For independent schools and higher-ed institutions, keeping alumni involved is never an easy task. Email campaigns, special events, and social media are just a few ways in which alumni offices do their best to communicate with former students. But what can schools do to keep this kind of content fresh and engaging?
Leave it to our customers—we are constantly impressed with their creativity when it comes to connecting with their constituents. Today we’re proud to feature our customer Middlesex School, an independent 9-12 in Concord, MA that blew us away with their outstanding photocampaign, #WhyMX. Using social media, Middlesex was able to bring together students, alumni, and parents to share their love for MX.
So how did the campaign work? On Facebook, the team asked current students to send in a picture encapsulating why they love Middlesex. After receiving an outpouring of submissions, the team created a #WhyMX Facebook album on the school’s page. Acting as a powerful reminder of the warmth of the Middlesex community, the campaign featured images ranging from cross-country runners to beautiful sunsets on campus, each with captions created by the students.
Alex Hanken, a member of the social media team at Middlesex, emphasized that sourcing content from students made for an inspiring and genuine campaign:
“The final product was really authentic with the students’ voices at the forefront of the campaign. After all, they are the Middlesex brand. Rather than coming up with something within our office, we wanted to try to channel their energy and enthusiasm for Middlesex.”
After its initial success, Middlesex took the project a step further and asked parents to answer the same question. Again, a great response rate left the social media team with loads of Facebook comments from parents—and plenty of engagement data to help identify parents who may be interested in giving.
Now, the social media team has created a new project that specifically encourages alumni to participate in #WhyMX. They’ve turned the images into giving links, a fun way to encourage donating to the school while establishing a sense of community among all Middlesex constituents. As Alex explained, the images will hopefully “act as a reminder of why current students love the school and how we hope alumni value Middlesex as well.”
Middlesex’s campaign clearly illustrates the power of student voices (and of course, the power of the hashtag!). Any educational institution can learn from this project—the best resource for creating engaging content may be the most involved and easily accessible part of the community: the students.
