MSTA Forums
Main Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: Patmo on September 28, 2018, 07:34:03 AM
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the MSTA now has a Twitter account. If you are a twitter user, please connect via @ridemstacom and stay up to date on happenings!
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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-
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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.
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No to Twitter, yes to Jim.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Thanks Tom. :)
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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! 👍
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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
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It’s certainly worth the try! Nothing drives me more nuts than someone saying “this is the way we’ve always done it!”
That said, perhaps on these sites (as I believe we did on Facebook) direct users to our MSTA homepage and forum. -JEP-
Oh yeah.....our Smugmug site too!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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As a guy who at one time only used the "List" (remember that?) I managed to navigate through the forum. I'm not looking forward to the social media onslaught because it may be more traffic than I could handle. But it'll be what it'll be. Wish me luck. :^) TM
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perhaps on these sites (as I believe we did on Facebook) direct users to our MSTA homepage and forum. -JEP-
Oh yeah.....our Smugmug site too!
Absolutely! Twitter and such things are like headlines on news feed. The objective is to get someone to click on the link that takes them to the story...or in our case, the forum and website....for more information.
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The Facebook group has 1200 members and someone estimated that only about 400 of them actually belong to the club. Is that some sort of problem or sign of failure? No.
The non-members who join and hang out in our FB group get daily exposure to MSTA culture, club members, knowledge of what events are happening, where and when. They get to see pics and postings of members at events, having dinner together, riding interesting roads, their bikes, etc. EVERY DAY.
It is precisely this repetition that makes the club become familiar to newcomers. It enables them to comment on posts, ask questions and become part ot the conversation. Over time, newcomers and members friend each other and become better acquainted.
Very few will join and pay dues UNLESS they are motivated enough to attend an event in person. If it's an event that requires registration, they become a full member of the club for a year. If the event turns out to be great fun and they enjoy the company of members they now get to meet in person and ride with, they spread the word to other friends, who proceed much faster in the membership process because they have a good friend who is already a member to go with.
For many, it is hard to get days off from work to go to events, so they might hang out on the FB group for a year or more before the stars align and they get to attend an event. It's a process, and it involves repetition. The people on the MSTA FB group are on FB for lots of other reasons- keeping up with family and friends etc, but every time someone posts in the group, that person gets a notification, so they get constant reminders to click and see what is going on. That daily repetition builds familiarity andf interest that converts MSTA FB members into real club members.
When new people show up at an event, it is the organizer and other attendees' responsibility to seal the deal by making sure the new person has an experience that makes their continued membership and participation a no-brainer. With that in mind, I worked my butt off on FlyBy Week to make it a memorable riding and social opportunity. I got 7 new members and there were others who had joined earlier and came to FBW as their first event.
Will England is welcoming new people to the MSTA FB group every week, and the numbers are accelerating. IMHO, it is our best source of prospects. Let's engage with them and convert them to members!
Norm Kern
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Very Interesting!!I'm not a Twitterer... is that a word? I'm not ruling it out but I seem to be on this stupid phone more than I like/want already!
I think Pat is on the right track and Norm hit it on the head! What he said is one of the things I have always preached... It takes some personal touch/work to get and keep members! Step up and introduce yourself to riders at our events that you don't know. The club officers has been promoting this for years but it really needs to come from you the member.
As an event coordinator I think about these new media venues and try to figure out how I can use them to promote my event. However, I'm in a particular interesting situation with the Big Lynn Lodge in that The Big Lynn Lodge ONLY has 42 room and thus a limited number of beds. This has it's good and bad points. There are many positive reasons I intend on keeping this at the Big Lynn Lodge. One very interesting situation occurred a the second year. As Members left after the event all were making reservations for the following year. Thus NO different members could ever get a room. So I got lots of complaints. Ok so the solution I came up with is I don't release the rooms until some undisclosed date after January 1st. This does two things 1) allows other members to get a room at the Big Lynn Lodge and 2) The only place I post the date the rooms will be released is on the Forum and the Website (if I can coordinate this properly) thus encouraging members to use those two. I'm not using these other platforms thus I'm not posting there. I really don't want to start using those other social media outlets. So I guess I'll be leaving them out. I still sell out my event and always have a few who can't get a room at the Lodge but do get rooms at the 3 overflow hotels all within 3 miles of the Big Lynn Lodge.
Side note: I have tried and tried to get the release date in the STAReview but really want all locations to be coordinated so that all CAN find out on the same day. Never has this been possible.
I say all this to point out that each event/venue has it's on uniqueness.
I'm really glad that Pat is working on this AND I really appreciate all that Norm has done for this club recently! Bob, I can't thank you enough for all the online stuff you have done and are doing. You are THE MAN! :trink39:
Ok, my rant OFF... back to your regularly scheduled program!
Brick
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From David Burge, "The three possible states of human existence, ranked in descending level of happiness:
1. Having better things to do than Twitter
2. Not having better things to do than Twitter
3. Having better things to do than Twitter, but going on Twitter anyway"