Every event requires a lot of pre-planning and without that it would just be a mess! Conducting meaningful events for the entire alumni network is of utmost importance for every alumni association.

The association needs the support of its volunteers for smoothly conducting an event for the alumni and the effort of a lot of people goes into each alumni event. Thus, due to the huge effort that goes into it, it is very important to know some practices which are a must for a successful event.

Through this article, we shall cover the top 10 best practices that will make your alumni event successful. One can apply them to almost every alumni event that the association wants to conduct. These 10 pointers can serve as an event checklist for every alumni association looking to conduct some amazing events!

1. Chalk out the event title, keep it totally relevant to your alumni. The event could be a networking event or a reunion or a simple webinar, the title of the event should be crisp, meaningful and interesting at the same time. For example, if it is an event around networking wherein the association wants to provide some career opportunities to the attendees, the title could be like- 'Network & Walk the Path to Your Dream Job'. The title should be promising and should create excitement around the event. It should be such that with just seeing the title, people feel like registering for the event and getting more information. The title should also be in keeping with the current trend. For example, at a time when recession is going on, keeping events around jobs is a good idea.
   

2. Be clear about the batch you will be targeting and send out invites to them timely. Get people to RSVP! An alumni event could target one or multiple batches. Even reunions could be of just one batch or few batches combined. Thus, depending on the type of event that the association is planning to keep, the association must decide which batch to target for the event. Depending on the batch, the social media platform on which that batch would be most active must be found out. If it is a very old batch, the invites might have to be sent through physical mail. If it's a relatively young batch or a batch very much active online, email invites or Facebook invites too work. Just sending out invites is not enough, getting people to show interest on the invite and getting them to RSVP to the event is also important. This helps the association in understanding the kind of response the invites and the event is getting and they can then modify a few things here and there according to the response.
   

3. Build excitement around your event and market it well. A lot of buzz has to be created around the event, before the event happens in order to get a good participation in the event. The association could run some well thought-of marketing campaigns and even post / highlight pictures of past events in order to show the association how good it would be for them to attend the event. The association must regularly post updates about the event's venue and arrangements so as to build excitement in the network for the event.
   

4. Make good arrangements for food / entertainment and keep a good host. The event could have a host to conduct the event successfuly. Depending on the type of event it is, the arrangements of food and entertainment must be made. If it is a fun event just for memories, there should be good quality food and music / dance arrangements too for people to enjoy themselves. If it is a networking event or a career related event then for food the arrangements could be very light snacks and there could be a good speaker from amongst the alumni who could give an insightful discourse around the event title to help the attendees. Overall, the event shouldn't be a totally boring one and should motivate people to take part in the event whenever it happens again.
   

5. Keep some incentives for the attendees and publicise them too. The event should have a lot to offer to the people attending it. Depending on the kind of event it is, the association can provide some incentives for the people attending it. The association can announce a few contests that could be conducted during the event and there could be some lucrative prizes for the winners of these contests. This would be an added incentive for the alumni network to come and take part in the event and the contests. The association could partner with some companies to provide good coupons during the event which could help the attendees. If not an immediate effect, these things spread a good word about the event and the association and helps in the publicity of future events.
   

6. Use your alumni database to customise and personalise the event for the specific audience. Once the target batch and the event title is decided, the association can use it's existing database to customise the event according to the preferences of the target audience. If it's an older batch then they would like a theme around remembering old memories and having some fun. The event invites also should be customized using this database. The kind of activities planned will largely depend on the target audience and hence, using the database to the maximum potential is of utmost importance to customize the event in the best possible way.
   

7. Get the venue decorated in such a way that it's click worthy and appealing. This point implies to all the events in general. If the venue is decorated well, people will get attracted to the event more and would stay longer. They would click a lot of photos there and this would help them create life-long memories. They could post these photos on the internet after the event and showcase the fun they had to everyone. The decoration should be in keeping with the event title and should appeal to that target audience.
   

8. Post a lot of photos from the Institutes social media handles post the event. Even if the attendees are not posting pictures from the event, the association can take the initiative and start posting some photos from the event. The association can use the social media handles of the institute for the same in order to reach out to a greater audience. By doing this the association will motivate others also to come forward and post and talk about the event. These photos show the other people what they missed and that might motivate people to take part in the future events conducted by the association.
   

9. Remember to take feedback from the attendees of the event. Feedback is essential for making the next event for the alumni successful. Feedback helps the association improve itself and organize better events. There should be a good feedback system which enables all the attendees to give feedback at the end of each event in a very easy and hassle free way. The association could also ask the attendees what kind of events they would want to attend in future in the feedback form. The association should then implement the suggestions provided by the attendees in the next event it conducts.
   

10. Finally, do ensure that the event adds value in some way for every attendee. The end goal of the association should be to add value in the life of the attendees through the event. The association should bring in a good mix of fun, entertainment and knowledge in each event. Even a career fair could have some interesting elements like some innovative contest so that the event is not boring. The event should make the alumni happy and it should help them in some way or the other. The event should have a good host who interacts with a majority of the participants and is able to relate with them. The event should be lively and should be in keeping with the current trends going on. The efforts of the association must show during the event in order to make it a successful one.

The above are top 10 ways in which you can host some amazing events for your alumni network. Events are a great way to boost engagement in the network and hence they must be leveraged to do the same!