Clubhouse is the hottest new social media app on the market. Like its namesake, this exclusive invite-only clubhouse has all the trappings of an actual clubhouse—the ultra-elite such as CEOs, musicians and celebrities are lining up to join in on the fun, and it has faced its fair share of controversies in just a short span of time. The only difference is—it’s only accessible in the digital form through the Apple Store.
Created by entrepreneur Paul Davison and former Google engineer Rohan Seth, it was released in April 2020. You can also get into Clubhouse by reaching the top of the waiting list—but someone must let you in! Though the app is still in beta and not open to the public, its community has grown exponentially from a few thousand to several million in a matter of months.
What is Clubhouse and what’s all the buzz behind it?
Think of it this way—an all-access pass to multiple global conferences—but in the digital form through a mobile app. But the best part is, you don't have to wait hours in line to get in the room (our research tells us that the room limit is currently at 5,000 people). And the best part is that you too could host a room! These rooms are filled with titles, brief topic descriptions, and led by moderators. You could also think of it as an interactive podcast in real-time.
But what is really getting everyone so hyped-up and excited about Clubhouse is how unscripted, and raw these chat rooms can be—people share raw ideas, stories and collaborate—in real-time—by only using their voices without much preparation.
The nature of the app takes away the usual pressure and necessity that comes with webinars and even podcasts because participants don’t need to be all dolled up—and they can enjoy the talks from the comfort of their own bed or personal space. No complex gear or equipment is needed to run or moderate a room either—you just need to start one room and get the crowd rolling in.
So far, Clubhouse has been used for a variety of reasons: from more professional endeavours such as silent networking sessions and professional dialogues on topics like finance, healthcare and politics, to laid-back karaoke sessions—some have even used it as a gaming room.
These raw and honest conversations on Clubhouse, however, have also been points of contention among journalists, business leaders, and world leaders, as some have shared concerns over the app’s privacy protections.
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Why Clubhouse could be a great marketing tool for your business?
Controversy and privacy issues aside, as most social media platforms have their own fair share of problems, the reach, accessibility and flexibility of Clubhouse—wandering from room to room seamlessly or choosing to stay for hours in one, gives Clubhouse the potential of becoming a platform to grow your business—if used strategically.
Entrepreneurs may treat it as a large digital expo to connect with business leaders and customers to share their brand story and vision while exchanging or getting tips from industry experts.
Through Clubhouse, you, as a business owner, could ask questions, muster up conversations and exchange numbers with influential entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, politicians and celebrities. This accessibility to a wealth of unfiltered information and expert advice has—to a degree—democratised knowledge sharing unless they start charging these rooms. For those who want to engage with others, you could host your own rooms, and share news, tips or discuss practically any topic with other business leaders.
We list down six reasons that make Clubhouse a gold mine for marketers.
6 benefits that your business can get from Clubhouse
1. Learn from industry experts
Do you have aspirations to start your own start-up? Or perhaps, you are a business owner who needs more tips on how to expand your business? Well, Clubhouse is a great way to get the answers for both.
Use the explore feature to look for conversations—or even start one. Topics range from world affairs to wellness to tech and sports—there’s a little bit of everything for everyone.
If you are already on podcasts and webinars, Clubhouse could be an additional opportunity to garner free advice from industry leaders in these casual conversations. As an entrepreneur or business owner, you can learn about a wide range of topics that can help you scale or strengthen your business, or solve a problem just by searching keywords.
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The next tech-wizard that could help your start-up propel to new heights could be in a tech room.
2. Finding people with skills you need
Though we have yet to see how Clubhouse will disrupt the human resources and talent acquisition industry scene, we can’t deny that it could easily be one of the best ways to connect with top talents.
While visiting rooms relevant to your business, you may stumble upon people with the knowledge and experience you need. If you are talent hunting for your business, all you gotta do is just scroll through different rooms and different industries to see who piques your interest.
Of course, whether an individual or potential candidate really stands out to you depends on how well they position themselves in their Clubhouse bio—so we are not saying you may find the exact talent—but Clubhouse is a certainly great platform to connect with or search for knowledgeable, experienced and like-minded people.
3. Seek and give away free advice
Reddit or Lowyat.net, anyone? If you are looking for a space to get your answers to questions, Clubhouse is the place for you. Like the aforementioned duo, Clubhouse could be a place to get answers and advice from industry shakers and movers, and experts— but, in real-time.
If you are on Clubhouse long enough, you may come across founders or business leaders you admire—use this as an opportunity to get feedback on a new feature of your new app or business. Clubhouse allows everyone to essentially exchange playbooks.
Maybe you are not looking for advice, but you need instant feedback or just a second opinion. Clubhouse is a great opportunity to create a room and ask for feedback on your latest business idea. If you are struggling in your business, this could be the chance to get other entrepreneurs to weigh too.
But we won’t deny that you may come across people who enjoy giving free unsolicited advice, but that’s for a different story. Who doesn’t like free advice anyway? Especially if you are getting tips and insights that would typically cost thousands in real-life conferences.
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Looking for new business partnerships and affiliates? Clubhouse, a hub for VCs and business elites, could be the perfect place to start looking at.
Looking for new business partnerships and affiliates? Clubhouse, a hub for VCs and business elites, could be the perfect place to start looking at.
4. Explore new business opportunities
Are you a market leader? This is your opportunity to expand your network. You can create your own chat rooms and host talks evolving your area of expertise. Whether these engagement activities are one-time experiments or recurring events, the goal is to build a community of followers.
But don’t forget to exchange numbers and social media details! Some speakers connect on Clubhouse, but then formally chat professional matters on Linkedin later.
While conducting these rooms, you may find it fun and rewarding to connect with groups of people who appreciate the sharing of knowledge and find it useful. As a result of these conversations, your business may have gained new clients.
5. Great networking opportunities
If there’s one big takeaway that you should get about Clubhouse in this article is that it’s a great app to connect and network.
With travel bans in full force—no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic—all of us have had to resort to staying at home and connecting digitally. This, of course, has been difficult for many—particularly social butterflies who love to connect and share ideas.
Though other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, among others, does allow users to connect with each other in real-time through texting and video calls and even voice message—there’s no social app that allows you to converse with others, in real-time, and feel like you are in one big room—but with the exception that it’s all virtual.
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For some, Clubhouse gives them quicker access to people who they may never reach or share information with—due to different locations of being in different countries and just differing interests.
This is your chance to engage with other entrepreneurs and influencers and to hopefully develop invaluable business relationships and connections. One important group from this pool are venture capitalists (VCs). Start a room and get your business in front of these investors. Also, use it as a way of getting immediate feedback from investors. Even if you fail to convince a VC to invest in your business, it’s still a way to train and improve your product and pitch.
6. Share your business values and offerings
Clubhouse is not just a place to follow influential figures in different industries, it’s also a platform that helps you keep abreast of the latest industry news, moves and wins from your competitors and market leaders. This gives you first-hand insights into how they plan, strategise, manage, and execute ideas!
If you follow enough people, your dedicated timeline will—like most other social media timelines due to the algorithms—come with specifically tailored information for you like trends to watch, industry news, and audience sentiment.
Give it some thought—but Clubhouse could also be a great way to announce company news. However, not all industries are suited to announcing major news, moves, wins or losses on Clubhouse unfiltered, but it’s worth exploring at least.
Recently launched a new feature on your website? Create a room to announce your new product, its features, your business direction and decision, and to educate people about the decision.
Beyond being a marketing tool, Clubhouse is also a great way to build brand awareness by showcasing your brand values, whilst having meaningful discussions with your audience. It could be a great way to boost anticipation with your community and get instant feedback on your services and products. Think of Clubhouse as a crowdsourcing platform for ideas.
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I’m sold, let’s start connecting. How do I use Clubhouse? Here are quick tips from us!
Once you are on the Clubhouse app, you may feel a little overwhelmed or lost if you are new. Here are a few suggestions or tips that you can consider once you are in.
- Build your online persona—complete your bio profile and add a nicely-angled (and decent!) photo for your bio. This step is crucial because before people actually click on your profile to see who you are—they will only see your face and name, so it’s crucial to be able to present yourself in an interesting, fun, and compelling, yet professional way. First impressions matter in real life and even in the digital world!
- Use keywords in your bio. To find and connect with the right people, you need to be able to reach them. And in order to do that, you need to use the right keywords. If you are an environmentalist, use more words associated with that area of interest such as “climate change” and “global warming” or “green enthusiast.”
- There’s nothing wrong in wanting to connect exclusively on the Clubhouse platform, but if you want to advance the connection to a deeper level, it’s best to include some form of call-to-action in your bio so your users know more about you and can be directed to another page associated with you. While you are at it, integrate Instagram and Twitter!
- If you want to increase engagement, a great way to do that is to host your own room. Start a discussion on a topic or use it as a way to network digitally. Moderators will not only appear on the top of the page and be more visible to the audience, but they have the chance to bring people up onto the stage—this helps if you are looking to build a presence on the platform.
- Start your own club. Looking for like-minded people or those in the same industry as yours? Use the Clubs feature to create and join other private groups within the app, a feature that is made and tailored to your specific interests. The Clubs feature is super helpful when looking for leads, talents or resources in your industry. You could also use the rooms and Clubs to promote your business products and services.
- Don’t be shy now! Many people join Clubhouse just to listen rather than talk, which is totally fine. But if you are looking for answers, want feedback or just have opinions to share, don’t be afraid to raise your voice (or hand in this case).
All things considered — Clubhouse yay or nay?
There are some obvious wins for Clubhouse—from a social media perspective, you can reduce screen fatigue by just tuning in from the comfort of your own space without having to show your face. It’s also a great way to connect and network and gives the regular Joes and Janes access to people they might not usually have like CEOs and industry movers and shakers.
However, as we’ve pointed out before, there have been many controversies surrounding the issue of privacy and there’s just a lot of unknowns or unprecedented situations—announcing company news on Clubhouse may sound interesting and could be potentially engaging but it could also open a can of worms and attract negative feedback. The last thing your company wants is a PR crisis. Last, and certainly not least, the app, unfortunately, does not cater to those who are deaf or have a difficult time hearing properly.
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