MSTA on Twitter

[Patmo]

the MSTA now has a Twitter account.  If you are a twitter user, please connect via @ridemstacom and stay up to date on happenings!

[RIDEMYST]

Just thinking out loud here.....


I wonder if we are diminishing our communications by being spread out over more social networks?
There has been a marked reduction in this forum's usage, which may or may not be from members using our Facebook page. And I have seen important comments on both Facebook and this forum that never reach the other site.


My point is, if we spread ourselves out to far will we be talking with very little listening? -JEP-

[RichGrab]

My point is, if we spread ourselves out to far will we be talking with very little listening? -JEP-

I was thinking the same thing Jim. Also, I somehow think it needs to be clear to users that just by joining the Facebook (or Twitter, or Instagram or whatever) group, you are not a member of the MSTA. I know we want to grow our numbers.
And of course, just my $0.02 worth - YMMV.

[Steve]

No to Twitter, yes to Jim.

[Rayk86ss]

That restaurant is so crowded-- no one goes there anymore.  I agree that it would be great to have more activity on this forum.  Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all fine, but we need a space of our own.  ADVrider is a site that I enjoy, and it seems to hum along rather well.  I'd like to see member ride reports, photos, and other activities on these MSTA forums daily so that it becomes the ADV for the sport touring set.  The moderators have done a fine job setting up the MSTA forum, but people are naturally drawn to where the action is--online or irl.  Various state and local MSTA groups have their own ways of staying in touch that may not involve these forums.  Trying to pressure state  directors to use these forums seems ill advised.  We've been through one senseless mutiny already. 

[Patmo]

A smart business will go where the customers are...not try to force the customers to find it.  We keep saying that we need to get “younger”.  Well the truth is that the young people are not on forums or Facebook, they are on Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.  The fastest growing group on FB is the 55 and older age group, not the 25-45 age group.

The Wordpress software that we use for this forum is very capable of being synced with the MSTA Facebook page, and vice versa.  Look for that in the future.

Steve...  I didn’t set those up with any expectation that people that aren’t already using them would suddenly decide to sign up.  I set them up so that our members that are already using it, could get access to MSTA information through it, and so that people that are on it might get exposed to the MSTA through it. We aren’t going to force people to use something they don’t want to, and we shouldn’t try.  But, as a group, we should use every tool that we can to promote ourselves.

It’s like any other type of advertising and communication.  If all I do is put an ad in a newspaper or magazine, I’m going to miss the people that don’t read them. But if I use all of the various advertising options, I have a better chance of getting my message out to more people. 

Social media is an additional way of reaching out to spread the MSTA message.  If we don’t use all of the various forms of social media we are short changing ourselves, because we are going to miss potential customers.

[NinjaBob]

I agree with Jim but I am biased of course since I am the Forum Administrator. However, it is sometimes disheartening that my efforts seem overshadowed by Facebook. Our facebook group has about 1200 members. Looking at the list I recognize only a hadfull of names, and I work with the Paid MSTA member roster regualarly. My guess is that very few of our Facebook members will ever join MSTA or be involved in any way other than Facebook. I have heard that Instagram is a far more "grownup" platfrom" than Facebook but I am not on it yet. I have no intention of joining Twitter. 

Prior to the criticism Facebook received about fake news and other abuses of their user data we could get a feed of posts on the Facebook group to the forum. Facebook no longer allows that and probably for good reason.


I am adding to my post to say that I posted it before I read Pat's last post - although it may seem like a direct response. Again, I have heard Instagram is the platform of choice for respected professionals. Maybe it would be good to shift emphasis from Facebook to Instagram.

[Patmo]

I don’t see Twitter, or any of the other things, as a replacement for either the forum or the Facebook pages.  They are not replacements, they are additions.

Communication continues to evolve and change.  Newspaper and magazine are dying.  Forum participation is down in almost every age group.  Facebook faces challenges that were not foreseen and will either adapt or die.  What the future will bring? Nobody knows for sure.  Many of us still enjoy reading magazines, newspapers, books.  Many of us still like using forums and/or Facebook.  But there are more people out there than just us.  We should want those people to know about out club and what we have to offer.  We have to reach out to them where they are. We shouldn’t limit ourselves to just what WE know and are comfortable with. 

If we continue to do things the same old way, but expect different results, we are fooling ourselves.

[STLTHMSTA]

Bob, Your efforts are NOT unappreciated!!  I understand what Pat says even if I'm an old schooler and don't use any of the other mediums. If what you do is overshadowed by the others it's modern media thing not a lack of thanks for what you do here.

[NinjaBob]

Thanks Tom.

[Patmo]

Bob, Your efforts are NOT unappreciated!!  I understand what Pat says even if I'm an old schooler and don't use any of the other mediums. If what you do is overshadowed by the others it's modern media thing not a lack of thanks for what you do here.

Totally agree!  👍

[rynfox]

Just my two cents as one of the younger generation: We can use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to increase our numbers by advertising MSTA events, posting articles (or snippets), and including links to registration. That said, most of the generation even younger than myself use only Twitter or Instagram, preferring to get bytes instead of whole meals (forgive the analogy).

[Ride4MS]

I use only the forum.  Is everything that is on the forum on the other social medias?  Or are they just for promoting MSTA?  My preference is only the forum for member stuff in the Members Only section.


I agree with several people as we should not be trying to change what people use, but if we use those other sources, to use it for promotional purposes only.  Then, refer the reader to the forum and the Members Only section, stating they have to be a member to use it.  Use those sources as kind of a teaser to join MSTA.


1200 members on facebook?  Seems like a lot of them are not MSTA members.  Here is the challenge....Get them to join MSTA.

[stevegrab]

Exposure is great but getting them to join the club or come on a ride or attend an event would be so much better.

Of the 1200 people on the MSTA Facebook page even if 400 are members that's 2/3 who aren't doing much but hang out.

I agree somewhat with Jim on spreading thin, but I also see what Pat is trying to do. I wonder if we might get some input from younger people.

[Patmo]

Here’s some numbers to consider....

In 2002 there were 4.2 million motorcycles registered and insured in the US

In 2017 that number had RISEN to 8.4 million!

Sure, some of that is people that own more than one motorcycle,  but even if only 75% of the people own but 1 motorcycle, that’s still over 6 million motorcycle riders in the US

Statistics tell us that 70% of the owners in the US are YOUNGER than 50

60% of the twitter users in the US are between the ages of 25 and 55

And there are 69 million Twitter users in the US!

So, if we want to reach those 70% of motorcycle riders that are younger than 50, Twitter is ONE place to try and do that.  It’s not the only way, but it’s 1 way.....because a whole lot of them are using it.  Even if a whole lot of us, aren’t.

Right now, with only 1200 members, the MSTA isn’t a bite of the pie, we are hardly even a crumb.  If we ever want to become more, we probably need to find ways to reach out to individuals and groups that we have something in common with. Social media tools are ways that we can do this