locations can attend meetups, sports watch parties, and chapter events as well.

Promoting Your Brand During Tough Times

It’s no secret that there’s no better brand ambassador for your university than the alumni themselves. Virtual alumni events are thus extremely useful for brand promotion since there are no signs of the pandemic ending any sooner.

For instance, if an alumnus can secure a job through virtual networking, you can utilize their testimony to foster your credibility. Besides, they can interview and recruit prospective students for continued success.

Apart from that, you can use the testimonies of your current students about how you transitioned to online lectures and how effective it has been.

Now that we are aware of the significance of virtual alumni events, let’s understand how you can transition in-person events online:

How to Ensure a Smooth Transition?

You need to collaborate with a reliable partner that can make the transition seamless for you. In order to engage your alumni virtually, you can host:

• Interactive live sessions
• Webinars
• Video calls
• Live polls
• Live Q/A
• Live chat
• Online alumni events – cultural and academic

Is it possible to host all college alumni virtual events on a single platform?

The good news is – it certainly is!

Besides the aforementioned features, Virtual Alumni Meets and Events Solution (VAMES) by AlmaShines offers a unique, virtual one-on-one alumni networking opportunity.

Apart from that, you can also conveniently manage the huge alumni database through our all-in-one alumni management software.

AlmaShines Alumni Platform

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a plethora of web conferencing programs that have facilitated online lectures and business meetings.

However, AlmaShines Alumni Platform offers a lot more than just that. Through our software for alumni management, you can truly offer a unique experience during virtual alumni events.

Through VAMES you can implement tons of virtual alumni engagement ideas such as video contests, quizzes, and photo contests to create a memorable experience – all in real-time!

With AlmaShines Alumni Platform, you can also:

• Reward attendee activities
• Create registration forms and track responses
• Create an online ticketing module
• Drive placements
• Unveil career enhancement opportunities
• Conduct pre-event engagement campaigns to encourage alumni participation
• Maximize alumni participation through social media channels, text messages, and email

Wrap-up

We have highlighted the significance of virtual alumni events during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

By hosting virtual events for alumni, you can bring students and alumni together from different corners of the world. Besides, strengthening your institute’s brand presence, credibility, and financial support, you can also help alumni find new job opportunities.

What are you waiting for? Request a free 30-minute demo with AlmaShines here and get introduced to the virtual world!

All you have to do is enter your name, designation, email ID, contact number, and institute name and you are good to go!