I remember the first AΣA I met. She was from my hometown and lived across the hall in the dorm. We were both sophomores; my freshman year was spent at another school. For a year, I watched. Saw her character, her integrity, who she hung out with and who wore AΣA letters. Every sorority on campus has a reputation (brand) and everyone on campus knew what each group stood for. I knew AΣA was the group I wanted to join.

 

A couple of weeks before the start of my junior year, I headed off for formal recruitment. It was all or nothing. I only wanted to wear AΣA letters. If I did not get a bid from them, then I would not be in a sorority. I was fine with that. I was among 36 amazing young ladies from across Arkansas who were a part of the fall ‘94 new member class!

 

Our recruitment class was one of the first classes with new terms. We were “new members”, not “pledges”. Rush was now called recruitment, and we were affectionately known as “pearls” who would become “rubies” upon initiation. My time as a collegian in Alpha Sigma Alpha was short. I made the most of every opportunity, serving in different roles including communications. After graduation, I went back to serve in different capacities with Beta Lambda and the region at that time.

 

Beta Lambda continues to be a well-respected brand on campus of the University of Central Arkansas and around town. What is your AΣA chapter and alumnae brand? What is your chapter known for?

 

It might seem the only time sororities (and fraternities) are featured in the media is for not-so-great behavior. WE know the positive impact our chapters have on the community. Oftentimes, no one else does. Each of our chapters provides service, fundraising and goodwill in the community. Yet check donations, Christmas wrapping events for Children’s Hospitals and serving as coaches or running buddies for GOTR never seems to get attention. It’s not that sororities are not doing good, it’s that they are not talking about it in the media.

 

Gen Z’s might not understand the concept of local news. They did not grow up reading the newspaper, listening to the radio or watching the evening news. Their parents did. Parents still have influence over whether their children might participate in Greek Life. Which is why telling good stories can help shift the perception of sororities and help with recruitment efforts.

 

 

Here are strategies on how to share all the good:

 

1. Take a bird’s eye view of each semester calendar and identify what acts of service the chapter is doing and highlight them. Here are a few ideas: Is there a fundraiser for Special Olympics happening? Serving as running buddies for Girls on the Run? Does your chapter host a “moms and mammograms” event every October? Does your chapter donate Christmas presents or wrap presents for a local Children’s Hospital? Does your chapter partner with a fraternity for an event?

2. Once your chapter has identified these events, pick at least one each semester to highlight. This is what you are going to send a press release on. Press releases are high-level announcements which include a couple of quotes. The announcement can be about an event, major award, fundraiser and more. There is a structure in putting releases together that the media expects. Press releases are generally a page, maybe page and a half and contain 7 parts: logo, a memorable headline (title), dateline, body of the release, 3 hash marks (#) to indicate the release is finished, a boilerplate and your contact information.

3. Send the press release 2 weeks before the event. Who to? On-campus newspapers, radio, television stations and magazines. Considering sending the press release to television and radio stations that might be 60 minutes away. Press releases are the most effective ways to communicate the good your chapter is providing in the community.

Let’s say for example your chapter raised $2,000 for Special Olympics from a campus wide fundraiser. The college campus paper might care, but local news won’t. Here is how to get local news interested: create an event! Hold a check presentation event at Special Olympics where a representative from your chapter presents a big check to the Executive Director from Special Olympics. That would be something that would spark the interest of the local media. It is also a story that is rarely told in the media – a sorority doing something good for someone else. Then take all the photos from the event and blast them all over social!

 

Imagine what the other sororities on campus would think when they find out your chapter was on TV for everyone to see. Alumnae will be ecstatic and so will parents! Another component, most TV stations post stories online, through their app and on their social media channels – providing just another way to showcase your positive publicity.

 

How am I so certain this strategy will work? This is some of what more than 2 decades in the television industry taught me. As a producer, reporter and main anchor I saw firsthand the importance of press releases and heard the mockery of when someone did not present themselves well in an email trying to get coverage. I was also the reporter who would cover the “hazing gone bad” stories. I earned both an EMMY and Edward R. Murrow Award while in the business.

 

Since stepping away full time from the business, I have another seven years in corporate communications before creating my own company, Memorable Results Media, where you can explore free resources on positive publicity. Now I use these strategies and others to secure television interviews for businesses and organizations across the country to keep them relevant. This works for them, and I know it will work for your collegiate and alumnae chapters too!