Don’t get me wrong: I love LinkedIn. There are many things that they do extraordinarily well, but group management isn’t one of them. Especially when it comes to your Corporate Alumni group.
On one hand, it makes total sense for a company to set up an Alumni group on LinkedIn, which is why there are over 120,000 of them, including 98% of the Fortune 500. First and foremost, your alumni are already there. With the click of a button, they can join the group, without any additional registration process or profile management. It’s easy.
Problem is, not a whole lot goes on after that initial click. Posts get buried, content is generic, and interaction is minimal. I’ve managed a group of thousands, and am in myriad groups from tens to hundreds of thousands of members. I’ve gotta say, none of them seem to be nailing it when it comes to employee engagement.
Perhaps groups just aren’t a priority for LinkedIn. After all, we know it’s not a matter of lack of data or talent. But as the admin of my former employer’s alumni group, I was constantly stymied. While I could conduct searches within the group, I couldn’t take any action with the search results. If I wanted to invite the search results to an event, or send them a tailored email, or inform them of a relevant job opportunity, or create a subgroup so that they could interact with each other, I was out of luck.
The power of networks comes in the form of relevant, tailored and segmented experiences, not a one-size-fits-all approach. I may not have anything I want to say to every single person in my former firm’s alumni group. But link me up with alumni that started the same year I did and were in the same department or live in the same town? Hello!
If you’re ready for greater ROI from your alumni program, it’s time to consider Talivest. Our next-generation technology and an innovative and intuitive UI makes us unlike any other groups platform on the market. With features like a dynamic landing page, a jobs board, custom email campaigns, social sharing, people search, messaging, company news, discussions and affinity groups, all you need to add is the people. And because technology can’t replace live interaction, we also offer complete event management capabilities, from invitation to registration.
Wait, remember the issue of convenience? Our social integration allows your alumni to log in via LinkedIn, Facebook or Google. Lists can be imported via csv file and social data can be automatically carried over so that your alumni profiles are pre-populated upon registration.
There are myriad reasons to invest in a corporate alumni network, and even more reasons why Talivest could be the right platform for yours. Request a demo to find out why, today!
Check out our webinar below, How to Build an Awesome Alumni Community.