[PPCC] Request for Social Media Committee Communication to Go Out Under Your Name

Mon Nov 27 14:12:07 EST 2017

Hello PPCC Crew, 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! 

I can tell this is going to be a fun group exercise as we all work to understand the new opportunities in front of us for communication, and this is actually a great opportunity to use the PPCC List for one of its intended purposes; to engage our entire membership within a secured, controlled email distribution. So, if others want to join in on the conversation, please feel free to. This is not just Garrie and I exchanging ideas individually, but opening up a larger dialog in prep for some pointed discussions going forward. As of today, we have 5 folks on the new committee, with several more interested in participating. Thank you all for being part of the solution :) 

As Garrie had noted below, yes, the CORSA membership roster is shrinking, and there are a lot of reasons for that, but I would challenge the thought that our Corvair community, as a whole, is shrinking. We, as the PPCC, continue to attract a diverse group of members each and every quarter. In fact, during 3rd Qtr, we added another three new members, ranging in ages from the mid 20's to early 60's. So, rest assured this club is not shrinking. We remain relevant and engaged, and encourage anyone with an interest in Corvairs to join in on the fun. The fact that you do not have to be a CORSA member in order to join the PPCC, allows us to attract some folks who don't want to be part of a large organization. We get the folks who just want to have fun with their cars, and that would be one reason why the CORSA roster for Colorado does not reflect a growing interest in the hobby. Folks are interested in Corvairs, just not interested in CORSA, and that's ok. We pay our yearly $35 administrative fee to CORSA, as does every other active CORSA Chapter, and through that CORSA association we enjoy the benefit of a group insurance policy for our Tri-States, and other events we might need such a policy for. For those who want to receive a magazine in the mail, CORSA will do that for $45 more a year through their membership benefits. Always a personal choice. [note: I personally do belong to CORSA :) ] 

One of the things we'll be discussing within the Social Media space is search engine optimization, or "SEO", how we have leveraged those analytics in the past, and what opportunities we have to increase out outreach to the Corvair enthusiast going forward. Those types of analytics are not only reserved for the website, but can also be attributed to our Facebook presence as well. For example, in just a quick analytic look at our current, multiple appearances, on that platform: 

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Pikes-Peak-Corvair-Club-156848894350463/community/?ref=page_internal 

This "page" has 794 "follows" and a " cat " at the main picture. Postings are sporadic and stale, with the last one being a picture/post Thanksgiving (picture of cut away car group from 2013). Prior to that, there is a video about butterflies and bees posted October 6th 2017, and prior to that, postings were made on July 6th 2017, and May 6th 2017. 

Opportunities: Viewers of this page, have communicated to me that they don't see this page as "active", it is "stale", and not effectively managed (not engaging). They are confused as to its purpose. It does note the website as a link, and the contact us button does send folks to the website, but it provides no reference to the other Facebook sites that the Club provides. Recommendations : Engage multiple moderators to monitor this page, set up automatic notifications for those moderators, and respond to questions in a timely manner. Provide up to date, car club and Corvair related material that is relevant to the audience who would be viewing this page. Not active, stale, and not managed enough. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/patl80820/?multi_permalinks=1594266443962919&notif_id=1511120241184376&notif_t=group_activity 

This "closed group" has 173 members, of which only 14 are members and/or spouses of members of the PPCC. While a great opportunity to stay connected, and post timely Corvair related information, it's not an effective means for communicating club related info as the membership in this group only represents approx 30% of the Club. 

Opportunities : Viewers of this space have communicated that they like it very much, it is active, engaging, and the content is almost all Corvair related, which is what they expect to see. Some frustration was expressed that there was only 1 photo album created in 2017 (for the 40th anniversary party), while the club did a whole lot of other event (car shows, events, drives, etc.), and not one single photo album created for the volume of events we participated in or hosted during 2016. Recommendations: Engage multiple Administrators and/or Moderators to ensure pictures are gathered, edited, and posted in a timely manner after each event. It is obvious that one person cannot do it all, so we need to engage additional support to ensure our message is clear; we are the most active Corvair club in Colorado,and these are the things we do every month. 

https://www.facebook.com/PPCCPhotos 
This "non-profit" photos "page" was created in early 2016 as a public page to hosts photos that were originally on the "Past Events/Photos" tab of our website. Because of the amount of pictures and length of load time, it was decided to move the pictures to a more familiar, and easy to maintain format, that being Facebook. Since it's inception, the page has not had the ownership originally envisioned, so it has not yet reached its potential. 

Opportunities : Viewers of this page have communicated that while several photo albums have been created, it doesn't appear to be managed effectively, with photos of current projects specifically requested (Green's floor rebuild, McGill's convertible resurrection, etc.). Recommendations: Lots of opportunity here for someone to step in and be our photo editor. This will be a site we build out, for a very specific purpose. 

So, my point here, is that there are opportunities in front of us, as communicated by the membership we serve, both internal to the club and those folks who look at us as an inclusive group who can appreciate not only a nice stock vehicle, but also one that has been heavily modified. Other Clubs in this area are not so accommodating, so we've been told. 

Let's keep the conversation going here. If anyone has additional thoughts in this area, we'd love to hear them. 

Thanks for the additional input. 

Ed 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Garrie Fox" <gfox80915 at yahoo.com> 
To: halpinem at comcast.net 
Cc: "Corvair - PPCC Email List" <ppcc-list at corvair.org>, "Corvair - Christine Kimberly" <chriskimberly at hotmail.com> 
Sent: Friday, November 24, 2017 8:04:56 PM 
Subject: Re: [PPCC] Request for Social Media Committee Communication to Go Out Under Your Name 

Ed, and All, 

There are only 92 CORSA members from the Colorado members list that I printed off the CORSA website. Our Corvair community is certainly shrinking! 

We have 962 Facebook people according to Patricia's numbers. Stale? Hardly. We literally hit thousands of Corvair people in a couple of minutes of posting. 

Patricia's idea for a Facebook Presence For PPCC was key an she started it with approval in June of 2010. 

I will have more info and opinion/recommendations to pass on as I called every member who left the club and I have notes in our club file. 

Have a priority project for now on former PPCC members car.. 

Regards, 

Garrie Fox 
719.338.5051 
(texting not available) 

On Wednesday, November 22, 2017, 4:07:31 PM MST, <halpinem at comcast.net> wrote: 

Thanks for the input Garrie, very much appreciated. 

Where the need for this effort comes from is related to the concerns, expressed by several members, that what we have today, by way of our communications tools, can be improved. I read that as, what we're doing isn't working. We are currently not publishing a monthly newsletter, our Facebook page is stale, and our web page is out of date (unsolicited comments by members, and prospective members). Clearly what we are doing today is not working, so, for 2018, we will chart a new, more effective path. 

You make a valid point about both the newsletter and the website. With the Editor position being open now for more than a year, it's pretty clear that no one wants to do that job (too busy, not interested, etc.), however, imo, it remains a useful communication tool for the group. What to do about those tools is the kind of thing that this committee will be looking to address. The question on that becomes, do we even need an "Editor" for a newsletter. Heck do we even need a newsletter at all anymore? 

We all volunteer for opportunities with the club, because we want to see it succeed, and thrive. With both you and Patricia having served as past Presidents of the club, you've given of your time, and heart, so you get it. After holding positions as President, VP, Membership, Activities, Editor, and now looking to the Webmaster role, I'm happy to continue serving where I can, and I'm actually looking forward to an opportunity to further move us into the digital world of the Corvair community. Happy to do it. 

We've come a long way in the past 5 years, moving from a "breakfast club" to the single most active, and engaged Corvair Club in Colorado. If you do a Google search for Colorado Corvairs, or Colorado Corvair Clubs, or any other variation, you'll see the PPCC website up at the top of the list, followed by the Club's Facebook page. We're there, at the top of the list, because we are relevant. Relevant to the hobby, and committed to the Purpose spelled out in our bylaws. The goal here is not to maintain membership, we could do that by simply doing nothing, like many clubs do. No, the purpose of the club is to promote the Corvair, and get as many folks involved in the hobby as well. Under Chris' leadership, we've done a lot of that this year, between hosting and attending car shows, putting together numerous events for the members to get their cars out in front of the public, and several events designed to bring the club members themselves together, just to enjoy each others company (40th anniversary party, RMC picnic, Christmas Party, etc.). 

I believe it is a very good time to be part of this Club. Other folks may have a different opinion. I took a look at the membership roster from 2012 the other day, and noted that of the 37 folks listed there, only 19 of those members are still current members of the club. That's more than a 50% drop rate (for a variety of reasons - moved, passed away, lost interest, etc.). The good news is that as of today, we have active 45 members in the club, which means we found 26 new folks, both in and out of state, who liked what we have to offer, and continue to offer their support. 
As you, and others, ponder the need for the committee, I would also ask that you consider joining the group, so that you can provide valuable input into the process. It's going to be a fun opportunity to impact the club, with three folks having already signed on. 

Thanks again for your insights. Much appreciated. 

Ed 

From: "Garrie Fox via PPCC-list" <ppcc-list at corvair.org> 
To: ppcc-list at corvair.org, "christine kimberly" <chriskimberly at hotmail.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2017 11:35:14 AM 
Subject: Re: [PPCC] Request for Social Media Committee Communication to Go Out Under Your Name 

At first consideration, I see no need for this. However, I will further ponder it. 

Our simple club has become too complex in structure in my opinion, but I have only been a member for 26 years. 

The club has become so multifarous that some of the old fashioned fun is no longer present! 

I don't think Ed, who does serve the club in multiple functions, should be burdened further at this time. We have vacancies in the basic function of newsletter editor and the website says it has not been updated since August of 2017. 

Regards, 

Garrie Fox 
719.338.5051 
(texting not available) 

On Wednesday, November 22, 2017, 12:41:11 AM MST, christine kimberly via PPCC-list <ppcc-list at corvair.org> wrote: 

Hello PPCC Crew, 

We spend a lot of time talking about car stuff, which makes sense, after all we are at our core, a car club. But for a couple minutes, I'd like to speak to you all about communication, specifically, how we in the PPCC communicate to each other, the Corvair community, and the world. 

To say that there have been a lot of changes in the social media and communication spaces over the past couple years would be an understatement. 

Today, the PPCC utilizes four major tools to communicate to our various audiences; 

1 - the secure PPCC List email distribution is our internal communication tool (members only), 
2 - the Facebook group/page allows us to expand our reach, in a very interactive way (Facebook group members only) 
3 - The Drip Line newsletter allows us to share all of the fun things we've been doing with folks who may be interested (members and Corvair community at large) [the newsletter will be back in full force starting in 2018] 
4 - our Club website, which allows anyone with internet access to find us through a simple query in their favorite search engine (global audience) 

Additionally, we also employ a couple less aggressive communication tools to get our message out, such as our Club business cards and QR Code stickers which drive folks to our website, and beyond. 

Recognizing that we need to review our communication tools on a recurring basis, I am looking to form a "Social Media Committee", which will meet regularly throughout 2018, looking at not only how we can improve our existing communication tools (security, consistence, target audience direction, etc.), but also explore the new tools which are available for us to get the word out about what we're doing, in a timely and interactive way (YouTube, Pintrest, Instagram, Twitter, etc.). 

I have spoken to, and asked Ed Halpin to Chair for this new committee. Ed has, in turn, asked me to solicit the membership for anyone who might want to join in on the fun. No doubt this will be an impactful team of folks who will take this club to the next level, specific to our communications. 

If you have a background in web design, web security, Facebook management, or you just want to learn about all that stuff, please reach out to Ed via email at halpinem at comcast.net or give him a call at 303-619-0080 to discuss your possible involvement. Ed is looking to have the first committee meeting in early January 2018. 

Thanks in advance for your support of this very important initiative. 

Chris 

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