I’m glad to hear that – and you should have good success.

You’re going to have to learn with your alumni how to use the group best.
– post alumni events
– poll alumni
– encourage alumni to contact each other

Alumni can help each other:
– find employment
– find employees
– make business contacts
– develop projects together

It isn’t any different than using LinkedIn outside of the alumni group, but now alumni have ready access to each other – and you have access to them.

I’d approve for membership only those that attended the college, but I’d expect you to be able to manage that easily – figure out how to check and make a process out of it. The time will depend on how busy your alumni get;-)

Groups are too new to be able to compare progress. Try to get a core group of alumni on and active in the first 6 months. Seed discussions and ask for members to share successes (and promote the group to fellow alumni).

I notice that there already is a group for your school – created by an individual – be sure to use your logo and name the group something like “XYZ College Alumni”. to claim your official status. Hopefully that will be enough to distinguish your group.

Lastly – include the group in your alumni newsletter, and also promote it among current students – better to get them in before they leave!-)

Best success,
steve
–
Steven Tylock
http://www.linkedinpersonaltrainer.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevetylock

I work in the Career Services office at a liberal arts college in Indiana. We are preparing to create an alumni group on LinkedIn.

Can you offer suggestions for how to effectively use (and manage) an alumni group? What are some realistic goals that we can have for the group? If we truly want an effective group where alumni can reconnect and network, how much time should we expect to spend managing the group?

Thanks in advance for your comments!