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Clubhouse is the new kid on the block for social networking sites. It’s an audio-only interface where you can join rooms on various topics to listen, discuss and ask questions. It launched last spring but took off like wildfire the end of 2020. Currently in beta, it is only available for IOS devices and requires an invite from a current user to join.
I joined the first week of January after seeing several people in my LinkedIn network talking about it. I had no idea what I was getting into – in fact the first words uttered on Clubhouse were “This is WEIRD!” But after being an active user for the past two months, I want to share why I think it is so popular, powerful and an incredible partner to LinkedIn.
Clubhouse exposes you to new people
There are people with huge followings – other LinkedIn trainers and experts that I had never heard of until I joined Clubhouse. Despite having many mutual connections on LinkedIn, I never saw their content in my newsfeed. Now not only am I able to see the excellent posts they share, but I have added many of them as LinkedIn connections. I doubt I would have ever crossed paths without hearing and speaking with them on Clubhouse. I joke that when we are able to travel again, I will have friends to visit all over the world!
Clubhouse makes it easy to connect on LinkedIn
It’s always best practice to include a brief message when sending a connection request on LinkedIn – Clubhouse provides great content for this. It’s simple to pull something from a mutual Clubhouse room to reference in a connection request. It could be as brief as “We were both in the X room on CH – great discussion. Hope to connect!” or could go deeper by referencing something the person might have contributed to the discussion. In the two months, I’ve added several new connections this way.
Clubhouse deepens relationships
There are people I have been connected to on LinkedIn for quite some time. I regularly comment and engage on their posts and we DM on occasion. But being able to speak to them in a Clubhouse room is a completely different experience. There is something powerful about HEARING someone – their tone, humor, accents even. Not only do I get to understand them as a well-rounded person, but they understand my personality as well. Now when we engage back and forth on LinkedIn, the conversation is more dynamic.
Clubhouse lets you show your personality
I preach authenticity on LinkedIn all day long and audio brings that front and center. Yes, we can (and should) be deliberate in how we speak but at the end of the day, your voice, tone and general persona are going to come through. Tie that with the ability to show your strengths and expertise and it’s a winning combination in my book!
♣︎ Is Clubhouse a major time-suck? Yes, it sure can be.
♣︎ Is there a level of ridiculousness to it? You bet! I mean how many billionaires are on this app?
But when you find your people – your community – is it an incredible tool, both personally and professionally? Absolutely it is!
Obviously, there is a world of content outside of LinkedIn, but that is where I have been spending the majority of my time. Here are some of my Clubhouse recommendations.
Follow these Clubs:
♣︎ Thought Leadership & Branding
♣︎ LinkedIn(ternational) Club
♣︎ The LinkedIn Club
Check out these rooms that meet daily:
♣︎ LinkedIn(ternational) Office Hours – Weekdays at 8:30am ET
♣︎ The LinkedIn Club – Daily at 2pm ET
♣︎ LinkedIn for Mastery – Daily at 4pm ET
And these rooms that meet weekly:
♣︎ The Fab Four: An Irish, Brit, Indian & Yank walked into a LinkedIn Room – Mondays at 3pm ET
♣︎ LinkedIn For Entrepreneurs – Wednesdays at 12pm ET
♣︎ Hi [First name}: Bots and Automation on LinkedIn – Thursdays at 11am ET (Co-moderated by me)
You can find me @raksimon.
I have a few Clubhouse invites to share – DM me on LinkedIn if you are interesting in checking it out!
