AK Ikwuakor giving a Keynote speech in front of an audience.

How to Network on Clubhouse: Exclusive Interview with AK Ikwuakor

Clubhouse is the best business development and relationship networking app I have ever seen. I believe the biggest problem people have with it is that they think of it as social media…

I hate traditional social media.” – AK Ikwuakor

AK Ikwuakor giving a Keynote speech in front of an audience.

 

Clubhouse is the exclusive, audio-only social media platform that drew headlines for its endorsement from the likes of Elon Musk and Oprah Winfrey. The mystique surrounding this exclusive platform prompted us to have an interview with AK Ikwuakor—a successful entrepreneur and executive coach—to reveal his unfiltered opinion on the benefits of using Clubhouse. 

 

1. Do not use Clubhouse like Typical Social Media

“Clubhouse is the best business development and relationship networking app I have ever seen. I believe the biggest problem people have with it is that they think of it as social media. I hate traditional social media.” – AK Ikwuakor

It is an unending struggle to stay relevant on the myriad of social media platforms available today.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter; they encourage creators to prioritize quantity over quality. Of course, social media content needs to be snappy in its own right, but your brand’s message is being communicated through many different mediums. From the brand message, to the visual content, to the crowded feeds of users, cutting through the static with consistent updates is the best strategy on traditional social media.

On Clubhouse, a single personality—your character—represents your brand. Additionally, you personally reach your target audience, not wasting any time with mass communications to cold audiences.

 

 

2. Find your Community on Clubhouse

You can join live conversations with fellow entrepreneurs and leaders in nearly any industry. As soon as you are accepted to Clubhouse, follow as many members who share common interests and goals as you can. 

When we said Clubhouse isn’t like other social media, we meant it. The follower/following ratio is not closely related to your popularity or value on the app, unlike Twitter or Instagram. To join these live conversations, you need to follow others and see what rooms are available.

AK Ikwuakor in a black shirt standing on stage with another person in a suit.

3. Go in Small Rooms

Seeing a room with over one hundred users in it can signal that the owner of the room is providing invaluable information on a broad topic. But if you want to make connections, join a smaller room. 

“I don’t need to send a LinkedIn message anymore. Instead, I go into the small rooms to get a lot of information, for one, but also to connect. You don’t get those personal connections in rooms with the larger rooms. Instead, go to the rooms with only ten people.“

Many Clubhouse users liken their user experience to being at a massive convention center with landmark keynote speeches and insider business conferences around every corner. In that situation, no one would walk into an auditorium and expect to steal the show. Make your connections among the mingling groups. 

“If you want, you can go to rooms for athletes, and then immediately you are in rooms full of athletes” 

AK snaps his fingers and looks down at his Clubhouse app to look at some rooms in real-time.

“If I want to go into a room you have the freedom to do it, For example, if I want industry research on how to pitch daytime TV I can. Actually,  I’m going to join this call, there are only 176 people in there, and [AK’s Connection] is the executive producer for a big-time day television show. She’s is actually a friend of mine.“

AK then gave us a live demonstration on how to properly join in on the conversation. 

 

4. Introduce Yourself and Ask a Question

Coach AK says that you can’t just enter a room and say “I wrote ten books,” he explains, “I don’t care, give us what you wrote in ten books and I’ll decide if I care.” 

Enter the room with your elevator pitch and a substantive question for the leader to answer. Showing that you are knowledgeable in your field but open to new ideas is the best way to spark the interest of others. 

After making his own brief salutation to his connection, AK introduced a Mollie Plotkin Group team member to the room. Our representative followed Coach AK’s advice and introduced themselves then asked a question to the leader. Unfortunately, we cannot disclose the full discussion, but our representative successfully landed connections through that conversation.

 

5. Participate at your Leisure

The best thing about Clubhouse is that it’s audio-only. No one has to make themselves presentable, they just have to be friendly. Be sure that you feel comfortable enough to have a genuine conversation about anything, while still keeping your goals in mind. 

Breaking through the screen, out of text- and video-driven social media into a live setting is how real connections are made. To demonstrate, Coach AK gave us another example of how reaching out Clubhouse can grow anyone’s business. 

“The reason I’m here today is that people helped me out. I had no idea what I was doing. When I was growing up, I was the kid who got thrown into the lockers. The reason I can recognize that person in the corner is because that person was me, for me, a lot of the time, I see that entrepreneur who is overwhelmed, stressed out, and I want to help. They have families, a big dream, a good idea, they just need help. For example, I met someone who is trying to get clients on Google Ads. I worked with her on her Google Ads and in 24 hours she started getting 4-5 leads per day. Fast forward 2 weeks, she now needs to hire a sales team. Everyone just needs a little help.”

And with that, we would like to thank Coach AK for sharing his time with us and dedicating his career to helping others to build their businesses.

THE LATEST:

Upcoming Engagements

Apr 04 2024

Break Through – Women’s Leadership Conference 2024 – Keynote Speaker Barbara Corcoran – Longmeadow, MA

MassMutual Center
Apr 06 2024

ASCRS 2024 – Annual Meeting – Keynote Speaker Annie Duke, PhD – Boston, MA

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Apr 09 - 12 2024

Your First Million 2024 – Keynote Speaker Gary Vaynerchuk – Los Angeles, California

JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE
No event found!

You're Our Priority

Booking an Event?