Communication with members

Effective communication is key to recruiting new members to your alumni association or chapter, and encouraging and maintaining engagement. Below you will find information about the various communication channels you can use.

1. Create a functional e-mail address

An official functional e-mail address clearly demonstrates that it is the association that is the sender and makes it immediately recognisable. It is easy to send out invitations to events and association-specific news to association members via e-mail. A functional e-mail inbox also allows more people to manage the e-mails sent to the association.
Create a functional e-mail address

2. Create a website

A website or web page with information about the alumni association's activities, membership benefits, contact details, articles of association, etc., can be useful. You can set up your own events calendar on the association's web page. The alumni team advertises events in the Alumni Network via a general Events calendar and can also promote events and news via the University's LinkedIn group for alumni.

The Communications Division at Uppsala University can provide advice and tips on the design and content of a web page, and a template. Notify the alumni team about the website address (URL) for the alumni association and the team will add a link to it on the public alumni associations’ website.

Many associations also use social media to recruit members and to promote the association's activities and events.

Template for alumni association web pages
Questions about graphic design templates for web pages
Guidelines for communication at Uppsala University
Visual guidelines at Uppsala University

Please note:
Internal alumni associations: All associations run internally by Uppsala University must follow the University's brand strategy and use the University's logo in their communications.

External alumni associations (often separate legal persons) must not use the University’s logo; they must create their own logo.

3. Create an events calendar

Add an events calendar

What other channels can you use?

• Social media, such as LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a good tool for finding interesting alumni. It is also a good source of information about alumni occupations and where they are employed. Uppsala University's LinkedIn group for alumni currently has approximately 11 000 members.
• Newsletters
• Student associations, student nations and student unions
• Functions and events
• Meetings with individuals
• Uppsala University's website for students.