Ep 134_ Leveraging Clubhouse for Speaking and Business

What exactly is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse is an invitation-only audio-chat social networking app launched in 2020. If you’ve heard of it but are not currently leveraging it for your business, you're likely feeling one of two ways:

Annoyed and unbothered by another social media platform that you fear will take up all of your time

Feeling FOMO when you see people spending all day on CH, racking up followers, and building new relationships

In this episode of The Speak to Scale Podcast we're breaking down:

The positive aspects of Clubhouse that may make you want to leverage this app.

The negative side to Clubhouse that still has me questioning if my involvement with the app will be short-lived or not

Different ways to leverage the app and a behind the scenes glimpse into how I'm using it

A few of my favorite recommendations for you make the most of your time on Clubhouse

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

Apply to join The Speaking Strategy Academy and access our member-exclusive clubhouse training

The Upside to Clubhouse

My favorite thing about the Clubhouse app is that it is audio-only. This means you don't have to be 'camera ready' or set up fancy equipment in order to serve your audience through virtual speaking. You simply log-in, start your room and share your message.

The ease of group conversations makes this the perfect place for building new industry relationships, collaborations, reaching an audience beyond YOUR current network. If you're someone who is focused on growing your audience this year, this may be a great way for you to do that.

Practice Your Public Speaking Skills

Clubhouse is the perfect place for you to practice your speaking presentation. Maybe you've dedicated the last few months to crafting your signature presentation and you're wishing you could get on the main stage to deliver that keynote. You don't have to wait any longer. Simply grab your phone, start a room, and begin speaking.

This informal speaking style will help you practice public speaking beyond your mirror. You can get feedback from a live audience. This is perfect for getting feedback on your presentation, seeing what needs improvement, and learning how to navigate Q&A sessions with ease.

Since the app is audio-only it challenges you to improve your voice inflection (which is going to make you a better public speaker in the long-run). You don't have beautifully designed PowerPoint slides or a styled stage to set the scenes. It's you and your message making an impact on your audience.

Market Research for Upcoming Speaking Opportunities

Speaking on Clubhouse is a great way to do market research for upcoming presentations or potential speaking opportunities. Be sure to listen to the questions your ideal audience is asking. That will point you to the exact things you should be including in your speaking presentations.

What questions are people asking you when you speak? What questions are audience members asking in rooms on your subject matter?

There is invaluable information to be found in those rooms if you're willing to listen more than you speak.

The Downside of Clubhouse

It's easy to fall into the comparison trap on Clubhouse. You may open the app to see a sea of others doing similar work that you do. Please, don't fall into the trap of asking yourself "who am I to speak on this topic" or comparing yourself to others. You don't have to be the biggest name to add value to a room, friend. You have unique knowledge and experiences that could be a breakthrough moment for someone listening. Stop hoarding that information and share it with those who need to hear it most.

Lack of Accessibility

The biggest issue I have with this new app is that it's not inclusive or accessible. I want to make sure that the content I create for my audience is as accessible as possible.

While our podcast is audio-only, our show notes page for each episode includes a full written blog post break down of the content.
All video lessons inside of the academy are paired with full transcriptions
I won't post Instagram stories without captions
Inclusion and Accessibility are important to use here at The Public Speaking Strategist

I've gone back and forth on this issue and here where I've landed (as of today). First, this is a very new platform in beta mode. I'm hopeful that it will become more accessible in the near future. Second, Clubhouse is a speaking-based platform. As a speaking coach - this is a space that I want to show up in (even if in a limited capacity). So how will I show up to ensure I'm remaining inclusive in my efforts and not wasting away my limited work hours each week?

Minimal, intentional clubhouse time. No notifications, time limits, dedicated, scheduled time.

When hosting my own rooms - make notes available from the sessions for those who couldn't make it and/or are deaf or hard of hearing.

My main source of content creation will always remain on social platforms that are accessible. Clubhouse will simply be an extension of the content we're intentionally curating for The Speak to Scale Podcast and Instagram.

Clubhouse Recommendations

If you ARE going to use Clubhouse, here are my recommendations for making the most of your time on the app.

First, get clear on who you serve and how you're going to show up on the platform to pour into YOUR people. Get clear on the speaking topics they want to hear from you and market your rooms to THEM. Make sure that your room titles and descriptions speak directly to your ideal speaking audience.

Know where you're showing up and where you won't be showing up. Rooms with your ideal audience will be focused on increasing conversions while rooms with your peers should be focused on networking and collaboration. Be sure that you understand the difference between your peers and your ideal audience so that you're spending your valuable time in the right rooms for you and your goals.

Side note: be cautious. Not everyone is an expert and it's easy to fall into information overload. Be selective with who you listen to and what rooms you invest your time in. You may want to turn off your notifications, set time limits, and create a plan for when and how you'll show up

Optimize for Conversions

Make sure your profile bio is optimized for your ideal audience. When new clients or customers encounter you on the app they are going to click on your picture to learn more about you in your bio. Does your bio answer these questions?

Who you are?

Who do you specialize in helping?

How can you/do you help others?

Clubhouse Strategies to Consider

Alyssa Sagum has created a clubhouse community (Social Media Mavens - at the time of recording this it has 2.6k members and 3k followers). She is consistently hosting rooms to SERVE, answer questions and help others get started on Clubhouse and other social platforms. She is building trust and positioning herself as a social media expert.

Brandee Garr hosts a live show on Clubhouse Monday-Friday (The Morning Show for Wedding Pros). Each day has a theme for the conversation and there is a set time limit so that you know what to expect. She is creating loyal listenership and positioning herself as the expert in her field.

My plan is to leverage clubhouse rooms as an extension of the podcast to keep the conversation going. I plan to collaborate with our past and future guests so that our listeners can learn more from them. I've set hard limits for myself to include no notifications, set calendar appointments for rooms I want to attend, and no more than two rooms per week kept under 90 minutes each.

Remember: this is required. If it's not feasible to add this to your already full plate right now - don't. However, if you DO want to dive into clubhouse for your business... make sure you're going into it with a clear plan so that you can make the biggest impact for your business, serve your audience well, and not burn yourself out in the process.

If you're a student of The Speaking Strategy Academy - don't worry, friend. We've got an exclusive Clubhouse training coming to the academy this month that will walk you through creating a Clubhouse plan that works for you, your business, and your speaking goals.

If you're not already a member of the academy and you want to access this training, we'd love to invite you to apply to join The Speaking Strategy Academy. You'll not only get access to this exclusive Clubhouse training but you'll get instant access to our A-Z speaking training system with video lessons, transcripts, scripts, templates, and more.... access to our live group coaching calls, personalized 1:1 feedback on your work from me and an opportunity to present your work live in front of our community for hot seat coaching and feedback.

Join The Speaking Strategy Academy

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