LinkedIn and alumni management software offer distinct benefits – but when choosing between LinkedIn and a dedicated alumni platform, what’s the best choice?
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It's tempting to build and manage connections on familiar platforms like LinkedIn. However, using a dedicated alumni management platform is a game-changer for maximizing the potential of your alumni program.
In this guide, we'll detail the advantages of leveraging alumni management software over a LinkedIn group. From tailored engagement features to community-building tools, we'll show you why making the switch is a strategic move towards unlocking the full spectrum of benefits for both your organization and its valued alumni network.
What Makes a Corporate Alumni Program Successful?Defining a successful alumni program may differ between organizations. Yet, one factor remains true. When building an alumni program, it is crucial to consider the goals of your program and only then choose the platform that most fits your needs.
Some alumni goals to consider include:
A strong sense of community involvement makes the alumni program a valuable resource for professional growth, networking, and lifelong connections. An engaged community transforms the program from a mere network into a thriving hub where individuals find camaraderie, value and meaningful relationships.
By transforming connections into tangible opportunities, alumni networks are fertile ground for referrals, collaborations, and partnerships. As members evolve in their careers, the network becomes a trusted source for potential clients, creating a valuable cycle of business growth. According to the founder of LinkedIn “Alumni are a great source of network intelligence - competitive information, effective business practices, emerging industry trends, and more”.
From mentorship opportunities to exclusive job postings, these opportunities empower members to learn, grow, and navigate their careers continually. Tailored development opportunities and industry insights enhance individual career paths and strengthen connections with the organization, making it a hub of support, opportunity, and shared success.
Collective wisdom not only keeps members informed but sparks innovation and collaboration. In successful programs, shared insights catalyse continuous learning, making knowledge-sharing integral to the community.
Alumni programs reinforce a consistent and compelling employer brand, making them a magnetic force for talent. With 28% of rehires corporate alumni, organizations can save on recruitment costs by leveraging familiar talent through boomerang hires.
The EnterpriseAlumni platform offers features tailored to help you easily communicate and stay relevant in your alumni community.
LinkedIn excels as a versatile platform for professional networking and serves a broader purpose than alumni management. It is your go-to space for building connections, expanding your professional network, and staying in touch with contacts from various points in your career.
LinkedIn's user-friendly interface and features make it an invaluable tool for showcasing your professional journey and staying updated on industry trends. However, LinkedIn has limitations when it comes to the specialized needs of alumni engagement, which may be why the company itself uses alumni management software to run its own alumni program.
Let's explore these shortcomings in more detail.
It's not uncommon to find alumni community groups on LinkedIn managed by individuals who have long departed from the company, perhaps having served as short-term contractors or lacking any genuine affiliation altogether. Unfortunately, those groups led by former employees don't always paint an accurate picture of a company, its objectives, and its messaging.
There are often multiple groups, each under the supervision of different individuals, showcasing diverse intentions and content influenced by regional or practice area distinctions. When an alumni platform is unfocused or unsure of its goals, aims, and offerings, it fails to drive engagement. LinkedIn hosts over 118,000 corporate alumni groups, including 98 percent of the Fortune 500. Yet many of these alumni groups have little to no relationship with their former companies. Alumni are desperate to stay in contact, and not running your alumni program is simply a massive, missed opportunity.
We live in an age of context. Speaking on a 1-2-1 basis with your alumni community helps provide relevant, contextual data and information of value. The 1-2-stadium approach used in a LinkedIn group is less effective, personal and engaging.
Your alumni program can unlock a multitude of advantages for your business. Don’t want to fall short by not being able to reliably communicate with your former employees.
Individual users control alumni data on LinkedIn, which can lead to challenges in maintaining accurate and up-to-date records and raise concerns about data privacy and security.
There are several companies with “Official LinkedIn Groups” that engage their alumni community and have thousands of members. However, with a group that size, how does one provide relevant, engaging and valuable content to their entire Alumni Community? Does it support emailing just a segment with specific skills or creating an event for just a region?
While LinkedIn serves as a valuable professional network that can help foster lifelong relationships, it falls short as a replacement for a dedicated alumni program, where the absence of a centralized 'one source of truth' undermines the cohesive and tailored experience essential for fostering connections and mutual growth among alumni.
The unique demands of a thriving alumni program call for customization and specificity beyond the scope of a general professional networking platform like LinkedIn.
Here are some of the tools and features you can expect from an alumni management platform that LinkedIn doesn’t offer:
Alumni management software provides tailored features designed to engage alumni. These include customized event management, mentorship programs, job boards and specialized communication channels that cater to the unique needs of the alumni community.
Alumni management tools often offer greater control over data and privacy, ensuring that sensitive information is handled securely. This level of control is crucial for institutions and organizations looking to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of their alumni data.
EnterpriseAlumni introduced a feature called CareerSync, which offers always up-to-date resumes. Using AI algorithms, CareerSync can constantly update an individual's resume based on publicly available information.
Seamless integration with internal systems is vital. Alumni management software can effortlessly integrate with an institution's databases, ensuring that information stays up-to-date and aligns with the organization's broader goals.
Building a sense of community requires more than a generic platform. Alumni management tools allow for customization and branding that aligns with the institution's visual identity, fostering a stronger sense of belonging among alumni.
While LinkedIn offers a broad reach, alumni management software enables targeted communication with specific groups or segments within the alumni network to boost engagement. This is essential for tailoring messages, networking events, and opportunities to different alumni cohorts' unique interests and needs.
All of these features are crucial for your alumni program to run smoothly. More critically, they help foster mutually beneficial relations between the organization and the alumni. That is not to say that LinkedIn is not important in alumni relations, but it falls short for comprehensive alumni program features.
As we’ve discussed, a platform like LinkedIn can only take your alumni network so far. The most effective way to create an impactful alumni platform is to use dedicated alumni management software like EnterpriseAlumni.
Our platform offers many standout features, including:
With a dedicated solution like EnterpriseAlumni, you have all the tools you need to build a thriving corporate alumni network.
A specialised alumni platform is the way forward if you want to reap the benefits of an alumni program.
However, it's not an 'either-or' scenario. By combining LinkedIn's strengths for general networking with the precision of an alumni management tool, organizations can create a powerful synergy, ensuring both broad professional connections and focused alumni engagement.
Is an alumni program the correct next step for your business? Read our article Corporate Alumni Program: Everything You Need to Know, to find out.
If you’re seeking inspiration, check out our in-depth breakdown of the 10 Best Corporate Alumni Networks.
