One of the major reasons that COSCA has updated and expanded its website is to promote the individual Scottish clan and family societies. Through the “Find My Clan” online service, visitors can find the connection between their surname or the surname of an ancestor with a specific clan or family. From the clan or family webpages, COSCA provides links to the websites, Facebook pages, and DNA projects. From that connection, the society can entice the visitor to ither join their e-mail list or become a member. Another way that COSCA encourage traffic to websites and Facebook pages is through our new “Society News” feature. Each news item is linked directly back to the society.
During the last quarter, from July 1 to September 30, COSCA’s “Surname” search page was visited by over 1,300 people. Here are the top twenty clans that benefited the most from this service, with the number of users in parentheses:
Donald (103)
MacDuff (60)
Gregor (59)
MacFarlane (33)
Boyd (32)
Campbell (31)
Douglas (31)
Gunn (30)
Farquharson (29)
Stewart (28)
MacKay (27)
Gordon (26)
Lamont (24)
MacKenzie (23)
Sinclair (23)
Buchanan (22)
MacPherson (21)
Hay (18)
MacBeth (18)
Cameron (17)
During the past quarter, here are the top news items, with the number of views in parentheses:
Seven Clan Gregor Dalmally Stones are Finally Being Recovered (29)
Meet Alasdair Morrison, Seventeen-year-old Chief of Clan Morrison (20)
Clan Baird Society Worldwide Announces Installation of its Commander (19)
Clan Forbes Society Releases New Video Highlighting Ancestral Tour (14)
Arizona Native Richard McBain is the 23rd hereditary Chief of the Clan MacBean (11)
Clan Baird Society Worldwide to Turn Old Hotel into Society Centre (10)
Clan Forbes Society Announces New Forbes DNA Study to be Published (8)
Clan Baird Honored Clan at Grandfather Mountain Highland Games (5)
Here’s how you can help COSCA send more potential members your way:
Ensure that the “Find My Clan” online service has the link to your most recent and relevant website and Facebook pages. Check your clan or family information here: https://www.cosca.scot/clanlist
Promote the “Find My Clan” online service by sharing the QR code flyer with all your games and festival conveners. They should print and post the flyer – and bring additional copies to share with the other clan conveners. The link is on the Clan List page or you can download the portable document format (PDF) flyer here.
Update your website and Facebook at least twice per month with news about your society. The best way to do this on your website is through a “blog” function that is offered by many website management platforms. COSCA is looking for new projects and announcements by your society – and not photos from highland games or generic posts wishing your members well on St Andrew’s Day, Tartan Day, or Robert Burns day.
What other ideas do you have to help COSCA improve your membership? Send your ideas to Bart Forbes at cosca@bforbes.com.
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