Becoming a Member of the Club

Let me ask you a question: Are you a joiner or spectator?

And when you do sign up for a club, industry organization or social network, how active do you become?

Earlier today, I asked that question in a LinkedIn poll and, at the time of writing, 175 of you responded. Thank you for taking part!

And the non-scientific results?

Well, as you can see in the image above, 22% of you are joiners, 46% join and participate and about a third (33%) prefer to watch.

So where do I stand?

I think of myself a joiner/participant, though with definite watcher tendencies.

And it's been this way for a long, long time.

In the Beginning ...

My whole belonging journey started when I was a teenager and became an active member of a religious youth group.

To be honest, the group was mostly social—and an amazing way to meet kids from around the midwest—and took the impressionable me to conferences, conclaves and summer camps. What's not to like?

Believe it or not, it also introduced me to concepts that would come in handy later in my marcomm career: planning events, speaking, leadership, communications and building a network.

And in an off-hand way got me interested in PR.

Where Do I Line Up to Join?

So when I started my agency, one of the first things I did was get involved in two industry associations. The Canadian Public Relations Society helped me connect with like-minded professionals from across the country. With Counselors Academy, a special interest section of the PRSA focused on the business of agency PR, I learned tips and strategies to manage and run a business.

Note to self: next time, that's a good thing to do in reverse, as in learning first, then starting a business!

No, No, Yes!

As soon as I attended my first Counselors' event, I was hooked and wanted to get more involved so I put my name forward as a volunteer.

And ... no one got back to me.

But I wasn't going to let that little fact stop me. Next year, I tried again. Still ... no response.

What about year three? Well, as they say, third time's a charm.

Since then, I put in a lot of work with Counselors because I believe in what they do. And that led me to take on the roles of conference chair, a member of the executive and eventually, organization chair.

The point is if you want something, you need to be patient and persistent and put in your time.

Going Social

I've used this same all-in approach with social media.

When I hear about a new platform, I sign up and complete my profile right away.

But then for some reason, I pull back and just watch.

And I feel envious and scared.

I really didn't understand the point of Twitter and it took me about a year and a half to get the courage to post my first tweet. That was 13 years and nearly 30,000 tweets ago.

So I guess I got over my initial hesitancy.

Still, I felt the same combination of excitement and fear when I got an invitation to join Clubhouse.

Enter Social Audio

Have you tried Clubhouse?

Right now, the app is just over a year old, still invite only and only available on iOS.

The founders said that's to manage growth, but their approach also created the hype of exclusivity. And in many ways, that increased interest and demand.

Clubhouse is all talk, all the time. There's no video or text.

Certainly, the timing for social audio is right. Since Covid, most of us have been unable to travel and our worlds have gotten a lot smaller.

One of Clubhouse's main benefits is that its feed isn't algorithmically curated. And the serendipitous discovery is a good way to meet and interact with people you don't know.

And the fact that you don't need to have your camera on is a bonus. It's pandemic-perfect—you can jump on as you are.

I've listened in on some great conversations with neuroscientists talking about AI. And I've wandered the halls and stumbled in on more than a few stinkers, where hucksterism reins supreme. I left those fast!

Clubhouse is the focus of this week's Digital Marketing Trends video.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Are You Ready For AI?

Before I go, I wanted to mention a new AI readiness survey developed by the CIPR AIinPR panel (if you've read this far, you've probably guessed I'm a panel member ??).

We've just launched a global study to assess AI literacy and readiness in PR.

The goal of the research is to determine level of knowledge and competency in data and artificial intelligence within the global public relations profession.

And it would be great if you could take 15 minutes or so to complete the survey.  

Responses will be analysed by leading AIinPR academic researchers and those working on AI in PR and I'll report back on the results in a future issue.

Connect with Martin

And with that, it's time to dim the lights on issue #29.

Again, thank you for reading and subscribing! Are you an active member of any organizations or clubs (including Clubhouse)? What do you get out of them? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Be sure to reach out if you have questions about any of the videos in Digital Marketing Trends, or my other LinkedIn Learning courses.

And if you want to find me, follow or connect on LinkedIn or Twitter. (And if you are connecting on LinkedIn, please add a short note so I know how you found me.) Or visit my website and send a message or a question.

Check out the #LiLDigTrends hashtag for quick updates between videos.

I hope you'll um ... join me next time!