CHAPTER COMMUNICATIONS
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An essential component of a chapter's success lies in its communication efforts. The Office of Alumni Relations works directly with the Chapter leadership and the communications chair to establish a communications plan for your chapter. The Office of Alumni Relations has the following tools and guidelines to help your chapter communicate efficiently and effectively with your members. These benefits and services are available only to chapters who have officially been recognized by the Old Dominion University Alumni Association and are in good standing.
Rosters
The Office of Alumni Relations will provide the chapter leadership with an official roster. This hard copy print contains the names and contact information on file for alumni who meet your chapter demographics. This roster will help shape the chapter's programming and communications by providing demographics including class years, schools and home addresses on record. The roster will indicate “active” members as well as those who simply meet your chapter demographics. ODUAA defines "active" members as alumni who have indicated interest on the Lion's Den, attended any ODU event and /or made a financial gift to the university within the last calendar year. The roster will indicate the percent of members who have given monetarily, but will not denote which individuals have or haven't given. The roster allows Chapter Leadership to communicate with active members through the shared Chapter Email account to invite them to chapter events, ask them to volunteer or participate, etc. Members by demographic only can only be contacted after indicating interest. It is the chapter's responsibility to help the Office of Alumni Relations maintain accurate and complete information on their constituencies. Updates will be provided by the Office of Alumni Relations to the chapter on a regular basis. Updates obtained by the chapter must be shared with the Assistant Director or Director for Outreach so that the Office of Alumni Relations may update our records accordingly. Terms of Use: This information is to be used solely for the purposes of promoting the chapter. Use of the list must comply with the Association's Chapter Records Release Policy. A confidentiality agreement must be signed by each person who is issued the roster. (SEE APPENDIX) It must not be reproduced. It must be destroyed by shredding after used for its intended purpose. If the Office of Alumni Relations has not received notification of it being destroyed within 7 days of the intended purpose, the Office of Alumni Relations will contact the appropriate party and ask that it be destroyed. New lists can be supplied upon request. Failure to comply with the Terms of Use will cause the chapter to lose its membership list privileges.
Chapter Email Address
The Office of Alumni Relations will set up a shared email account for the chapter leadership to communicate with members. This will allow for a consistent means to communicate with the group throughout different leadership tenures. It will also allow for leadership to keep their personal email addresses personal. It is the responsibility of the chapter leadership to determine the protocol for responding to emails in the shared account. The Office of Alumni Relations is happy to review "canned" responses for typical email questions / comments so that chapter messaging is consistent despite who responds to the email. When using the shared email account, always use the BCC option so that contact information remains private. It is best to send personal emails on a one‐to‐one basis. ODU CHAPTER HANDBOOK
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Chapter Web Presence
The Office of Alumni Relations will administer the Chapter's web page on the ODUAA website. This page will include upcoming events, links to the current and past e‐Updates as well as provide contact information for the leadership and an overview of the group's mission. The page will also explain how to become an active member.
Facebook for ODUAA Chapters
Facebook allows chapter leadership to have a direct line of communication with their constituents. One reason for Facebook's breakout success is its ease of use. Creating a Page takes only a few minutes, even for those who wouldn’t normally describe themselves as computer savvy. We encourage chapter leaders to use Facebook to build community among members, to reach out to alumni from the area, and to promote chapter events. And, of course, we also encourage you to have fun while you’re at it. Another reason for Facebook’s success is that it doesn’t have many rules, and we certainly don’t intend to institute new ones of our own. Rather, we want to offer a few best practices. The Office of Alumni Relations will help with the following: • Setting up the initial Facebook presence and providing graphics • Setting up administrators from the chapter to help maintain the group's Facebook presence • Keeping Event postings current and accurate Chapter will assist by helping maintain the group's presence on Facebook by: • Making a minimum of two posts per week • Monitoring content on the page and alerting the Office of Alumni Relations in any instance of questionable content. Facebook allows chapter leadership to have a direct line of communication with their constituents. The Office of Alumni Relations will provide chapter leadership with "best practices" in order to insure that it remains an effective tool for the chapter. Please work with the Office of Alumni Relations when you decide to create a Page so that we can assist in the process as well as promote it from the ODUAA Facebook page and from the main ODUAA website. The Office of Alumni Relations will also share graphics and appropriate images to assist you in setting up and maintaining your Facebook presence.
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ODUAA's Recommendation
In our experience, pages allow for a more structured (and monitored) outlet for communication, organized photo album sharing, insights into fan interaction and fan demographics. They also allow for ODUAA to link to the page directly within Facebook and from the official ODUAA Facebook page whereas groups can only be linked to from the web. For these reasons, ODUAA recommends that chapters create PAGES with the original account tied to the shared chapter Gmail account. Admin privileges can then be given to current chapter leadership OR all chapter leadership can access the page through the shared account, allowing leadership to choose to post as a person or as the group based on messaging and intent.
Getting Started
Facebook offers useful and succinct how‐to information, and given the frequency with which they update their tools, it's best to simply follow their advice. Press CTRL and Click Here for Facebook "How To" Information
Best Practices
Online communities don't just happen. If you decide to create a Page for your chapter, don't assume it will spontaneously and organically grow into a useful resource. Check frequently. Respond promptly to comments and questions. Welcome new members. Post engaging content. Your Chapter Page should be a source for engaging content for all members. Be sure to post content that reflects the diversity of news and events for your fans. Sources of content can come from the ODU home page, the ODUAA website or Facebook page, or odusports.com. Be careful not to post only academic or sports related information. You should also try to highlight ODU news in your community ‐‐ i.e.: Did a student from your area win a scholarship? Did alum in your geographic region make the local news or win local recognition? This type of content is most relevant to your fans, but takes some time to discover and share. It is well worth the effort as engaging and relevant content will create more fans, and ultimately, a more active chapter base. Avoid message fatigue. Facebook users will voluntarily join your Page, and presumably they will do so because they want to hear from you. But don't overwhelm them with Page updates. Generally, we post three to five status updates each week from the ODUAA Page and only use personal messaging to get out particularly important information (i.e. event updates, reminders, etc). Practice wise discretion when moderating comments. We've all seen online discussions get out of hand. Although it's unlikely to happen, as the administrator, you might be called upon to remove or edit a member's comments. Please keep in mind that your Page does reflect on – even if unofficially – the university and the ODUAA. If you have questions or concerns about moderating comments, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations. Graphics & Photography The Office of Alumni Relations will provide all "official" graphics for the page. This includes any icon or image for the profile picture and any graphics advertising events and chapter activities. Photography from official chapter events may be posted by page administrators ‐‐ however, photos with questionable content including images ODU CHAPTER HANDBOOK
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where alcohol is prominently featured should not be posted without the permission of the individuals in the photograph. Fans, may, and are encouraged to post their own images, please use discretion and, if necessary, remove inappropriate images.
eUpdate
The Office of Alumni Relations will work with the chapter leadership to provide a quarterly eUpdate to all chapter members. The e‐Update allows the chapter to communicate in an "official" format with its members. By consolidating information about chapter‐specific events and news in this quarterly email, we are able to keep members informed without over‐saturating them with too‐frequent emails. This is your opportunity to connect with alumni on a regular basis, provide information about upcoming events, to solicit volunteerism and to establish and promote your chapter. Research shows that recipients will unsubscribe if they think emails are too frequent or the information included is irrelevant. For these reasons, ODU Chapters issue no more than one e‐Update per quarter and event. (3‐4x per year for e‐Updates + 2‐3 per year for "flagship activities") Benefits of e‐Updates: • The ODUAA database is a clearinghouse for all updated contact information insuring that chapter members are receiving communications at the email address most recently updated with the university. • E‐blasts are designed to pass through spam filters. • Returned emails are automatically flagged to be corrected on your future rosters and the university's database. • The e‐mailing service produces statistics on open rates, link clicks, unsubscribes, etc. These demographics will be shared with the chapter leadership after each mass email to the chapter. Timing of e‐Updates: ODUAA aims to send a comprehensive e‐News to all alumni at least nine times a year. Accordingly, the chapter updates are scheduled to occur two weeks before or after to prevent our constituents from feeling overwhelmed by their frequency. The content outline is due to the Assistant Director and Director for Outreach on the first Tuesday of the month it is to be sent. The Office of Alumni Relations will work with the Chapter liaison to fine‐tune the content and design upon receiving the content. The email will be sent in according to the schedule of the alumni e‐News. Because emails sent on Monday's and Friday's have lower open rates, it is best to send between Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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ActivitySpecific Marketing
All Chapter activities will be marketed through the following outlets: • ODUAA Website • ODUAA Facebook Page • ODUAA Alumni e‐News (sent 8‐9 times / year) • Chapter Facebook Page • Chapter Page on ODUAA Website • Chapter e‐Update (send 3‐4 times / year) The Office of Alumni Relations will work with the chapter leadership to provide event‐specific marketing for 2‐3 activities per year and no more than 1 per quarter. These events will be marketed with all of the above outlets as well as: Activity Specific e‐Blasts and/or Targeted Postcard Mailing Chapter Leadership is encouraged to market activities through Facebook, email using the shared chapter Gmail account and, if appropriate, by phone using the roster provided. Again, only those who have indicated interest either through the Lion's Den and / or opening chapter‐specific emails may be contacted.
Miscellaneous Communications Items
The Office of Alumni Relations is here to support each chapter's efforts. If you have a particular communications need, please share it with us and we'll be happy to work with you to help you meet your goals!
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