Newsletter Video Captures a MILLION Words!

Do you send, either by regular mail or by email, a newsletter to your alumni each month?  If so, how many hours do you spend each and every month preparing the newsletter?  After all, you have to write it, proof it, run it by others, and then worry that you missed something.  All of this can add up to a lot of man hours each month.  Who reads your newsletter, anyway?  Is all this work in creating a product well spent?  Maybe, maybe not, but here is another idea to consider:

Ramapo College of New Jersey decided to move into the video era and use video for their monthly newsletter.  This is a fantastic idea, so I had to share it!  Each month, Ramapo College alumni conduct interviews for their monthly Newsletter Video.  Once they're ready, they go on the alumni website, so it's easy for alumni to find, view, and enjoy.  This is such an easy technique that can also be a lot of fun to do!  So far, Ramapo alumni have interviewed department chairs, student government leaders, faculty, and more.  Check it out!

If you're interested in the idea, I'd definitely recommend it.  Your challenge will be to include changing content, so that each month is new and different than the previous month.  However, it's a great project for your PR/Journalism students.  Once you get it set up properly, it can be their responsibility to keep it going.  Everyone wins in this scenario.  You get the content you want for your alumni website.  The students get real life experience.  And - your alumni have terrific video newsletters to view each and every month.

Think about the different ways you could utilize this concept in creating video content for your alumni to consume.  I'd love to hear more, so drop me a line.