Digital content offers several benefits over print media. Entrepreneur raises venture capital for her coaching platform with a slick pitch deck. 7 Lebanon Street, Suite 107 | Hanover, NH 03755 | 2022 Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, Association/Non-Profit, Alumni/University Website [Eddies], Association/Nonprofit, Alumni/University - Overall Design, Single Issue [Ozzies], Association/Nonprofit, Alumni/UniversityBest Single Issue [Eddies], Association/Nonprofit, Alumni/University - Cover Design [Ozzies], Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, January/February 2019, Association / Non-Profit Website [Eddies], Association / Non-Profit Single Article [Eddies], Association / Non-Profit Overall Design [Ozzies], Association / Non-Profit Cover Design [Ozzies], Association / Non-Profit Feature Design [Ozzies], Association / Non-Profit Use of Typography [Ozzies], Association / Non-Profit (Consumer) Overall Design 6 or more Issues [Ozzies], Association / Non-Profit (Consumer) Full Issue 6 or more Issues [Eddies], Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, May/June 2016 Issue, Association / Non-Profit Website [Eddies Digital], College and University General Interest Magazines, 2016 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards, (circ. Pay careful attention to data gathering and analysis to guide your future content. To avoid furloughs or layoffs, Middlebury College required all departments to cut their operating budgets by 40percent, Jennings said. They remain a cherished and effective way for colleges and universities to stay connected with alumniand offer a promising return on investment in the form of donations. By offering digital media, you can deliver the information directly to younger alumni via their mobile devices. For instance, you could request success stories from alumni and get permission to publish them in the magazine. Accordingly, it may be helpful to promote your content and find new ways to reach out to alumni through social media and email campaigns: Many alumni, especially younger ones, use social media as a method of connecting. One way to do that is through digital university alumni magazines that connect with the needs of alumni and give them a reason to continue to support the school. Where else can you tell stories about an astrophysicist and a classical pianist in the same issue and have it make sense?. By feeling more engaged with content from your institution, they may also feel more connected with the school, eventually meeting your goal of becoming donors or involving themselves in other ways to support the institution. We really as a staff stretched our expertise and found different ways to make the publication visually engaging and to tell stories in different ways, said Tedford. Find out more about alumni benefits, including event invitations, membership of Senate House Library and an alumni bursary on further study. "acceptedAnswer": { Before working on a magazine or other outreach program, you must have a definite goal for what you want to do with the content. Publishing the right content that gives your alumni a return on their investment in the school can improve their engagement. Michelle Tedford, executive editorial director of the University of Dayton alumni magazine, credits the pandemic budget for pushing her staff to maximize its digital storytelling skills. ", You may want to go beyond average to get the most from your magazine. This method is only one way to address the concern of75% of alumni who find alumni organization technology solutionsto belacking. Instead of producing four print editions a year as usual, for fiscal years 2021 and 2022 her office was allocated only enough funds to publish two print issues and one digital-only. With print removed as an option, colleges had no choice but to upgrade their digital offerings. of 30,000 to 75,000), ROBERT SIBLEY MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR and GRAND GOLD MEDAL. Dont overwhelm the reader with walls of text. Digital Publishing Tools and Resources: Photos, Video, Analytics and More, How to Create an Online Magazine in 10 Steps. Do they need the latest trends from their industry published in an alumni magazine? Middlebury College president Laurie Patton received notes from upset alumni saying things like, I understand you have to switch to digital for COVID, but PLEASE dont get rid of print altogether! she wrote in an email. This gives you a valuable opportunity to promote your content on social platforms. Though your goal may be to solicit donations, this topicranks at the bottom of the list of newsletter contentalumni have the most interest in. To keep your campaigns active and your content relevant, monitor the engagement alumni have with the school and your publications. Using the information you collect from surveys, you can personalize content to individuals or groups. You can invest in paid ads on social sites to increase your exposure and improve interactivity rates. Budget cuts prompted some institutions to reduce the number of print issues they produce each year; others, like Middlebury, temporarily stopped publishing hard copies altogether. By knowing the metrics that matter most, you can be sure the content you create is most effective and identify where you need to make changes. If more alumni in recent years come from out of state, you likely dont want to focus your magazine content exclusively on events local to the school. The magazine is no longer the only tool; its one of many storytelling mediums.. Its just human behavior, he said. By catering to their needs and desires, you can take steps toward offering the benefits they want. You can also make it easily sharable via social media or regulate who can see the information through controlling the digital rights, allowing only alumni the benefit of the data in your magazine. Personalizing content to increase engagement may focus on encouraging local alumni to volunteer at school events or to support fundraisers. november haiwang wku library edu You may not be able to use the same strategy to reach everyone. Lastly, optimize the layout of the newsletter for viewing on both mobile devices and desktop computers instead of printed on a page. The shorter length makes the content that you have even more important. } Use an A/B method of promotional emails. They can open an email or check social media for the alumni magazine and all its content. When they feel they are a part of the schools family even long after graduation, they may be more inclined to offer assistance to alumni fundraising campaigns and other calls to help their school. Society of Publication Designers Merit Award for Spread Illustration, For Edel Rodriguez illustration for Band of Brothers story in Sept/Oct 2006 issue, 2006 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards (circ. of 30,000 to 75,000). While Keiger acknowledges its important for alumni magazines to have an online presencenot least because it creates a searchable archive for the institutionhe believes theres no substitution for print. Like alumni discounts, training sessions and similar education opportunities can help alumni to feel valued and like they are getting quality benefits in return for graduating from the school or for donating. To ensure your content resonates with readers, you need to monitor other values, too. "mainEntity": [{ }. First, consider a digital version of your magazine. Privacy Policy | Robert Sibley was the editor of the winning publication. You may want to publish these more frequently than magazines. Public defender wins Jeopardy! In a survey of institutions with alumni magazines, 87% offered both a digital and print copy of their periodical. Many schools have alumni from a wide range of generations. "name": "How Do I Connect With My Alumni? For example, most websites average 2 minutes to 3 minutes for a visitorour digital media has an average visitor time of 7 minutes. They wrote and said, Im so happy to know youre still there.. Aim to include interesting articles that focus on information readers can use. Send out alumni surveys to find out what they want in a magazine. When creating a newsletter, the length wont be as long as a magazine. We are digital first and that is the emphasis, but we will provide a print option.. of 30,000 to 75,000), 2006 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards. We knew the financial impact of sending the students home was going to be stark.. Gathering information can include data on demographics, professions and interests of school graduates. This was the fifth time DAM was honored as Magazine of the Year; previous wins came in 1943, 1949, 1991 and 1993. This testing method can make your campaigns more effective by finding out the target needs and interests of your audience without sending out surveys. Divide a small group in half with lists A and B. After many years and awards for his work atCalifornia Monthly, Sibley went on to serve as editor of the American Alumni Council's journal. But by late spring of 2021, alumni started asking when the print magazine was coming back. },{ Through a magazine, readers can stay connected to the school by reading articles about the university or getting professional tips. "acceptedAnswer": { He added videos and a podcast series called Alone Together, featuring various campus constituents discussing their experience of the pandemic. In addition to rolling out new stories every week, Cornellians allows alumni to submit their own updates about, say, a new job or the birth of a childindependent of the ever-popular class notes, which are collected and written monthly by a correspondent for each class. "text": "Connecting with alumni requires that you first understand your audience. Only offering a simple replication of a print magazine may not attract younger users who want interaction and access via mobile devices on social media and through other methods." Since engagement ideally creates a group ofalumni who feel more connected, attracted and influential in their school, consider making this your aim. For older graduates, mailed magazines offer a way to connect at home or work. For instance, write how-to, entertainment and professional articles instead of covering solely institution news. teacher awards teachers alumni colostate edu award Resources for faculty and staff from our partners at Times Higher Education. Whichever media you choose, the most important element will be the content you have in it. Try to make your newsletters visually interesting. ", While she estimates that 90 to 95percent of alumni publications already have a web presence, the sites are often rudimentary, offering little more than PDFs of the pages from the print edition, she said. As the pandemic becomes endemic and the finances of colleges and universities stabilize, they are trying to figure out how and when to restore the print issue. With Nxtbook Media,you have two platform options, each with its own advantages. To find out more about starting a digital magazine with Nxtbook Media,schedule a demoor call us at 866-268-1219 and choose option six today. Peterson said some of her Capstone Communications clients who went digital had this initial pop of interest. People found it novel for the first issue and then were not interested in it going forward.. Our alumni magazine WC1E highlights news and developments from across the University, as well as inspiring stories from our global alumni community. The right content could produce successful outcomes, such as having readers recommend others attend the university or make a donation to the school. Starbucks brand manager is motivated by her native roots. "name": "Why Focus on Digital Content for Alumni Engagement? He started posting feature stories on the website as soon as they were finished rather than timing them to coincide with the print schedule. After years of working with alumni and encouraging giving, volunteering and interacting with the school, you may hope to have an alumnus leave a legacy in the form of a scholarship or fund to the school. One way to bring graduates the news they desire while offering beneficial information is through publishing a university alumni magazine. The first decision in choosing a publication for your alumni is the media. They are not going to seek you out [online]. The magazine lands in your mailbox. of 30,000 to 75,000), CASE Circle of Excellence Awards for Back From Iraq, the Jan/Feb 2004 cover story about Nathaniel Fick 99 written by Matthew Mosk 92, 2004 Folio Magazine Awards (The Ozzies), Category (non-profit/institutional) for Unplugged (May/June 2004 issue; illustration by Richard Thompson), 2004 Folio Magazine Awards (The Ozzies), (non-profit/institutional) for Best in Show photos of professors dogs on campus (Mar/Apr 2004 issue; photos by Alan Roche), For spread opener of The Gatekeepers, illustration by Brian Cronin (Nov/Dec 2002 issue), Folio Magazine Awards (The Ozzies), Category for A Growing Concern (Jan/Feb 2003 issue; illustration by Mark Hess), Best Use of Color Photography in a Feature, Folio Magazine Awards (The Ozzies), For The Club Scene photos of student clubs (Sept/Oct 2002 issue; photos by Thomas Ames Jr. 74), Folio Magazine Awards (The Ozzies), Category for Different Strokes (May/June 2002 issue, photos by Brian Fife 01), For Peter McBrides photography (trauma surgeon story) and Edward Fatheringhams illustration for The Seduction of a Corporate Recruit, 2002 Ozzie Awards (Folio Magazine) for black-and-white photographs shot for Favorite Places cover story, 2002 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards, for The Experts (Sept/Oct 2001 cover story), University and College Designers Association, 2001 Annual Design Competition for magazine editorial spread (opener of Robert Reich piece on admissions in the March/April 2001 issue), 2001 Ozzie Awards Honoring Magazine Design Excellence (Folio Magazine), (Association/Nonprofit); 2001 Ozzie Awards Honoring Magazine Design Excellence (Folio Magazine) for Four Seasons in the Grant photos by Paul Rezendes, (Association/Nonprofit), 2000 Ozzie Awards Honoring Magazine Design Excellence (Folio Magazine) for James Nachtwey cover story, June 2000 issue, New titles from Dartmouth writers (July/August 2022). Send one version of your email to group A. Political operative discusses her new book and infamous advisees. } Interactive digital media that works across all platforms with PageRaft can bring the magazine experience to mobile devices and more, allowing alumni to engage wherever they are. Podcasts are becoming quite popular, she said, because theyre relatively easy to produce and can cover a lot of the same ground as magazine storiesincluding faculty and alumni profilesat a fraction of the cost. Dont forget to indicate them as alumni. ", It was getting to the point where it was really not sustainable as a subscription-based model, Barnett said. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Persona Mapping and Personalized Alumni Engagement Content Creation, Promoting Your Content and Reaching Alumni, 32% recommended the university and 38% made donations, 75% of alumni who find alumni organization technology solutions, ranks at the bottom of the list of newsletter content, Develop an Effective Content Marketing Plan, Using Storytelling in Your Content Experience. Another means of personalizing content is through staying abreast of topics that matter most to alumni. Alumni reaction so far has been overwhelmingly positive, said Michelle Vaeth, associate vice president for alumni affairs. Ohio attorney is confirmed as the next director of the ATF. The most recent online-only issue, summer 2021, added extra contentincluding an expanded version of the magazines regular Now Read, See, Hear This feature, which showcases the accomplishments of alumni authors, filmmakers, musicians and the likeand embedded videos, animation and other multimedia effects. Magazines eligible for the award have been published at least twice a year, and received a Gold or Grand Gold award in one of these Circle of Excellence categories: The beginnings of the Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year award trace back to 1918 and the founding of Alumni Magazines Associateda group of editors from 40 colleges and universities who came together to cooperatively solicit advertisers to fund their then fledgling publications. But it wasnt by a little; it was really striking that the more time you kept them in the pages of the magazine, the more likely they were to participate in the university., According to a 2020 survey by the Ivy League Magazine Network, which represents eight alumni magazines, 84percent of readers said theyd read four of the last four issues of their alumni magazine, spending an average of 54minutes with each one. Make use of groups and your profile pages on multiple social media platforms. Even if they automatically receive copies, they will likely still need reminders of all the great content you put into the media. When creating your newsletter or magazine content, you need to focus on the information alumni want the most. } Most importantly, take time to show active involvement in posting, both in answering questions and promoting content. Nxtbook Media has supported more than 100K projects and counting. Before working on a magazine or other outreach program, you must have a definite goal for what you want to do with the content. "@type": "Answer", Advertising | Use this information to guide the topics of articles and content in your alumni magazine. "@type": "Answer", Article shares are also crucial because those pieces are important enough to the readers that they think others will gain value from them. One of the things were seeing schools trying to do now is get much smarter about integrating communications, she said. When working with Nxtbook Media products, you can generate reports on these vital analytics to facilitate your campaign. The magazine costs a buck or two to get into somebodys hands, said Dale Keiger, the former longtime editor of Johns Hopkins Magazine and founder of the now-archived alumni magazine blog umagazineology. For digital newsletters, make the most of links to allow readers to quickly access important alumni links to professional groups, local discounts, social media and surveys for your alumni organization. And its not necessarily alumni of a certain age; younger alumni can be just as passionate about the print edition as older alums. To get alumni to read your magazine or newsletter, you first have to tell them about it. For science majors, give information about current research students and faculty are working on. If you use email to send digital newsletters, create a schedule for publication and stick to it. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Either way, alumni magazine staffs finally had to deal with their websites, said Capstone Communications founder Erin Peterson, a consultant for higher ed and independent school magazines. For its part, the Office of Communications and Marketing opted to suspend production of the alumni magazine. Development Office User-Generated Content. Give the second group a variation of the email. Though persona mapping for various groups will take time, you will have more targeted information that resonates more with alumni than generalized information. Winter 2020 was the last print issue before the Middlebury magazine moved online. The pandemic accelerated a shift that was already underway, said Maureen Harmon, who stepped down as director of creative and editorial content at Denison University in November to devote herself full-time to Dog Ear Consultants, a communications firm she co-founded that specializes in college magazines. However, many universities miss out on engaging alumni properly. stocker contentdm Nevertheless, the university plans to resume producing and sending a print edition of the alumni magazine sometime in early 2023, which will require a paid subscription, said Vaeth. You know what development people would give just to get you on the phone?. Users can tag posts in any number of waysby major or extracurricular activity, for instance, as well as by graduating classto notify the interested parties. You can have newsletters for the school of engineering, for instance, that have news about that field and alumni in it. Having a strong alumni network increases the connectedness former graduates have with your school and with each other. The mother of three nearly adult children, she is very much enjoying her newly empty nest. In fact, depending on your school, you may have people from the baby-boom generation through the latest Generation Z members. "@type": "Question", For that amount, youre in the house for a week or two weeks or a month. When all the budgets got slashed, it helped us to break down those silos: Whats a print magazine, whats digital content, whats podcast material?. They just dont.. For instance, offering both a print and digital version of your magazine can reach a wider range of generations than using one format. She holds a B.A. The first awards focusing on editorial excellence and achievement by alumni magazines were awarded by the American Alumni Council in 1929. of 30,000 to 75,000), CASE Circle of Excellence Awards for Canoes Undying, July/Aug 2004 cover story about symbolic meaning of canoes at Dartmouth written by Jim Collins 84, 2001 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards, (circ. The benefit to institutions is clear, Keiger said; surveys consistently show a strong positive correlation between alumni reading the print magazine and engaging with the institution, whether by donating money, encouraging prospective students to apply or attending events on campus. How you define engagement will direct and drive your content creation and marketing. This is another way to personalize newsletters or magazines based on persona mapping results. These means of engagement get the graduates talking to school representatives from the alumni organization and to each other. Nearly three-fourths said they read it as soon as it arrives in my mailbox., Looking at data from 192 institutions covering 100,000 alumni, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education found that after reading an issue of their alumni publication, 32percent of respondents recommended the institution to a family member or potential student and 38percent made a donation., Very few of us give money for intellectual reasons, said Keiger. facilities karunya Whether you want to find out how you can raise money for alumnior how you can successfully start a corporate alumni program,the answer always starts with alumni engagement. Break up stories by only focusing on important information someone can read quickly. Middlebury magazine already had a website, consisting mainly of selected stories from the print edition; Jennings saw the publishing hiatus as an opportunity to ramp up the digital content. By choosing digital content, alumni dont have to check their mail to see information from their alma mater. "@context": "https://schema.org", "acceptedAnswer": { COVID really forced us to look outside the print world, she said. { This news source can also be a place to inform graduates about an alumni fundraising campaign or promote other ways graduates can give back to their school. Drone proponent Kenji Sugahara 95 seeks friendlier skies. Freed from the print editions quarterly publishing schedule, Jennings and his team could focus on developing the magazines digital presence. Its correlation, not causation. By continuing to use our site, you consent to our Cookie Policy. Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience. Connecting with alumni requires that you first understand your audience. When we set out on this path, we knew that there was a cohort of alumni who would need or want to have a print issue, said Vaeth. In fact, depending on your school, you may have people from the baby-boom generation through the latest Generation Z members. "text": "Having around one-third of graduates telling others about the school or making a donation is a success, but you may want to increase the engagement of your alumni readers. They want to see more benefits for alumni and more ways to engage in the information. Sending newsletters late or skipping a delivery can reduce interest in your alumni organization. Cornellians launched in October, taking the place of both the Cornell alumni print magazine and Ezra, a university-relations produced magazine that went to alumni, volunteers and other friends of the institution. The reader will likely see the images and headlines first, so the pictures and titles you choose need to be eye-catching and encourage people to read the stories. Susan H. Greenberg is a senior editor at Inside Higher Ed. cotler You should offer benefits to your alumni for their engagement. See photos and details from our alumni events. Additionally, when you have alumni interacting with the magazine and school, you may experience increased donations. At the beginning, people were feeling dislocated from everything, said Jennings, who launched an electronic newsletter to alert readers to new content on the website. Persona mapping targets specific groups. For your magazine or newsletter, keep track of key metrics such as the number of visitors and unique visitors, downloads, shares, time engaged, interactions and bounce rates. You can even have direct links to donation pages on your site to facilitate fundraising efforts. When you use alumni feedback to guide the content in your alumni magazine and credit them with ideas, they may feel more involved in the school and alumni organization. Take your next steps by studying again with a discount off your fees. of 30,000 to 75,000), Folio Magazines Editorial Excellence Awards, The Eddies, Association/Non-Profit, Circulation 6 or more times a year, Full Issue, 2009 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards, (circ. in English from Brown University and an M.S. The raw number of alumni you send your publication to is a starting metric. There are people who are staying digital, because there are all these paper shortages and print costs are going up like crazy, said Peterson. First, digital magazines can be made interactive through PageRaft. What about more information on how they can engage in the school? Update your profile regularly and follow through whenever someone asks a question or makes a comment. Print is coming back, but the enhanced digital offerings are here to stay. "text": "Alumni engagement definitions vary based on the institution. If you get article ideas from graduates in surveys, credit the person by name and class to encourage future participation from others. Be consistent with both newsletter and magazine delivery to maintain high interest and interaction rates with your content. You may not be able to use the same strategy to reach everyone." A career journalist and educator, she joined the publication in August 2021 after eight years in Vermont, where she freelanced and taught writing at Middlebury College and Champlain College. Prior to that, she spent 22 years writing and editing for Newsweek magazine, where she covered everything from international affairs to arts and culture. In 1943, Sibley initiated the magazine of the year award, which now bears his name, and remains the highest award for excellence in the field.