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In the Shadow of the Colossi: Alumni Online Communities in the Age of Facebook and LinkedIn

Fran Zablocki discusses the development and implementation of the u-knight online alumni community at SUNY Geneseo, detailing industry trends and strategic decisions made during the process. The project aimed to establish a robust online space for alumni interaction, with goals including 5,000 registrations and a strong social media presence. Results showed significant engagement, with nearly 4,500 registered users and successful integration of various features despite initial challenges.

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Alumni Online Communities in the Age of Facebook and LinkedIn #soc12 #heweb11
That‟s Me. That‟s You.
Who am I? Fran Zablocki, Online Community Manager SUNY Geneseo Alumni Relations
What have I done?!! Planned, built, branded and launched SUNY Geneseo‟s new online alumni community.
What am I talking about? State of the alumni online community industry Strategy and execution behind U-Knight Results and lessons learned
State of the Industry
State of the industry Full Service Alumni Systems “Walled Gardens”1 Closed to non-alumni Trade size in for exclusivity Use alumni trust as competitive advantage 1. From Andy Shaindlin @alumnifutures - http://www.alumnifutures.com/2011/03/groups-online.html
Full Service Alumni Systems
State of the industry Niche tools that are targeted to alumni EverTrue mobile alumni apps
State of the Industry Crossover solutions not specific to alumni
State of the industry Open Public Networks Colossi that dominate public social media space Overlap most if not all features of private networks
Private Network Challenge: Be Relevant
• My moment of panic… • The Harris Connect 5 year contract was already signed before I arrived. • Did I just inherit a system that is already dead in the water? • I needed to figure out a way to make it work. • I had 10 months. %#$!
A solution…hopefully
The Project Plan
What is U-Knight? The elevator speech U-Knight is a collection of online sites and services that help Geneseo alumni find and connect with each other and the institution by sharing news, conversation, experiences and expertise.
What is U-Knight? One sentence A place online for alumni to do the things that they want to do to engage with each other and Geneseo.
Goals Launch U-Knight in 10 months (by Oct. 2010) Achieve 5,000 alumni registrations within one year (10% of all alumni)
Goals Establish and grow the alumni online social media presence Get 50% of the graduating class of 2011 registered for U-Knight
Components of a Successful Launch Collaborative Project Team Data Integration Feature Selection Marketing and Promotion
The Project Team
Cross Divisional Project Team Advancement Data Services Alumni IT Marketing Project Manager (Me)
Data Integration
Data Integration The online community is only as good as your online directory The online directory is only as good as your data Garbage data will undermine your efforts
Data Integration Issues Integrity: missing/incorrect information Privacy: what is hidden by default Authentication: getting IDs to users Timeliness: must synchronize nightly
Feature Selection
Feature Set Selection  What actions do alumni want to take?  Share  Find  Promote  Participate  Discuss
Feature Set Selection  What actions does Geneseo want alumni to take?  Share  Lead  Find  Support  Promote  Participate  Discuss
Feature Selection Find the right mix of features Find the best provider for each feature Don‟t use a solution just because you‟ve already paid for it – ie: Harris social media
Feature Selection Feature Provider Online Directory Harris Connect Alumni Search Harris Connect Permanent alumni email Harris Connect Event Registration Harris Connect Class Notes Harris Connect Broadcast News Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Direct Dialogue Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
Feature Selection Feature Provider Job Postings LinkedIn, Harris Connect Job Search LinkedIn, Harris Connect Photo Sharing Facebook, Flickr Photo Galleries Flickr FAQ Alumni Website Social Media Directory Alumni Website Mobile Site / Apps TBD
Marketing and Promotion
Umbrella Strategy Every site and feature tied to one brand Allows flexibility to change feature mix without losing brand identity
Recognizable, Memorable Logos
Keep It Simple Funnel everything to a single place Let people take action quickly go.geneseo.edu/uknight
Marketing and Promotion Cross media effort through many channels Website Print Social Media Email Blog In Person
Online Presence
U-Knight Homepage
Login for Every Page
Quick Links on Alumni Homepage
Alumni Blog
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Social Media Directory
U-Knight and Social Media Tutorial Videos
Print Advertising
Email Promotion
In Person Engagement
Registration Kiosks
Registration Kiosks
Social Media Business Cards
Social Media Business Cards
Staff Manuals
Results
Results After 1 Year  Almost 4,500 (90% to goal and 9% of all alumni) registered users  Over 55% (600) of class of „11 signed up before graduation  2,660 Facebook fans on new page  10,000 unique visits to U-Knight homepage
Results After 1 Year  15,000 alumni directory searches performed  250 Class Notes submitted online  2011 SUNYCUAD award of excellence for U-Knight as Best in Category: Alumni Programs
Lessons Learned Creating an online alumni community involves a ton of offline work Successful implementation requires an entire division, not just one person Using traditional media to promote new media works, cross media is the goal
Lessons Learned Private networks can be relevant in conjunction with public networks because your alumni trust you Private network software contains a ton of bloatware, so be skeptical
Lessons Learned If the vendor‟s writing isn‟t up to par, scrap it and write it yourself Self-service ID tools save tons of customer service time
My new moment of panic… • Purchased Harris Career Advisory Network in July • LinkedIn Classmates just released Oct. 20 • Is our new module irrelevant overnight? • %#$! • Stay Tuned!
Next Steps
Social Media Mashup Page
Event Curation Using Storify
Mobile Mobile
Fran Zablocki Online Community Manager SUNY Geneseo www.franzablocki.com zablocki@geneseo.edu @Zablocki