Help with numbers

[lambdachirho]

Hey everyone hope you're having a great Spring Semster!! I need some more help....lol....My sorority has a hard time with recruitment and keeping Interest (PNMs). The way my school does it is that we have an event called Meet the Greeks each semster were Greek organizations set up a table, which includes scrapbooks, information about the organization and when they will hold Rush events. The members are available to answer any questions. Each Sorority then usually has a number of Rush events over a period of time. These are called Open Teas or Interest Meetings. Interests will meet the Sisters and Learn about what each Sorority stands for, and a little more information about that Sorority. Recently we have had small Pledge Classes and Interest coming to our events...our classes have been small....In Fall 05 we had 4 girls in the Pledge Class, but another sorority (who is also local) were able to have a class of 13...

I dont understand what they do differently to have a big class (at my school that is big).

If anyone has any advice or ideas please help me, this spring we weren't even able to have a class and we really want and need Fall 06 to go great!

Thanks for the help and advice in advance

[adpiucf]

It would be a good idea to have a brainstorming session with your chapter. Other members might have a better idea of some of the things that the larger chapters are doing to recruit and retain more members.

Also, remember that your sisters' roommates and classmates are a great and untapped resource! Develop a list of Interests based on your personal connections. Consider holding informal events with these ladies and giving them an opportunity to interact with your sisterhood!

Recruitment is a 365-day a year process! Consider increasing your visibilty on campus-- hold a Sisterhood week where you take one week each semester to plan special activities and wear letters each day of that week, as well as setting aside one day each week where all members wear letters and meet on campus for lunch! Plan a PR event that promotes your sorority and helps a campus or community cause. You might also stock a residence hall study area with treats and study supplies during finals week or hold a workshop for campus women about a topic relevant to women your age. Also, get your members involved on campus -- they will promote your sorority name with their accomplisments in extracurricular leadership and activites, as well as meet new Interests.

Brainstorm with the chapter on ways to get your name out-- it may be as simple as making an effort to be friendly to others or might require coming up with an action plan outlined with specific goals and incentives.

Good luck! It is a lot of work to recruit and retain members, but you've taken the first step to success by acknowledging you would like to make it happen and asking the right questions!

[PenguinTrax]

You need to figure out what your 'rep' is on campus. You need to figure out how to market the positive and change the negative. You need to really look into why you are not getting the interest you need to maintain numbers.

You need to look at the type of recruitment events that the more successful groups hold and compare them with your group's events. Not to copy, but to improve. Events should offer a variety of themes, activities, and opportunities to get to know the PNMs

You need to redesign and clean up your web site. It does not reflect the best qualities of your group - there is text that 'slams' the other groups on campus and a number of the photos are just not appropriate for a public site that should serve as a marketing tool for your sorority. In fact, some of the pics directly contrast with your claim that:

If you're looking to join a sorority just so you can party 24/7 then you're looking at the wrong site.

If I were a PNM and found your site, I'd initially be intrigued by your long history, but then turned off by the 'sour grapes' attitude and some of the pictures.

You should look at getting your own domain name or moving your site to university sponsored web space. Lose tripod - the ads are annoying and it doesn't lend credibility to your chapter.

[SOPi_Jawbreaker]

My sorority does rush very informally. I think one of the MOST effective things in our recruitment is making a personal connection. At the very beginning of the semester, our rush chairs and our president emphasize how very important it is for everyone to really get out there and actively recruit (meaning talking to women in their classes, student clubs, bible studies, study groups, class projects, dorms, commons, etc.) Then, our rush chairs emphasize that active recruiting is more than just passing out rush flyers and telling girls when and where our rush events are held. For us, recruiting means taking the time to talk to girls and getting to know them. A lot of girls have said that they would have been intimidated to come out to our rush events if they had not already met so-and-so in the commons and talked to her for several minutes. But knowing that there would be one sister there that they knew made them less nervous.

That's how it was for me. I used to have a lot of prejudice against Greeks. I believed the stereotypes, and I thought that sorority girls were really as catty as MTV's Sorority Life depicted. One day (during my first weeks at Penn State) I was waiting in line for coffee, and the girl behind me in line just started talking to me. I had only made friends at that time, and this girl was so friendly. We asked me the usual questions (hometown, year, major), but then we went on to talk about some other stuff while we were waiting for our coffee (what I want to do with my major, my ethnicity...turned out she's Taiwanese too, visiting Taiwan, my family, etc.) Then, when we finally got our coffees, she gave me a rush flyer and invited me to the info session that night. I was a little unsure and nervous (I was still pretty shy at the time), but I went to that info session because I thought to myself "She was so nice and so friendly, and if THIS is what sororities are like, I should go check it out. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe sorority life could be for me." And here I am almost four years later :-). If she hadn't started up a conversation with me, I don't think I would have gone Greek. I would not have gone out and sought out a sorority, because I would have held onto all those misconceptions I had about sororities.

[LightBulb]

Originally posted by PenguinTrax
You need to redesign and clean up your web site. It does not reflect the best qualities of your group - there is text that 'slams' the other groups on campus and a number of the photos are just not appropriate for a public site that should serve as a marketing tool for your sorority. In fact, some of the pics directly contrast with your claim that:

If you're looking to join a sorority just so you can party 24/7 then you're looking at the wrong site.

If I were a PNM and found your site, I'd initially be intrigued by your long history, but then turned off by the 'sour grapes' attitude and some of the pictures.

You should look at getting your own domain name or moving your site to university sponsored web space. Lose tripod - the ads are annoying and it doesn't lend credibility to your chapter.

WHOA I have to agree with Penguin --- is that a stripper on your website (on the "adventures"page)?

Some girls are going to use the websites to research sororities before rush... keep that in mind!!

Also, I almost left your site - I couldn't find the links to the other pages at first. You need to make that more prominent on your homepage. Your "our history" page has a broken link, but I do like your "back in the day" page.

Off the web...
Build up your POSITIVE publicity (put lots of things in your campus newspaper about philanthropy events, congratulating sisters who made the dean's list, etc.). Host on-campus philanthropy events. Stay involved and super spirited with campus events like homecoming, Greek Week, etc.

[AChiOhSnap]

Originally posted by PenguinTrax

If I were a PNM and found your site, I'd initially be intrigued by your long history, but then turned off by the 'sour grapes' attitude and some of the pictures.

You should look at getting your own domain name or moving your site to university sponsored web space. Lose tripod - the ads are annoying and it doesn't lend credibility to your chapter.

Whoa, PLEASE take off the stripper photos (any picture of simulated ORAL SEX is just not appropriate for a sorority website!) and the shots of girls pushing their boobs together. I mean, the boobs pic was the first one on the photos page! I do NOT mean to flame you, but come on. Your webmaster has to have more common sense than this. If I were a PNM, I would think that all you guys cared about was boozing it up and going to seedy strip clubs... your website projects a very polarizing image...an image that very few PNMs would want to have, I'm afraid.

So I'm sorry if I sound harsh, because your group had a lot of positive. I think you all should definitely emphasize your long history. Your colors are so cool, and you really seem like a "family." Figure out ways to highlight these qualities in your daily campus lives and in events.

Make sure your most well-spoken sisters are representing you in public events -- sometimes sororities make the mistake of putting overly shy/awkward/loud girls in public appearances. YES you may love them, they're amazing girls, your best friends, and so on.....but others don't know them and they may not be portraying the kind of "image" you want. There are girls like this in every sorority, and they're just not well suited to maintain public positions. Make sure your main "reps" on campus are well spoken and confident and mirror the kind of PNM you want to attract.

Visibility is key... arrange mixers, socials, parties... get your names out there. Do you have a lot of girls on the dance team/education club/choir/volleyball team? Have those sisters recruit their teammates or fellow club members.

Your diversity is an asset. Emphasize your diversity! You seem like a nice group of girls, so get rid of the website (I had like eight popups on that site too, very annoying) and get rid of any stripper/drinking pics you may have in your house or in any scrapbooks and you're golden. These are just suggestions for the immediate future, but changes in image and recruitment are sometimes slow battles. Good luck!

[BetteDavisEyes]

May I suggest getting rid of the boob photos. It's not attractive. Put that in a personal scrapbook or album but NOT on your website.

The stripper pics are unnecessary. Why not just post pics of the ladies only with the caption "Girls Night Out"
You might also want to exclude the pics w/the booze showing. It's not classy at all.

[kddani]

at the website

The pictures certainly seem in direct contrasts to "leadership creates responsibility". It actually makes me think there's a lack of leadership, because there's no responsibility in those pictures.

I noticed that you have an event called "pot party". While I get the play on words, it's really not appropriate and it could be misleading if people just overheard it.

"Alumni" is not correct grammar if you are talking about women who graduated from your chapter, unless you were coed at some point. "Alumnae" is the proper term.

I love the old school pictures on the site, and it's great to see a local with a good history and alumnae still involved.

The boob picture is frightening. The pictures from the strip club are fun to have in private albums (and I personally have quite a few very similar pictures) but are no where near appropriate for your website.

First impressions mean everything. If an incoming freshman is checking out the greek scene, many of them will check out your webpage before even setting foot on campus. Not to mention their parents checking out the webpage as well... my parents would've flipped if they had seen photos like that on a website of a group I was looking to join.

There's great advice already given in this thread, and great advice throughout GC about changing image and getting numbers up. Spend some time combing through the rush and greek life forums, and there's a ton of advice waiting for you.

[FSUZeta]

look at some other sorority websites on other campuses. auburn university comes to mind. look at the photos that those groups have chosen to post. look at the composition of the photos. choose photos that are flattering to all in the photo. you want to show all sisters in their best light.

do not post photos that are inside jokes-things that only your sorority would understand. for instance, i am guessing that the boob shot is some sort of joke. i was not there and i do not understand the joke.it came off as trashy to me(as did the stripper party). if you can't decide if something is appropriate or not for a public forum, ask yourself if your parents, your grandparents or your minister/priest/rabbi (or your colleges administration)would be proud of the photo.

after re-reading your post, one other thing came to mind. is your new member program very different from the other sorority? do you haze? word gets around, and most people will not knowingly join a group who hazes. did you initiate all members of your most recent new member class? you this is another area you could work on.

how are your grades? are your members involved in other campus activities? do they hold leadership positions? if not, you should work toward that.

[KSUViolet06]

I suggest looking at some other sorority sites on your campus. Look at the types of pictures they put on their website. I'm willing to bet that that other sororities don't have pictures of drinking or males strippers on them.

Also, if you're going to post pictures, try to choose the ones where girls look put together in them. Those will make good impressions on PNMs.

[James]

Well I looked at your website.

The girls that have mentioned the inappropriate content are correct.

Also, you seem to have a disproportionate amount of overweight women in your chapter . . at least represented on your web site. That really stuck out when I viewed the pics.

I noticed that previous years weren't like that. You may want to focus on more women that tend towards the average.

You don't need to recruit supermodels, but people are going to think something is wrong with you when most of the girls appear outside the norm.

It also diminishes your social currency.

We are social organizations that exist to allow us to meet more people and attend more events than we normally would with just our normal circle of friends.

If people think their social options will be more limited with your group than another, they will opt for the other group.

This doesn't mean that you aren't nice loyal girls, it has more to do with your marketability.

Please don't flame me ladies, we have had endless discussions here about these types of issues and its univerally acknowledged that more attractive chapters do better. No matter how much some people may hate that truth.

I am really surprised that you other girls haven't already said it, not only is it really obvious, but a lot of other advice will come to nothing without adressing that primary issue.

[AChiOhSnap]

Originally posted by James
Well I looked at your website.

The girls that have mentioned the inappropriate content are correct.

Also, you seem to have a disproportionate amount of overweight women in your chapter . . at least represented on your web site. That really stuck out when I viewed the pics.

I noticed that previous years weren't like that. You may want to focus on more women that tend towards the average.

You don't need to recruit supermodels, but people are going to think something is wrong with you when most of the girls appear outside the norm.

It also diminishes your social currency.

We are social organizations that exist to allow us to meet more people and attend more events than we normally would with just our normal circle of friends.

If people think their social options will be more limited with your group than another, they will opt for the other group.

This doesn't mean that you aren't nice loyal girls, it has more to do with your marketability.

Please don't flame me ladies, we have had endless discussions here about these types of issues and its univerally acknowledged that more attractive chapters do better. No matter how much some people may hate that truth.

I am really surprised that you other girls haven't already said it, not only is it really obvious, but a lot of other advice will come to nothing without adressing that primary issue.

I'm not going to flame you, because you're entitled to your opinion but I have to disagree on some certain points.

YES, having a chapter with a large amount of average-to-pretty girls will do very well on numbers just on that basis alone.

It's the way it works -- on every single campus with greek life, there are invariably sororities where they emphasize beauty and end up doing very well in recruitment. We all know it. For better or worse, it exists.

That said, these ladies embrace their diversity, and they do have a lot of very pretty women.

I don't think that going for "looks" is going to help this chapter much.... they know that they're a unique sorority where everyone looks different from each other... they said so themselves. They need to focus on the personality that they're projecting, because their diversity is the very selling point that is going to attract girls (many of whom may never have felt "right" about another sorority).

The issue here is how to recruit these non-traditional PNMs... I think if these women recruit confident, well spoken, and interesting women, the numbers will naturally follow. But in doing that, they need to "advertise" their well spoken, confident, social butterfly types. I think these girls WANT to be the friendly, easy going, nontraditional, unique sorority on campus, and the numbers will follow if they can actually establish that niche.

Sorry, original poster, for talking about you in the third person

Edited for clarity

[Drunkie679]

I feel that looks aren't everything...Our Fraternity has a very diverse and unique image...but we also party hard core.

The Fraternity@ our school that our know as the " pretty boys" are SAE and they are complete assholes...I hated the house @ rush and I think I am a decent looking guy

Girls are the same way...our favorite house to hang with is Delta Zeta...and they have a lot of pretty girls...but the are cool girls to hang out with

The house that has the Hot rep is Alpha Phi...but they aren't nice to people and other GLO...they got made because they weren't paired with the cool fraternity one year for greek sing

I think house if you are diverse...you will attract and larger # of people rather that the people that look "hot"

But on an unrelated topic...I believe (especially on our campus) many GLO have this image of big the " hot" house...but if you take every person from their organization...I think everything is almost even. Many girls are apart of these organization and you never see them with their letters on and they aren't the best look people, but they are apart of "hot" house.

Also shot out to Alpha Chi Emily...My mom is an A-Chi-O

[AChiOhSnap]

Originally posted by Drunkie679

Also shot out to Alpha Chi Emily...My mom is an A-Chi-O

Holler!

[Drunkie679]

Oh yea...My sister is one too...and as of next year, possible my niece and cousins