Facing up

Social networking sites have been taken up joyously by younger people, leaving the rest of us slightly bewildered. But, as Roya Ziai explains, there are ripe opportunities here for the school development office

Social networking sites have made a huge impact on many people’s lives, changing the ways in which individuals interact with each other and use the web. Since its launch in February 2004, Facebook has accrued 500 million active users, and is currently the second-most-visited website worldwide, after Google.

Rather than dismissing this twenty-first-century communication phenomenon as a frivolous pastime of the young, development professionals should consider turning these sites to their advantage and recognise the significant benefits to alumni relations and fundraising that they bring.

Cultivation
Engaging with your alumni on a personal level and in an environment in which they are comfortable is crucial to building fruitful relationships. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter facilitate the dissemination of information to a wide audience rapidly, and free of charge, in a format that is convenient for the consumer.

Instead of merely accessing this content, alumni are encouraged to comment on news stories and share them with friends, fostering a greater sense of inclusion and participation in school life. Similarly, the Facebook discussions application allows alumni to express their views, while providing the development office with useful feedback on a range of issues. By creating a group or page on Facebook you can help your alumni to reconnect with lost friends, regardless of geographical location. Existing group members often invite their friends to join, allowing you to reach new audiences and, more crucially, capture contact details.

Organising events
The Facebook Events application is an effective tool for organising alumni events. Create a page for your event, invite your entire alumni community at the click of a button, gauge their interest and manage replies with minimum effort. You can even print out a guest list.

Conducting research
A presence on LinkedIn allows you to engage specifically with the business community. Many users publish a detailed CV on their profile page, which can provide you with an excellent source of information about prospects and major donors.

A LinkedIn group for your school could also bolster the development of a careers mentoring programme. Facebook can act as a useful tool for researching alumni interests and employment details.

Go with the flow
Some may question the longevity of the social networking phenomenon and whether the efforts to build up online communities will bring lasting benefits to the development office.

Indeed, a recent study by Nielson has shown that certain sites are becoming less fashionable, with the number of users of MySpace, Bebo, Flickr and Friends Reunited declining over the past year. However, this should not act as a deterrent but rather inspire us to discover which trends our alumni are following from year to year and which new ideas they are adopting.

Ultimately, our success in this sphere centres on our ability to enhance the alumni experience, by complementing what we are doing already and making it more relevant and accessible, particularly to the young, even if this does mean following the latest fad.

Roya Ziai is the deputy director of development at King’s College School, Wimbledon.

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