School districts across the country are gearing up to begin classes once again, whether they are online, in-person or delivered through a hybrid approach. As the new school year starts, now is a good time for your alumni organization to begin reaching out to alumni to generate new membership for your Nation.

Below are a few tips to help you find success in your membership drive this fall:

• Delegate: Don’t try to handle all the work yourself. Form a committee tasked with reaching out to alumni to encourage them to join and get involved. This will prevent burnout, and also help you connect with more potential members in a shorter period of time.
• Diversify: Committee members should cover a wide range of demographics: different generations of alumni, different lengths of membership, different stages of their career and different areas of residence. By diversifying your committee, you will also diversify your search and reach more potential members.
• Have a value proposition: You should be able to communicate the value and benefits of membership in your organization in a clear, concise manner. This includes having core group values, and being able to clearly describe what makes your organization interesting or unique.
• Strategize your phone calls: Personal phone calls both to prospects and lapsed members can be a good way to encourage people to get involved in the organization. Encourage them to join, discuss benefits of membership and end by asking them if you can send them the application information.
• Advertise: Online advertisements are a cost-effective method of connecting with a broad range of targets. Social media is particularly effective, as it reaches alumni where they are already at. You can look into other forms of digital advertising as well, including display and retargeting ads.
• Offer incentives to existing members: You can start up a referral program to incentivize existing members to get other alumni involved. Benefits can be just about anything, from discounts on membership to free tickets to events. Even if the incentive is small, it gives current members added reason to spread the word. Getting members involved in the search is important, because word-of-mouth advertising is more powerful than any other kind of advertising you can invest in.
• Never stop the hunt: Even though your official membership drives may only occur once or twice a year, you should constantly be focused on acquiring new members for your Nation. Your recruitment should be a year-round effort, with specific targeted bursts in the form of your membership drives.

Interested in learning more about how you can get the best results out of your fall membership drive? Contact us today at Alumni Nations for further guidance on ramping up these efforts.