Monthly Meets Debate

[DrewR3]

I'm not likely to be at this months meet as I'll be heading to the Annual Meet on the 2nd of September, but I will be at the September 29th meet following the track day. Which is just up the road for me.
It is a shame that there is not more interest and RX8s at the Essex meet! I notice that "Meets" are no longer listed on the clubs Facebook page!? If the meets are to continue would it be a good idea to do a mention on the Fb page?

I used to do a lot of the Facebook event/meet publications as part of the Events Team. Unfortunately, I resigned from that position following some exchanges after one of my organised events. As such I haven't published since, however anyone on the group can publish an event and link it to the thread here. It would be nice to see some buy in from active members on both this platform and FB, since not posting as Events Team, I rarely use FB anymore. I only really used it for the club group and in fact since getting a new phone over a week ago, I have not even logged into it yet and do not miss it.

[ChrisHolmes]

This is going to go way off just being about the this Essex meet so may get moved to a topic in its own right and my apologies if anything that follows is already in hand behind the scenes.

Firstly I am amazed Drew that after so many months have passed you still feel so aggrieved over some criticism which goes with any organising / leadership role and as the above post highlights is not proving good for the club. Perhaps a chat with the EC could be had to get him to pick up the mantle for the FB meet posts.
I posted the monthly RX8 Allsorts meet on the associated RX8OC FB page but could only post so many months in advance and admit I have let it lapse, recently but in the months it was “live” no new attendees were attracted to the meet! That’s not to say if it was live today no one new would be attracted.
If anyone can identify the magical ingredient/secret that requires sprinkling around to get get people to monthly meets and larger events they will be very popular indeed!
It really fascinates, and frustrates me, that there are members who may be within an hours drive of a monthly meet yet never attend one even if just sporadically. If it’s the cost of fuel or a meal that’s the drawback then even once a quarter should be possible.
Maybe in the summer breakfast runs or coffee & cake afternoon drives on a few Sundays might appeal in some areas but what is the magic ingredient to get notification to ALL members that these events exist? If people aren’t looking they won’t find info but what if a monthly events / forum activity news sheet was emailed to all members which once a template is set up would just need tweaking with comments from meets or shows in the previous month and then maybe a quarterly or half yearly mailer to all members. Perhaps the CIC and team could look into setting this sort of communication up.

As I said at the beginning apologies if all or some of the above is already a work in progress.

[ChrisHolmes]

No point making a new but I think you deserve a response (obviously if the mods decide otherwise feel free to work your behind the scenes magic )

Drew decided to step away from the Events Team, as is his and any other volunteer's right, due to the personal attacks he was receiving both on the forum and via PM. He chose to drop it and minimal action was taken. I would have been much harsher but was outvoted and of course respect Drew's decision to let it be. No one should have to put up with the nonsense he did, whether a club official or not, and I am at the end of my tether with the constant criticism. I will not be outvoted if it starts again

As for a newsletter/magazine type of thing - surely you of all people know why this idea isn't got to work It is a fairly regular discussion topic amongst the Committee but as yet we haven't come up with a solution that hasn't been tried unsuccessfully previously

Let's say we produce a quarterly newsletter for events and meets. What happens when dates/times/venue changes or cancellations occur? Do we then issue a new newsletter everytime? This would involve someone constantly monitoring every thread then basically spamming every member with newsletters every time something changes

No doubt the response to this would be members could just check the forum for any changes. If that's the case surely they would do this to get the details anyway, rendering a newsletter basically useless

As for Facebook this isn't something I deal with - I'm not on there at all. As you know we are now working with the FB team so maybe they could update monthly meets on there, but that depends on someone having the time and willingness to do so, which is out of the clubs control

There isn't a magic wand that we can wave to attract new faces. All we can do is try new ways to appeal to people, as we are with this year's Annual Meet, although when we do this we are also criticised . It's a tough one but the Committee are trying to come up with a solution/s. It would be easier if people got on board and tried a bit of positivity for a change

[ChrisHolmes]

Hmm! Am I correct in interpreting the above that there is a zero chance of an emailed monthly news sheet being produced as it’s too difficult.
FYI I was personally not involved with the previous events newsletter, it was written by Nigel primarily as the EC and edited/produced by the then Chairman John Brooks.
What is in my mind currently is a simple document with click on URL links to all the monthly geographic meet topics on the forum, a link to the for sale sections, event reports, the club events calendar etc; etc;
A communication appearing every month in a members Inbox is a regular reminder of their club membership and human curiosity will I am sure cause many people to open such an email which is much more likely than a member of their own volition remembering they are a member and searching for the forum and digging around to see what’s happening, or has happened in their area.
Once set up I don’t think it would take a great deal of time to manage but there needs to be a will from the committee to do it and a resource / person to produce / manage the document.

[ChrisHolmes]

We're aware of who produced it. It was stopped because of little interaction and was deemed a waste of time and resources that would be better placed elsewhere. It has nothing to do with it being difficult

Edit: to clarify this was a decision made by the previous Committee not the current one

We are already looking at sending a survey round to members, as suggested by I believe Conan at the AGM, and am sure your idea can be included to see if it's something people would feel is worthwhile

[New Duke]

Interesting to see that the focus is on obtaining new members. Does the club track why members leave?

When I decided not to renew I wasn't asked why. Even an automated email to those who choose not to renew might provide useful data to track. Maybe you could get some ex-members back.

(Apologies if any of that duplicates Conan's suggestion from the AGM. I read that as a survey to members only. As an ex-member I can't access the minutes to check.)

[New Duke]

The membership sec does indeed send an email exactly as you describe, usually with little replies. When you left it was either before or in the early stages of some new role incumbents, and likely before that was implemented. From memory of the few that respond the largest reasoning is normally no longer have the car or no longer need membership access. This has only been live a few months with Harry, but data is being collated. Harry has done a fine job in getting the membership sec role back to where it needs to be, catching up with a large backlog and implementing new automated emails for various bits and tracking systems. I'm sure if you contact the mem sec, he will be more than happy to discuss your leaving or provide you with that email to fill out and add to his data.

[ChrisHolmes]

I've split the topic away from the Essex Meet - GSB - Events Team Admin

[rx8hunter]

Before I was busy on the discount role and other bits outside the club I was creating events for the MK meet and we did manage to get a few new attendees from it (it did get me banned from Familia as well though lol).

[rx8hunter]

Before I was busy on the discount role and other bits outside the club I was creating events for the MK meet and we did manage to get a few new attendees from it (it did get me banned from Familia as well though lol).

If you haven't been banned from at least one of the FB groups are you really doing it properly?

[ChrisHolmes]

i've had a couple of people turn up to my meet from FB, so for the sake of 5mins effort I think it's worth doing.

[ChrisHolmes]

There is a pinned post on the FB Group with all the events taking place this year, which is maintained by myself as one of the Administrators within the FB Group

Possibily one of the main reasons regarding lack of attendees is now the cost of eating out, as in some cases it's just not affordable anymore

One of the reasons why the Surrey Meet has been so successful since 2004, is that it has remained affordable right across the board, and that we have moved locations a few times within the Surrey Area to keep costs down

Car Shows and Trackdays have become way to pricey since covid and only one assumes they are trying to claw the money back from all their losses within the two year pandemic

The cheapest days out with little outlay are ironically DriveLimits, AWDT, Hill Climbs and Coffee Shop locations

Have just ran a successful day in July at DriveLimits with a set of 11 close friends that I met via the RX-8OC and GT86/BRZ DC and we all had a fantastic time together for an outlay of £135 each which included tuition via our bespoke specification

Moving forward this is what the club should be focusing on while we're in one big recession for the next two years

GSB - Events Team Admin

[ChrisHolmes]

i've had a couple of people turn up to my meet from FB, so for the sake of 5mins effort I think it's worth doing.

Not sure if I am allowed to ask or not but here goes, Is it you Will or individual organisers of monthly meets etc: that are or will be ongoing responsible for keeping the Facebook and forum meet posts/topics current?

[ChrisHolmes]

I'm not going to quote it as was a big post. But an excellent write up Nigel above. It's a common discussion within the committee, as you know yourself, and a recurring theme each meeting of the cost of living just getting worst as the contributing factors of the economy squeeze people ever harder and the impact that will have on people's ability to attend or enjoy there hobby. Which let's face it the majority of these cars and the clubs members it is now a hobby. Few people daily there 8s anymore.

This is one of the main reasons for a change of tact on the AM. A central location to assist as many as possible with travel costs, watching the fuel needle deplete as quickly as revs increase. But also at £30 entry for 3 days of Yakushi, massive amount of food and accommodation included via camping should those wish to, its really a great bang for your buck day that's accessible to all pending other factors. Campings not for everyone, I myself will be heading off rather than camping but at least its an option. Perhaps when I don't have a 3 Yr old that may change. But local hotels of varying budgets or returning home after the day is of course another option, similar to my plans.

Anyone interested in attending the AM for the clubs birthday celebrations, unique apparel, awards, RHA presentation, Prize Raffle, inclusive plentiful BBQ and a good laugh with friends and 8s alike. Then please see here:

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=86368

The quicker we book and pay for tickets, the more chance we can get more for others before the show deadline.

[ChrisHolmes]

i've had a couple of people turn up to my meet from FB, so for the sake of 5mins effort I think it's worth doing.

Not sure if I am allowed to ask or not but here goes, Is it you Will or individual organisers of monthly meets etc: that are or will be ongoing responsible for keeping the Facebook and forum meet posts/topics current?

Haha you can ask anything that's appropriate
I'm not intending to pop everyone's individual events on FB. The one that I do alters enough from month to month, without trying to be middle man for a dozen of them.

That said if any organiser wants, I'm happy to place a recurring event for them with a link tot he forum thread that'd contain the actual details. I am aware that not everyone is FB savvy, so I'm happy to try and fill the gap within reason.

[goodeggbob]

Hey Will, i would be grateful if you could highlight the Shropshire meet as you have mentioned, as you know, me and tech couldn't be further apart , but give me a hammer and saw, well......

[ChrisHolmes]

i've had a couple of people turn up to my meet from FB, so for the sake of 5mins effort I think it's worth doing.

Not sure if I am allowed to ask or not but here goes, Is it you Will or individual organisers of monthly meets etc: that are or will be ongoing responsible for keeping the Facebook and forum meet posts/topics current?

Haha you can ask anything that's appropriate
I'm not intending to pop everyone's individual events on FB. The one that I do alters enough from month to month, without trying to be middle man for a dozen of them.

That said if any organiser wants, I'm happy to place a recurring event for them with a link tot he forum thread that'd contain the actual details. I am aware that not everyone is FB savvy, so I'm happy to try and fill the gap within reason.

Most positive response Will, thanks.

[DrewR3]

I'm also not signed in or downloaded the FB app again Will, I Believe the Oxford meet template is there. That can be made recurring if possible please. We have had a few from FB at the meet when it was advertised.

[GreySilver Beast]

Afraid the previous templates arent there anymore, unless you saved them somewhere else Drew

Unless your Meet posts are pinned, they will drop off down the page feed and disappear, as it's not the same like the forum

GSB Events Team Admin

[ChrisHolmes]

I just looked at the RX8 Owners Club FB events section and whilst there are loads of regional meets listed they all seem to have 2020 dates against them. Whilst set up a FB meet notification for the Allsorts meet I cannot for the life of me recall how the heck to do it. “If you don’t use it you lose it” never applied more!

[ChrisHolmes]

I've just done some experimenting, although I'm not a fan of FB interface. You can however setup duplicates of an existing event, and set custom dates for them.

So for example I've added provisional dates for the Midlands Meetup until the clocks go forward. I'd suggest anyone still with FB events that are active do this, or let me know and I'll sort it for them.

[GreySilver Beast]

At risk of me repeating myself , there is a pinned post on the RX-8 FB Group with all the events taking place this year, which is maintained by myself as one of the Administrators within the FB Group

GSB - Events Team Admin

[ChrisHolmes]

I can only see a few past events, nothing to link to all the current ones. What am I doing wrong?

[rx8hunter]

At risk of me repeating myself , there is a pinned post on the RX-8 FB Group with all the events taking place this year, which is maintained by myself as one of the Administrators within the FB Group

GSB - Events Team Admin

I'm not convinced anyone actually sees those though. We really need repeating events with reminders.

[ChrisHolmes]

I can only see a few past events, nothing to link to all the current ones. What am I doing wrong?

I have found out what I am doing wrong to access the RX8 Owners Club UK FB group to which the RX8OC is affiliated and that is to use the FB “button” in the forum header as that opens an effectively dormant FB page/group that preceded the affiliation with the RX8 Owners Club UK group where the sticky Nigel refers to is located.
If the button link on here is corrected then that will hopefully have a positive effect in the process of guiding members to the meets. If there is then a link in the FB meet posts back to the forum meet topic stating “for the latest information click here” then only the forum topic needs to be maintained.
Certainly people can search purely on the forum for the monthly meets but having am alternative route should be a positive feature and for people who don’t know about the forum but use Facebook it is a potential way for them to “discover” the forum.