Private Club Radio Show
Welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, the industry's weekly source for education, news, trends, and other current developments in the world of private clubs.
Hosted by the talented entertainer and industry expert, Denny Corby,
the podcast offers a unique perspective on the private club industry, featuring expert guests, product spotlights, predictions, and more.
Whether you're involved in a golf club management, yacht clubs, athletic clubs, or business clubs, the Private Club Radio Show is the essential podcast for
anyone seeking valuable insights and information on the latest trends and developments in the private club industry.
Private Club Radio Show
435: Creating Content that Connects- When Videos Become More Than Marketing w/ Joe Smith
Joe Smith Is Back And He’s Still Setting the Bar for Club Communication
Joe’s not just a friend of the show he’s one of the most forward-thinking GMs out there when it comes to content, connection, and culture.
In this episode, Joe Smith of Countryside Golf & Country Club joins us again to share how his weekly club update videos have become more than just informative they’ve become a part of the club’s identity.
What started as a workaround to a $10K drone quote has evolved into a creative engine that entertains, informs, and brings the whole community closer together.
We talk about:
- Why consistency matters more than polish
- How Joe’s Monday videos are helping him manage the rumor mill better than ever
- The behind-the-scenes process (and why it only takes about 3 hours a week)
- “One-bite reviews,” board member spotlights, and other fun formats that get members talking
- How this approach strengthens off-season engagement and boosts staff morale
- And what’s next: a club podcast that blends connection, marketing, and creativity
This episode is part case study, part playbook, and part reminder that a little personality goes a long way.
If you're looking to rethink your club's communication strategy—or just need a spark to try something new—this one’s worth your time.
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Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, where we give you the scoop on all things private golf and country clubs From mastering leadership and management, food and beverage excellence, member engagement secrets, board governance and everything in between, all while keeping it fun and light. Whether you're a club veteran just getting your feet wet or somewhere in the middle, you are in the right place. I'm your host, denny Corby. Welcome to the show In this episode. Back on the show today, I have someone who I truly admire and am happy to call a friend, joe Smith.
Speaker 1:Josiah Smith of Countryside Golf and Country Club in Florida. He's been on the show before. We talked about leadership and other things, but today we're talking about content. If you follow him on LinkedIn, he is constantly putting up videos and he has done such a phenomenal job at making creative, consistent and enjoyable content that actually connects his members in a real way, and that's what we're talking about today is how he makes the videos, why he makes the videos and what that is doing for his club, for his membership, for the community, because it's more than just putting out videos. There's so much more to it. We talk about how these videos became part of the club's identity a bit and how these videos also help kind of control the narrative. The narrative and it beats, you know, reacting to the rumor mill which sometimes happens in clubs and when you're putting out this content and putting out these things, he's getting the members involved, getting the staff involved and the staff get to relate more with the members. The members get to learn more about the staff because the staff are on video and they're showing their personalities and it's just so cool and so neat to see how this is all bringing everybody so close together. I am so excited he's on here talking about content marketing a bit and excited for you guys to get some takeaways.
Speaker 1:And before you get taken away to the episode, I just want to give a quick shout out, quick thank you to some of our show partners, the people who help make this show possible. We have Members First, club Capital Group, kenneth's Member Vetting Golf Life Navigators, concert Golf Partners, as well as myself. The Denny Corby Experience there's excitement, there's mystery. Also there's magic, mind reading, comedy, crowd work, so many laughs, so little time. One of the most fun member event nights you will do, guaranteed. If you want to learn more, head on over to DannyCorbycom.
Speaker 1:But enough about that let's welcome back to the show, joe Smith, because you're really good at putting out content about your club. Those update videos are really cool and very well done. And where did that even come from? Because I think so many clubs don't even really give good updates or they're just like it's going along and like here's a photo, and you do a really good job at getting that message across and showing what's going on. And those weekly update videos even if it's not because I think it's all of them like part updates and just like what's going on Like it's just kind of like hey, here's a week in recap.
Speaker 2:Yep, it all depends on what's going on, what's coming up and what we just came through. No, I started that stuff at a club years ago that we were going through bankruptcy and I had to rebuild the golf course and the contractor was like, hey, we can do drone photos for you. It's 10 grand. And I was frugal and I'm like I'm not spending 10 grand, I'm gonna go buy a drone. So I started doing drone. This was like in 20, it had to be at least 10 years ago and I just had.
Speaker 2:I had fun figuring out like the video stuff and editing it and pulling it together and sending it out to the members. So that's how it started with me. And so, to answer your question, it's kind of a hybrid here because we just do things kind of not on the fly our event flyers, calendars, all of that. She's also a designer so she can design all kinds of marketing material. And then I started doing the video stuff and I edit all those and that's kind of been my creative outlet, because I really enjoy capturing the content, adding it all together, getting it to the finished product. And then we just enlisted the help and enthusiasm of one of our just most charismatic food and beverage employee, one of our servers, who has been doing all of our shorts, so she captures. I just I gave her free range. Her name's Fur, like Fur. You just go capture the lifestyle and here's the sign-in to our Instagram and Facebook and YouTube and you just make shorts all day long and post them and send them out at your little heart's content.
Speaker 2:So we were doing all this video stuff sporadically over the last seven years and then, I guess a year and a half ago, we committed to you know, when we moved into the temporary facilities we started renovation. I was like that's it, once a week, like every Monday, we're doing a club update and every other Friday we're doing an update on the construction project, and it's a lot of work. But I'll tell you, man, our members, they started treating it like a TV show. They know, every Monday at 7 am, our video, our weekly update, gets uploaded. Our video, our weekly update, gets gets uploaded and, like they look forward to seeing which members going to be on camera. What we're talking about, if they got, you know, captured on video at event last week, or I mean it's really, it's really been a really neat thing.
Speaker 1:And you get some good views Like I, cause like I've been watching them too. And and you get some good views like I because like I've been watching them too, and like you get because you've all like a lot of clubs have have youtube channels but a lot of them have no one watches anything and you get like thousands of views. Maybe I think some get like a couple thousand like you get at least like about like 500 to a thousand views, which is, yeah, pretty good engagement for a club. I mean because it's not like you're trying to go viral, it's just about putting it out for the members and stuff.
Speaker 2:So I mean those are good numbers, yeah, yeah. And the only reason I share it, like on LinkedIn, is just simply as a best practice, just so other clubs can see that I think there's a market here. You know Ben Lorenzo, ben, he does an incredible job with the marketing and the video stuff too, and he and I have kind of bounced some ideas. He was doing more short form stuff and I talked to him like last summer and I was like I want to get more into the shorts. So I think you have to have both pieces.
Speaker 2:And I think the other thing that I've found is it needs to be consistent. You know if you can get into the routine of you know hitting it. You know again, we do it every week, but even if it's twice a month and your members can count on getting something from the club. At the same time, you know fairly regular basis. That's where you build the momentum. And you know, with us we're highly seasonal and I hear a lot from our members who go back home in the summertime and they're like, oh, it feels like we never left, it feels like we're still part of the club. So that's cool, it's been really cool. It's been really cool. It's a lot of effort, but I'll tell you, man, of all the things I've put a lot of effort into this one. This initiative is I can't quantify what it's what it's paying us back other than we are, and I think any other general manager or club manager would appreciate this. I feel for the first time in my 20 year career that I have some control of the rumor mill.
Speaker 2:Because of how, how often and how well we're communicating and you know people are more inclined to watch or listen than they are to read, more inclined to watch or listen than they are to read. So trying to address stuff in a weekly club memo or something you know written format which I still do occasionally, but when it comes across from me or one of my team members on video it's I mean, I have members. You know someone will hear a rumor about whatever the project or completion date, and they're like no, here's the video, here's the YouTube. Watch this. These are the facts. So that in itself has just been incredible for us.
Speaker 1:I didn't even think about that. That's awesome and as well. If something happens, if you're gone, people have those shoes to fill, and if the members still don't get that.
Speaker 2:there's going to be an outrage. Yeah, you know it's funny.
Speaker 1:I've thought about that. It's job security Just doing it.
Speaker 2:I've thought about that, though, because you know it's no, no, you know people move on. You know, and and I, at some point I need to get it to a point where it can be sustained. Or or, you know, for example, last week, being at conference, I filmed. So we film every friday for monday, while I was gone on friday, so I filmed the video that went out today, like last Tuesday.
Speaker 1:And the members knew. Friday was filming, it was cloudy. It wasn't cloudy on Friday. This guy's a sham right now.
Speaker 2:So you've got to think about stuff like that, and I think that's a good lesson too. Is just anything impactful like that? It needs to be sustainable, because you are actually building it into the culture and expectation of your club. We use our YouTube page to market the club.
Speaker 1:Well, whether you do it or or do it for that reason or not, I mean people are going to look, like people are going to see, and when you see that there's consistent content, I mean that's so. So how long does it really so, realistically, from how long does each video take? And I know you actually do your videos and you enjoy editing them and doing them. Uh, so, like you know that that number might be, you know, different, for you know the editing part, but like, how long, realistically, does a video take you to, you know, maybe, and this is from, and if you can break it down, from like idea, even though it's not idea, because you know kind of what you're gonna talk, but from like idea to you know you know scheduling it to, to go out, how long does it take in like?
Speaker 2:each part. So we have a at our weekly staff meeting. I have the department heads. I ask that they bring ideas to the staff meeting for to highlight their area, and Mary, our communications director, keeps all of those on a video. Marketing schedule, right Calendar. Marketing schedule right Calendar. Some weeks there's nothing from golf or there's nothing from you know golf maintenance or you know. So that kind of is is sporadic.
Speaker 2:The filming, the coordination filming probably takes an hour in total by the time we, you know, depending on what we're filming and you know how many people and if there's menu items that we're going to talk about or whatnot, it's really the editing that is most time consuming. Oh yeah, it really depends on how much. I mean, I can bang out a video in an hour and a half, like today's video, think I. I edited it during conference. I think I spent about an hour and a half on it. Not too bad. There's other videos that are more extensive that you know have taken, you know, a couple hours to edit, three, four hours to edit sometimes, but that's feeding a creek creative thing for me. So I really I personally enjoy doing that, but I think on average, like start to finish, it's probably three hours worth of your time. That's not bad.
Speaker 2:I mean there's a learning curve with you know, because I use Final Cut, yep, which is a Mac program, and there's a a learning curve, but you can't screw it up you know, yeah, well, I mean you can, but you, can you?
Speaker 1:just don't want to send it. Yeah, uh, and you do some fun stuff in it, like you know. Uh, the the one bite reviews where you have is it is it is that your is that the chef for food and beverage, and then then you have a member also and you just try the food and you and you review it, kind of like the. You know one bite everyone knows the pizza pizza review, dave Port.
Speaker 2:That's exactly where it came from. We so we've been. We change our menu once a month because we're in temporary facilities. That'll stop when we get back into the club. But you know, I told the F&B team like small, efficient menu, we've got like 10 or 12 items, but let's just switch it up monthly. So we started doing that segment with staff. First, you know, like I pulled my golf pro or I pulled one of the servers, like let's review this new menu item. And then we started having members ask can I come on? And I was like all about that and I'll tell you, man, when you walk through some of the big events now, like I will have members stop me and do like a live, one-byte review, like on the menu that night. It'll be like this was a 7.8. So you know, that alone is pretty cool.
Speaker 2:And what I'm starting to see now is our members. Look, members and employees are your biggest marketing outlet, like they're the ones who, who spread the word of mouth. So my, my, every employee that works here is on our club emails. So they get every email that the members get and they are encouraged to forward them. And our members do the same thing. So our members will forward the videos to their friends up North or their friends, you know, at another club locally, and they'll be like, hey, look at what countryside is doing, look at what my club's doing. Another club locally and they'll be like, hey, look at what countryside is doing, look at what my club's doing. Um, so everything on our YouTube page is public and you know, a lot of times when we have questions from you know realtors or or you know prospective members, they'll ask you know what it's like living here?
Speaker 1:And I just I'm like, go to the YouTube page, you can see what our lifestyle lifestyle is like I mean even the one video I just saw, I don't know which, which one, how long ago it was. Uh, because now that I've been watching them, now it's like I see a video, I'm like, oh, a new one. Then it's like, oh, four weeks ago, I don't want to watch this, but but I was, I was uh, some of them came up and it was like your new logo and I forget who it was talking about it, but it was, yeah, he was talking. And then you had a picture of, like you know, the printed out, which, which made me crack me up.
Speaker 1:Like the four, it's like the four different ones, and it's like you were just talking about the progression and why you chose it and like all the different things about it. And, just like you said it, it it stops the rumor mill or at least gives people cause you're right, a lot gives people because you're right, a lot of people don't, you know, always want to read or whatever. But it gives them that like, oh, the thought press behind it though, the why. It's like, why do they do that? And then, when you hear the explanation, you're like that makes sense, like so, at least.
Speaker 2:Yeah it puts. It's helped put some bookends on the rumor mill. You're never going to control it, but I'm honest, in the 20 some years that I've been doing this is the first time where I'm like I got, I feel, pretty good handle on on that aspect, and particularly in communities like ours where you know there's a real estate component. You know our members live here. Yeah, that rumor mill is like crazy sometimes, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, it's, it's been awesome and we're. You know we have fun with them too. You know we try and drop some humor into them and we try and keep them light. And you know I've done some video communications, like approaching storms, like hurricanes, or I was doing video communications during COVID. Yeah, you know, just like me in my office with a camera just explaining here's what we're doing, here's the new mandate, here's, you know, just honestly, it sounds cheesy but like treating it like a TV show.
Speaker 1:And it's, I mean, it's been fun, Well and and, but the thing is you have a face for radio, so that really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, thank you. Can you, can you only post the audio version of this, this interview?
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Okay, I don't, I don't, I want to. I want to maintain my face for radio.
Speaker 1:I was going to blur you out the whole time. That's funny. So do you have any people who don't like the videos?
Speaker 2:or have you ever had?
Speaker 1:people just be like meh, we don't need this of course, of course you will.
Speaker 2:You know anything? Look, there's always that member bell curve right, there's 80 in the center, there's there's 10 here and 10 there, and we got to focus on the 80. You know, sometimes I know that I am not for everyone. I know that certain initiatives or you know some members are like this is, this is cheesy, like this is. Well, you know what it's, it's working and we're having fun and majority of the community loves it, so we're going to keep doing it, and that's just how you got to approach those things yeah, yeah I.
Speaker 2:I got, I got stopped a lot at conference just asking about same thing. You're asking me like how do, how do you do it? You know, one club manager was was actually she was a she's a membership and and marketing manager. She was asking about you know our videos and and how we get buy-in from staff and other employees to be part of it. And I said, look, in my experiences, like I've been the champion of it, so the buy-in is there. Right, I've been the face, I'm the general manager, so it's easy for me to go ask people to be a part of it if I'm also a part of it. But I said to her I'm'm like you just just start and trust me. You, the people who are excited about it will will be obvious and just partner with them and just you know, just got to do it, you just got to do it, it'll, it'll unfold.
Speaker 1:I was talking to somebody at conference. They're like how, because they want to do like a podcast for their club, which I think is a fantastic idea for clubs to do it, because I think there's so many, I think there's so much. Maybe it's part you there was definitely a few conversations, but I think it was you, I was talking about it as well uh was, I think there's so much opportunity from an internal club communication standpoint, but, but also from a, a marketing and getting potential member standpoint. Uh, oh yeah, yeah, it was. Uh, it was right outside of the one restaurant. It was, um, because I think there's you could do episodes, you know, just talking to the members and doing that sort of stuff you can, and then having like, the oldest member in the club talk to the youngest member and it's like what are those conversations Like?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I think there's like interesting stuff to do, but then also from like because I love business and sales and I think there's when you could have a more public facing one. So if you do one or two, it doesn't matter, but if you have one that anybody can listen to and you invite outside people onto the show now you can pick your guests and your guests could be potential members. So if you're strategic about it and it's like, hey, you know, maybe it's more of like a businessy podcast where it's business related or like a higher level sort of thing, and you invite people from the community who aren't members but may run a business or whatever, onto the show and maybe you record it in the club and you invite them in for hey come, hey come in and record and you know we, we give you a class, you know whatever you come, we eat, and then we, you know whatever it is, but it's like, get them in the door I don't know.
Speaker 1:I think there's so much opportunity there and it's, and it's a it's video or podcasting or whatnot.
Speaker 2:It is a way to keep them engaged with the club all the time and it's easy for them to stay engaged. In other words, you know when you're away from the club or you're out running errands, or hell, you're on an airplane flying down to Florida, whatever. How many times do you like? Oh, I'm going to download this podcast, listen to it on the plane. Or I'm out in the car I've got an audio book on, or I'm out on a walk I'm going to listen to, you know, music. Well, if there's content from the club that you could consume during those times when you're not here at the club, I I think, as a member, you'd be in if, if it's good stuff, you'd be inclined to do that. So it's just another way to keep them engaged with the club in the community when they normally wouldn't be. Right, like you're not gonna. You're not gonna go on a road trip and read the club newsletter behind the wheel of the car.
Speaker 1:Some do.
Speaker 2:They probably are Some do probably, yeah, especially down here in Florida, but we don't encourage that. But it's stuff that's easy to consume when you're not here or away from the club and it just keeps. It keeps countryside or whatever club it is in the forefront. And, yeah, I think the podcast that's next on our list, man we're, when we get back in the clubhouse we're going to start it. I think it's a neat idea. I did it. I did a series of videos. I have nine board members and I went to the board and I said this was last year. I was like I want to do a short interview with every one of you and I want to call it meet the board member Monday. So every Monday for nine weeks we sent out a series and it was each board member on camera with me and it was just a short interview, you know yeah how long you've been in countryside?
Speaker 2:what was your career? What are you excited about in the future?
Speaker 1:the, the unboard meeting exactly?
Speaker 2:I don't know but it was great. I mean, the, the community was like wow, that was a really good idea. And I'm like why did I never do that? Why have I never done that or done?
Speaker 1:that, or most people like their clubs, they'll, they'll, just, you know, oh, this is the board and they're like is a quick little bio of each one. And it's like, even though you're all members of a club, you don't always get to know each person deeply. Or you hear the rumor mill stuff, or you're here, you hear the stuff about them, so why not give them a platform to be heard and get their literal voice out and you can learn and engage and you know, I think, and then that helps build community, because it's like oh, I didn't know, he likes volleyball. And then next time we see him like, oh, sir, you know, set me up Like I don't know.
Speaker 2:One of my board members I asked. One of the questions I asked them was what's a hobby of yours? One of them tells me that he builds these giant wooden ships like these. Things are like three, four feet. They take like a year and a half to build like detailed wooden ships. And I'm like, as he's telling me this, I'm like getting pulled in. I'm like what? And he's explaining this and the magnitude of these ships, these model ships. So I dropped some pit. I'm like send me pictures. I dropped them into the video and next thing I know I've got members coming to me being like I had no idea he did that.
Speaker 1:That was, that's awesome, so that's what I'm sure there's some connections that came from that right, so yeah, I mean it's that's what a club is about, like that's why people join clubs usually, for that's the reason, stuff like that.
Speaker 2:It's the intangible, it's yes, it's the relationships, and we, as club employees or club leadership, we're here to be the conduit for a lot of that and I think sometimes we forget that, like, look, at the end of the day, we're the conduit to create social interaction, whatever that looks like at your club. That's my soapbox. Well, I'm when we move back into the club, I'm I'm gonna start a podcast for the club, do it. And uh, I'm just trying to think through like the setup and I think maybe I was telling you my conference room at the club is right at the front, yeah, and there's two big windows that look into it and I'm like this, I see this big table and, like you know, I remember walking by being like, oh look, they're recording a new episode like I mean, who's not to say because your your club's privately owned right?
Speaker 1:yeah, who's to say that's not another revenue source and you can produce members podcasts for them or their businesses? I mean, could be uh the room for a podcast and then you, you help them, you schedule it.
Speaker 1:You know, hey, you know, you know we can record three or four to start, so we have a, you know, a month leeway or however long they want to do it, and then it's hey, and then from there it there it's. You know, every two, you know, whatever it is, you help them, I don't know, I don't think that's a who knows, you know, but I think that's also something to that could be explored, or another revenue generator, or and we are getting so many younger members.
Speaker 2:I mean, I don't know, man, there's something there. I know there is. I mean, even like, if we get like some of our vendors on, like, this is who we buy all of our meat from right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:This guy is local. We buy micro greens from him here. We're going to have our Titleist rep on, I don't know. I think it would be neat to give members kind of a back-of-house view to the operations. But still, I mean I would think the members would have an interest in the inner workings of the operation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, behind the scenes. Hope you all enjoyed that episode and I hope you all do something with some of the information. I hope you have some takeaways, I hope you start maybe doing some more video content for your clubs and I also hope you share this content. If you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend, colleague, someone you think might enjoy it, and if you are enjoying it, a like, share, subscribe. A five-star rating on whatever platform you are consuming with a review, means the absolute world and cost nothing. That's this episode. I'm your host, denny Corby. Until next time, catch you on the flip.
