Transcription:
How Clubhouse Conversations are Connecting Healthcare Researchers, Practitioners, Patients, and More.... Join the Club

Intro: The following SHSMD Podcast is a production of DoctorPodcasting.com.

Bill Klaproth: On this special #MayoSHSMD session spotlight, we talk about Clubhouse, the new social network based on voice where people come together to talk, listen, and learn from each other in real time. So is this just a new shiny object? Or is it an effective tool to engage patients and healthcare workers? Hmm. Well, let's find out what Dr. Katherine Y. Brown, Dan Hinmon and Kristine S. Austin as we talk about Clubhouse Conversations. That's right. Let's get to it, starting right now.

This is the SHSMD podcast, rapid insights for healthcare strategy professionals in planning, business development, marketing communications, and public relations. I'm your host, Bill Klaproth.

In this episode, we talk about how Clubhouse Conversations are connecting healthcare researchers, practitioners, patients and more as we get a preview of the upcoming breakout session on June 8th at the 2021 Advanced Healthcare, Social Media and Digital Marketing Virtual Conference hosted by the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network and SHSMD.

So let's get started with Dr. Katherine Y. Brown, assistant professor in Department of Family and Community Medicine and the director of the Communities of Practice and Dissemination for the National Center for Medical Education Development and Research. She is also the director of communications for the EPA Tennessee Community Engaged Alliance against COVID-19. She is also the founder of the KYB Leadership Academy.

We've also got Dan Hinmon, president at Hive Strategies and former community director for the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network. And we've got Kristine S. Austin, although she said I could call her Kris. She is a trainer and former advisory board member for the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network.

Katherine, Dan and Kris, welcome to the SHSMD podcast. As you know, we start off every episode of the SHSMD podcast with rapid insights, one quick tip someone can use to make their marketing communications better today. Katherine, you're up first. Give us your rapid insight.

Dr. Katherine Y. Brown: Healthcare communicators must consistently create, execute and evaluate with RISE, relevant, inspiring, social media engagement that has a clear call to action and meeting the needs of those we serve. And Clubhouse is a strategic tool that if used effectively, offers the opportunity to not only listen to patients, but to connect personally and professionally with peers. It's time for the Clubhouse.

Bill Klaproth: I love it. What a great rapid insight, Katherine. Thank you so much. Okay, Kris, you're up next. Give us your rapid insight.

Kristine Austin: Marketing and communications professionals need to be clear about how their program will benefit when posting on new social media platforms. So try it before you include it in your plan.

Bill Klaproth: Excellent. Thank you so much. And Dan, last but not least. You're our anchor on this. Give us your rapid insight.

Dan Hinmon: If you want to connect, learn and contribute in a real time audio conversation, then join Clubhouse. It'll benefit both you and your organization.

Bill Klaproth: And there you have it. Three great rapid insights. Thank you so much, Katherine, Kris and Dan for your rapid insights. We appreciate that. And thank you for being on the SHSMD podcast. We are so excited to hear from you about Clubhouse. This is so exciting.

So the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network and SHSMD are once again collaborating on a two-day virtual conference focused on best practices, new trends and successful strategies in healthcare, social media, and digital marketing. And on Tuesday, June 8th, there's going to be a breakout session on Clubhouse. That's what we're talking about today. It's going to go over how Clubhouse Conversations are connecting healthcare researchers, practitioners, patients, and more. This is going to be a great session for anyone wanting to learn more about Clubhouse and how Clubhouse Conversations can connect you professionally and personally.

So Dan, let's start with you. We're so excited to learn about this. Why should we pay attention to Clubhouse?

Dan Hinmon: And first of all, Bill, thanks so much for having us on your program today. We are so excited about this event that we're going to be involved with here on June 8th and all about Clubhouse. And as I've thought about how to frame that to your listeners and those who might attend, when you think about most social media platforms, they fall into either read or watch category. So you've got Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok. They're either reading something or watching something right? And YouTube of course is all watching.

But if you just want to listen, the main way that we're listening today, probably for most of our listeners, is on podcasts just like this. But podcasts are not real-time and the people listening to those don't have an opportunity really to interact or engage in real ways. So that's what really makes Clubhouse different. It's an invitation-only social media app. Originally, it was only for iOS. But now in just the last few weeks, it's now available to Android users as well. It gives people a chance to communicate in chat rooms that accommodate up to 5,000 people.

And then what you get are these live discussions with opportunities to participate through both speaking and listening. So when you get on Clubhouse, this is a really fun thing you realize right off the bat, is that actually hearing people's voices with all the enthusiasm or passion or sometimes even anger brings a whole new dimension to conversations, brings people together around a common subject. It allows everybody to participate in certain situations and there are no geographical boundaries. So it can really be an amazing app and tool to build community in a new way.

Bill Klaproth: I love how you said social media is read or watch, but Clubhouse gives us the opportunity to interact with each other. That really kind of sums it up and paints the picture. So thank you for that. Katherine, let me ask you this then. How are healthcare communicators using Clubhouse to connect?

Dr. Katherine Y. Brown: First of all, thank you so much for having me here today with the team. I'm really excited about this conversation. Clubhouse is extremely exciting because it's definitely offering medical professionals and healthcare communicators an opportunity to build in three ways. And I like to think of it as patients, personally and professionally.

So when we think about the patient aspect, my work at Meharry Medical College, we look at it as a place of community of candid conversations to, A, how to deal with patient issues. The other aspect is that we can listen to patient's thoughts on certain issues on this app. So we can have a conversation maybe about immunization disparities or vaccine education, or maybe how do you even comfort patients who are communicating with loved ones over FaceTime about their healthcare issues, particularly during the pandemic? So we have an opportunity to have conversation and build community.

The second way, personally, the topics on Clubhouse have so many issues from providers experiencing isolation during the pandemic, maybe stress or physicians providing care to persons experiencing homelessness or women in medicine. So there are so many ways that you can get insights personally.

And professionally, I will tell you the possibilities are endless. If you are curious about a topic, you can create a conversation to address it while building community with people who are passionate about the same issue. And this is what's exciting about the app. The app is even being used by national and international thought leaders who we otherwise might not be able to interact with in a conversation. So from clinical issues, test examination prep, understanding current professional issues, this app allows so many opportunities for our healthcare communicators to work together, be it with patients, personally or professionally. And I am excited about it.

Bill Klaproth: And it sure sounds like it. And I love hearing your enthusiasm for Clubhouse. And I thought it was interesting what you brought up, the three Ps, patient, personal and professional. But Kris, I'm wondering about the patient end of this. Is there really a consumer strategy for clubhouse? I get a bunch of marketers jumping into a room to talk about marketing, but what about consumers? Is there a real strategy to reach consumers with Clubhouse?

Kristine Austin: Bill, that's a great question. And I think that's something that communicators need to be really clear about before they jump in and decide that they're going to include Clubhouse in their marketing plans. The answer is there are lots of different ways to attract patients to your hospital, to your healthcare practice, to whatever it is you are doing in a real time conversation. Let the patients know that you have patient support groups. I've seen lots of patient support groups happening on Clubhouse. Perhaps your docs instead of doing a talk for the community on heart disease, perhaps they can do that on Clubhouse to a much broader audience with localized hashtags so that people understand, "Hey, you know, this group out of Austin is talking about heart issues on Tuesday of next week." And people in that area can join in as well as across the country or around the world. So there are, as Katherine said, lots of different opportunities, lots of ways you can use this. And I think because it's so new, we're still exploring. I think that the options right now are endless.

Bill Klaproth: We like endless options. That's good. Well, thank you for explaining that. And it makes sense. I didn't even think about patient support groups before, so that goes back to that opportunity to interact with each other. And that's what certainly Clubhouse provides. So Katherine, you talked about how the possibilities are endless, especially when it comes to professional growth. So how can a user maximize their profile on Clubhouse to gain attention and draw traffic?

Dr. Katherine Y. Brown: This is one of my absolute favorite questions. And I want everyone listening to write down the number eight, because I want people to know that they must be strategic and understand the eight basics of a Clubhouse profile. I'm going to share a little bit about it briefly.

Number one, you want to make sure that you have a profile picture. A vibrant color background is always best. Two, you want to use your complete name to connect with others, but more importantly, this is what shows when you enter a room. So we have to know that. Your handle is three. Try to really be consistent with maybe your Twitter or other social media handles. But remember, on this app, you're actually limited to 15 characters, so you have to really be creative. Now, I have a really long name. So I usually use Dr. Katherine, Y with my middle initial, Brown. So it's always @DrKatherineYBrown. But on Clubhouse, I have to use Katherine Y Brown, which is 15 characters. So you're going to have a little limitation.

I always remember that your followers and following count is automatic. That's automatically displayed. And your bio, always have a bio. Here's the strategic part about Clubhouse, when people click on your profile, they're only going to see the first 80 characters, which is about two lines. So you have to be very creative. When you search, you can search using words and also emojis. When you go into the different room, moderators, they're only going to read those first three lines of the bio. So really think about your call to action. So if maybe you're a physician, you may want to use a stethoscope. If you like travel, maybe use an airplane emoji. Or if you are podcast host, maybe you want to use a microphone. So the options are endless. So you can use keywords or emojis.

The next is your connection on social media accounts. They give you the option to connect your Twitter and your Instagram, so make sure that you have at least one account connected. And if you don't have a Twitter or Instagram, now is a great time to create one so that you don't miss out on those opportunities.

And the last two things are automatic, they show on that profile, which are going to be who nominated you and club that you are a member of. So you also want to be thoughtful about what clubs you're a member of, because people are going to look at that when they're exploring your profile. So just remember, in the world of Clubhouse, strategy matters. Be strategic about everything.

Bill Klaproth: I love it. So good. So I wrote the number eight down, Katherine. So I scribbled some notes here. So number one, attention to your profile pic. Number two, make sure you have your complete name. Number three, be consistent with your profiles. Four, your follower count is always displayed. Five, be creative with your bio. Six, make sure you connect your other social media accounts. Seven, it'll show who nominated you. And eight, it'll show what clubs you are a member of. So that's great. And this is all the great information you're going to get on June 8th, but a lot more in depth.

So Kris, let me ask you then. That was great information Katherine gave us on how to maximize our profiles, right? So we've done that. We've written down the number eight. We're good there. What are the do's and don'ts then of finding and growing your audience?

Kristine Austin: Well, I'm going to step back, just a half tick from that and say, the first thing you want to do is go find those clubs or rooms that you're interested in. And you can do that just as you sign up for Clubhouse. You can also go back and switch that up. And as you start following people and they start to follow you back, then when you are ready to go host a room or start a club, which would be a group of rooms, you start inviting all those people who've been following you and let them know, "Hey, I'm hosting a room on cancer patient support on this date. Please join me." You add that to the clubhouse calendar.

And I would go so far as to load that room up with people who know you well. So if you've got friends or colleagues on Clubhouse, let them know you need their support on that day. I'd use your Instagram account and your Twitter accounts to get the word out about the room you're hosting and why it's important to join you.

Honestly, we could go on and on, on some of these topics, like maximize profiles and the do's and don'ts of growing audiences and so many tips and tricks that we've learned in the time we've been on Clubhouse. I think that's why the webinar on June 8th is going to be really important.

Bill Klaproth: It's going to be dynamite and a lot more in depth. So all those things you talked about, you're going to cover. It's going to be really terrific. And for anyone again wanting to learn more about Clubhouse, make sure you join Dan, Katherine and Kristine on June 8th. So Katherine, we've got Twitter, we've got Facebook. There's so many social media things we can be a part of. Is Clubhouse right for everybody?

Dr. Katherine Y. Brown: Clubhouse is a tool. Social media is a tool. Is it right for everybody? I believe that's up to the user to decide. However, can it be right for everybody? I say yes. Absolutely. The ability to listen to a voice or participate, the conversations are absolutely amazing and they are occurring 24 hours a day. When we want to know what people are thinking, we ask them. The beauty of Clubhouse is that we can ask the question in a way that allows healthcare communicators and providers to obtain the information that they need in very meaningful ways. The possibilities are endless to create, participate and bring almost any question or topic to life.

It's not just a conversation clubhouse, it's an experience. And I think the Clubhouse experience is one of the reasons why healthcare communicators really need to take an opportunity to get engaged with this app. And it's one of the reasons that the three of us are so excited to collaborate and really help others to understand the benefits of using the Clubhouse app.

Bill Klaproth: So I'm going to mark that down as a yes. Is clubhouse right for everybody? Check yes. Excellent.

Dr. Katherine Y. Brown: Yes, absolutely.

Bill Klaproth: Very good.

Kristine Austin: Katherine, I was nodding my head really loud over here. I was nodding my head.

Dr. Katherine Y. Brown: Yes.

Bill Klaproth: Love it. Okay. So Kristine, this sounds great, but too many times we're like, "Okay. I signed up. Now, what do I do?" So how do we get started on Clubhouse? And is it important to just go into this and go, "Okay, here's how I'm going to use this." How do we get started on this and have a strategy to maximize it?

Kristine Austin: Yes, thank you for using the strategy word because I think that that's vital anytime we're adding something to our plan and saying that, "Yes, our hospital or a medical practice needs to be involved in this." First of all, you mentioned it briefly, yes, it does require an invitation to get on clubhouse. But we promise those are not just for the cool kids. Anybody can get an invitation. And as Dan said at the top of this session, that is now open to Android users as well, not just iOS, so anybody can get on Clubhouse.

And I have found people even asking on LinkedIn or Twitter if they know somebody who's got invitations available. So you easily can find someone you know and get on there. Personally, what I'm doing right now is I'm trying it out before I go recommend it to different people, to different organizations, to my own clients and saying, "Here's what I'm seeing. Here's how I think you could use it given your mission and your business goals." And that's the important part, right?

The wonderful thing is that it's a very real-time conversation. The downside is it's a real time conversation. It's not something that you could go back to in a day or so. If you miss today's conversation, it's gone. So it can be a real time suck and you can end up spending hours listening to different topics. That's why it's important to try it out personally. Think of what you want to accomplish with it. Make sure that's in alignment with your organization's business goals, then jump in.

So you jump in, you get started, you're exploring the different rooms and the different clubs. And let me just say, because I know I was really nervous about this when I first started on Clubhouse, you are automatically added in mute mode, so you don't have to worry if your kid suddenly comes in and asks you about his homework, ask me how I know about that, or you have other distractions. You cannot be heard until you raise your hand, you're invited up on stage and we'll explain all of that on June 8th and then you can talk and participate. So I would say yes, everybody needs to try this first. Figure out how it's going to best work with your organization's business goals and then put it into your plan and start participating as an organization.

Bill Klaproth: Yeah, really, really strong advice there. So jump in, try it out and then try to understand how you can put it to work for you.

Kristine Austin: Absolutely.

Bill Klaproth: I love the tip on mute mode too. So that's really important to remember. It's not like, Oh" my God, I'm in the room. I have to be quiet now. "

Kristine Austin: No, you don't have to be. You're already being quieted.

Dr. Katherine Y. Brown: So I just want to add on to something that Kristine said about the mute mode. You are in mute mode, but I always remember if you raise that hand and you go to the stage, then you automatically join and you're un-muted so be really quick to press mute if you're not going to speak immediately. And that's only when you get promoted to the stage.

Bill Klaproth: Got it. Okay.

Dr. Katherine Y. Brown: Because I've   had that happen before when I first started using the app. And a second thing I just wanted to share, I love that Kris just talked about having your goals, so important. So one of the things that we do at Meharry, and also with the nonprofit that I work with, when I need information, I can go and look up a topic and listen to what other people are talking about or I can post a question and just open up a new conversation. And it really gives me these informal focus groups to get information that I otherwise would have to do a lot more investment to get the information that I need. So Kris talks about having your goals, that is so important. You know, what your goals are for your organization already. Now, it's just a matter of how you bring them to life by using the app.

Bill Klaproth: Yeah. This is all great information. You brought up another use of Clubhouse, the potential for doing informal focus groups. So how useful could that be? So there are many different strategies for Clubhouse, and I know you're going to cover more of this during the session on June 8th. So Dan, give us an overview of the session. Tell us exactly what we're going to learn on June 8th during your session.

Dan Hinmon: Yeah. It's been so fun to listen to Kris and Katherine talk about this because we are going to be all about practical, actionable tips and tricks around Clubhouse. So we want those who join this session to walk away with just all kinds of really great practical tips about what they can do, hit the ground running in the next week, begin to applying these things. And especially, you know, all of us, I think when we first get involved with social media, am I going to embarrass myself? What are the social niceties or etiquettes around this platform? How can I avoid any kind of a faux pas as I participate? We've heard a couple of these already.

But we'll go into even more detail about how to actually get an invitation. If you don't have one yet, and you're looking to join, and you're not sure how to do that, we'll tell you how in the broadcast. We'll also be going into more detail about your profiles, and then we're going to share more and more examples of how healthcare organizations are using this format today, and how they're able to benefit from it in terms of learning, in terms of growing the market, in terms of finding out more and more and more about how patients feel and think and giving them opportunities to really share that microphone themselves.

So I think this is going to be a great session and, of course, there's going to be the Q and A. We've got this planned out. So there's plenty of time for questions after our presentation. And then what we're adding is a networking event on June 10th at noon central time, which will actually take place on Clubhouse. So between the 8th, when we give our presentation, if you haven't signed up yet for Clubhouse or joined, then we'll show you how, and then you can get joined up by Thursday. And then at noon, we can get on Clubhouse together. And that can be for those of you who haven't yet, that can be your first opportunity to really experience it in a safe environment with other newbies you might say, but also experts who will show you how it's done. And it's just going to be a lot of fun also.

Bill Klaproth: One-hundred percent.. And with you and Catherine and Christine, this is going to be a great session, a very informative session and a fun session. You have really dropped a lot of knowledge on us today and we really really appreciate that. I will have more on the session coming up. But first, I want to thank you, Dan, Kristine and Katherine, for this very informative podcast. Thank you so much.

Dan Hinmon: My pleasure.

Kristine Austin: Thanks, Bill.

Dr. Katherine Y. Brown: Thank you for having us. We enjoyed it.

Dan Hinmon: Thank you.

Bill Klaproth: And once again, that is Dr. Katherine Y. Brown, Dan Hinmon and Kristine S. Austin. And make sure you register today. The $195 full conference pass includes full access to the virtual conference, access to virtual networking events, a free one-year SHSMD membership for new members and early renewal for existing members, and a free one-year Mayo Clinic Social Media Network premium membership. How about that? Plus you're also going to get on-demand access throughout 2021. So get registered at shsmd.org/education/2021-Mayo-shsmd. And of course, SHSMD is S-H-S-M-D.

And if you found this podcast helpful, and come on, how could you not? Please, come on now. Please share it on all of your social channels. And please hit the subscribe or follow button to get every episode. This has been a production of DoctorPodcasting. I'm Bill Klaproth. See ya!