DIGITAL STRATEGY

How New Social Media Sensation Clubhouse Fits into Your Hospital’s Digital Strategy
The audio-only online forum has seen its user base grow to more than 10M amid the pandemic, with big-name health care players taking notice.

Clubhouse recently emerged as a new social media tool with which to engage providers and patients. But is the drop-in audio application worth health care marketing and communication professionals’ time?

According to experts who spoke during Mayo/SHSMD’s 2021 Advanced Social Media and Digital Marketing conference, the answer is most certainly yes. The app debuted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, growing from 1,500 users to more than 10 million a year later. Clubhouse is by invitation only and allows users to communicate in chat rooms hosting upward of 5,000 people at once.

Health care leaders such as Stanford Medicine, Johns Hopkins and CVS have already made the leap for functions such as fireside chats or patient support. At historically Black college (HBCU) Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, leaders often use the app to gauge public sentiment.

“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,” said Katherine Y. Brown, Ed.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Director of Communities of Practice and Dissemination for the National Center for Medical Education Development and Research at Meharry, and external advisory board member for the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network, among other titles. Brown further explained, “The beauty of Clubhouse is that we can pose the question in a way that allows health care communicators and providers to obtain the information they need in very meaningful ways. The possibilities are endless to create, participate and bring almost any topic to life.”

Getting Started
The first step is procuring an invitation from someone who is already on the platform. Anyone can receive such a solicitation, and experts recommend tapping social media connections on other platforms to find one. “We promise this is not just for the cool kids,” consultant Kristine S. Austin, principal of KS Austin Communications, told SHSMD 2021 attendees. 

Once you’ve joined, Brown recommended creating a profile, incorporating key elements such as a handle and a biography that utilizes hashtags to help others find you, and connecting to other social profiles. Users can start diving in by seeking topic-themed rooms or “clubs” (a collection of rooms), along with following others on the platform. Room moderators are tasked with inviting individual speakers up to the “stage” and can mute their mics, too (though it’s against Clubhouse etiquette).    

Austin, a trainer and former advisory board member for the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network, urged marketing and communication leaders to test the platform before inviting colleagues.

“I know when there’s a new social media app, all of us want to jump on it,” Austin told attendees during the 2021 Mayo/SHSMD virtual conference. “Clubhouse is one of those platforms that I really encourage you get in there and try yourself before recommending it to your organization. There is so much to gain.”

The app functions almost as a live podcast, with real-time audio discussions and participants able to weigh in by “raising their hands” to speak. Conversations are not typically archived and there is no ability to direct message participants via text, making linkage with other social media apps pivotal for planning and follow up, experts noted.

Discussions often do not have a time limit, and Brown recommended “self-regulation” to prevent oneself from spending countless hours on the application.

“I cannot emphasize this enough: Determine in advance how long you will use the app each time. I learned this the hard way,” she told attendees. “The first time I was invited to speak on a stage, the conversation went on for three hours. In my world, it’s not acceptable for a guest speaker to leave a panel. But guess what? In the world of Clubhouse, you can graciously excuse yourself or use the ‘peace sign’ emoji and leave quietly. That was a big lesson learned.”

Possible Uses
What are some ways that hospital marketers and communicators can utilize this new platform? CVS Health has been co-sponsoring rooms and influencers, nudging them to talk about specific health care topics. Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine, meanwhile has launched discussions around certain areas of interest such as COVID-19, along with promoting specific service lines. 

Austin said hospitals can drive their strategy through the organizational brand or deploy a clinical leader. Health care organizations can host community-specific conversations, using the name of a city, county or state in the title of a room to spur local discussions (though Clubhouse has no geographic boundaries). Like other social media apps, it is not compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and Austin urged caution when highlighting patient stories.

Brown listed numerous scenarios for deploying the app — whether exploring immunization disparities, physician burnout, opioid-use disorder, the hospital’s role in addressing homelessness, or LGBTQ+ care challenges. If a room or club does not exist, marketers can launch their own. When you start a “spontaneous” new room, the app asks to choose for it to be either open (anyone can join), social (only for people you follow), or closed (invitees only).

Health care conversations can generally fall along the lines of three P’s — patients, personal or professional, Brown said. For instance, marketers may gather patients’ feedback on a new offering, or on a personal level speak with providers about isolation experienced during the pandemic. And finally on a professional level, users can network or build a community with peers around a certain issue.

Members of the field should identify their marketing funnel and where to steer participants once they leave a conversation, Austin said. She “strongly urged” peers to use Google Analytics and similar programs to see how many website visitors Clubhouse generates. Support apps are beginning to pop up to aid with this work, but most are too nascent for her to endorse any one offering.

Hosting a planning meeting to sketch out the process is also wise, Brown added. “You 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. Just remember, in the world of Clubhouse, strategy matters. Be strategic about everything,” she said.

 

This article features interviews with: 

Kristine S. Austin
Trainer and Past Advisory Board Member, Mayo Clinic Social Media Network
Principal
KS Austin Communications
San Jose, California

Katherine Y. Brown, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Meharry Medical College
Founder, Dr. Katherine Y. Brown (KYB) Leadership Academy
Nashville, Tennessee

Image credit: istock.com/rafapres