Orchid Connect

3 Ways to Send Targeted Messages to Specific Students & Alumni

Here are three ways to use Salesforce to send targeted messages to specific student and alumni segments. These methods allow you to tailor your communication strategy, ensuring that students and alumni receive relevant and timely messages.

Email Campaigns via Salesforce Marketing Cloud

  • Use Salesforce Marketing Cloud to create specific segments of students and alumni based on criteria like graduation year, major, geographic location, or engagement history.
  • Develop personalized email content that resonates with each segment, such as event invitations, alumni success stories, or career development resources.
  • Set up automated email journeys that trigger based on user actions or time-based events (e.g., sending a reminder email to students about upcoming deadlines or alumni about reunion events).

Targeted Messaging with Salesforce Pardot

targeted messages

  • Use Pardot to create dynamic lists that automatically update based on criteria like recent activity, interests, or academic achievements.
  • Implement drip campaigns to send a series of targeted emails over time, gradually nurturing the relationship with the recipient. This is useful for onboarding new students or engaging alumni who haven’t interacted with your organization recently.
  • Leverage lead scoring to prioritize students and alumni who are more likely to engage based on their interactions with previous communications or events.

Salesforce Communities for Direct Engagement

  • Within Salesforce Communities, create specific groups or forums for different student and alumni segments. For example, separate groups for current students, recent graduates, and seasoned alumni.
  • Send targeted notifications or messages within these groups, such as updates on job opportunities for alumni or announcements for students about internships.
  • Track the engagement within these groups to refine your messaging strategy and ensure that content is relevant to each segment’s needs.

Orchid Connect is a woman-owned Salesforce implementation firm with 30 years of experience serving associations, non-profits and small/medium businesses. We specialize in strategic and implementation services, go-to-market support, and ongoing support. To learn more, reach us at reachout@orchidconnect.com.