Written for Emily Bezak Writes at https://www.emilybezak.com/blog
By: Kiara Cooper
It’s everywhere. And everyone wants in on it. Do you have an invite? I’m talking about Clubhouse. Let's talk about this new app taking over social media and learn how to use it.
Why Clubhouse Matters for Marketing Strategies in 2021 The latest, must-have Silicon Valley app “Clubhouse” is another social networking application that is on the rise. This one is an audio-based app that allows members to begin speaking on a wide range of topics in various rooms. The app's ultimate goal is to give businesses and members a platform to grow their brands.
Since the app is still very selective and exclusive, I want to give you an overview of what it’s like in the Clubhouse. Hopefully, some day soon you can come join the fun!
What Is Clubhouse? Clubhouse is a new social networking, audio-based app that allows people drop-in to rooms and communicate with others all around the world. Paul Davison and Rohan Seth are the creators of the app that has the world going crazy. Elite celebrities and business owners were the first to enter the clubhouse, but everyday folks like you and me can join in the fun now too.
If users are looking to build a brand, they should begin networking with members around the world. We’ve seen other platforms that have taken users from A to Z in their career, and Clubhouse could do that also.
Now that the app is open to the public, the audio-based app’s popularity has skyrocketed since late October. The app creates an urgency (or FOMO) because nothing can be saved or recorded on the app.
Although the app is only available to Apple users and not for Android users, the company is working to perfect the app through Apple first and eventually hit Android devices.
How Do You Get Invited to Clubhouse? Like I said before, Clubhouse is an invite-only app. If you're not invited, it can take days for an individual to get in. The app is definitely in its beta stage. And the team is consistently trying to create valuable algorithms and improve features. The app is currently being built around us as we speak. OK, let’s get started. There are two (2) ways to get an invitation to join the Clubhouse. Step 1: Get Invited Getting invited is all about who members may know. It is sort of like “in sight, in mind.” So find your friends with access and get on their best side! Since there are a certain amount of invites members get, they will have to use them wisely. Most likely friends and close business partners will get first dibs.
Question: If no one accepts the invite, can they reuse it? No they cannot. The only downside is that once a member uses their invite and the person doesn’t accept the invite, the invite will be gone and members cannot get them back.
Step 2: Invitees Become Nominators A plus is that the person who already has a clubhouse invite will become a nominator and it will show on their bio page. So free exposure for each member that nominates another member. Although Clubhouse is beginning to thrive, Clubhouse is keeping a lookout on who joins, with only a few people joining each day. How Many Invitations Do You Get When You Sign Up For Clubhouse? There isn’t a definite number of how many invites a member can attain but once onboarded members will definitely receive one invite to pass along to another person desiring to get in. The more users participate, the more invites they will receive to let others in the app without waiting.
In order to receive more invites, members have to become more active. When members are actively participating by getting on stage to speak on topics, becoming a moderator, creating clubs, and listening in the audience, they will get more invites.
There are mixed reviews being that the app is new. Clubhouse is a team of 9 with over 600,000 members and growing. There’s no doubt they’re working hard to make the experience better for all. Behind the Scenes: An Overview of the Clubhouse App
The Hallway Let’s begin with the infamous hallway of networking in Clubhouse. It's all about the people users follow that dictate who someone will see in their ‘hallway’ in the same way you’d have a feed in Instagram or LinkedIn. Members can see what room a member is in the ‘hallway’. If you are looking to network, pay attention to similar members’ hallways for inspiring what rooms you like to listen to or be a part of.
Rooms or Stages Registered users can participate in different chat rooms through the hallway on various topics so they can either have fun in non-productive rooms and/or socialize with celebrities in topics reaching from social media marketing and inspirational chats. There are even rooms to help members pitch their businesses to help them out in the long run.
Once an individual chooses a room, also known as a stage, there will be a moderator who is in charge and also has the option to add a select few of more moderators. These moderators are then allowed to control the room by sending people to and from the audience. The audience appears at the bottom of each chatroom and in between the audience and moderator there are people that follow each other that are on the panel of moderators. The moderators can then mute people or take people off of the stage when they are done speaking.
How To Communicate in Clubhouse There aren’t many ways to communicate in Clubhouse but here are terms that are essential for members communicating non-verbally.
Push to Refresh While in some chat rooms many moderators and those they invite on stage will say “P.T.R.” Meaning to go to the top of the chat and pull it down to refresh the page. This will allow others to see the changes others may have made to their picture and see the new individuals that have come to the room.
DM me Throughout each chatroom members will probably hear “DM me” but don’t see a message tool in Club. Well, there isn’t. You would have to link you Twitter and/or Instagram platform so others can follow up with a DM.
Although the individuals that members follow will curate an experience, users can get in Clubhouse jail just by following and unfollowing too many people in a certain time span. Members have to wait either a couple of hours or more than a day to begin following more people. Clubhouse desire is to curate an environment so that individuals can get into more rooms that relate to what they would like to see.
Clubhouse is for those who are business-minded and productive individuals. Clubhouse members are there to learn, share what they've learned, teach what they know, connect with people, and collab with dope individuals looking for a good time to socialize during (especially now). Personal and Business Profiles Clubhouse is greatly used to know the what and how of where you want to go in life career wise or personally. It is great exposure for individuals and businesses, especially start-up businesses.
Members will meet other members that align with their vision. Each user has a profile that shows their personal bio and can connect your Twitter and Instagram. The app is a free way to get exposure to brands. Maximizing your room will cause a snowball effect that will allow users to gain more followers for themselves and their clubs.
Other Important Things to Know Getting deeper into Clubhouse, new members will want to know the benefits of becoming a member of groups versus following individuals. Clubhouse allows users to create their own private rooms which are known as clubs. Anyone can follow the group but if the owner wants a specific event that they are having to be only for group members they are allowed in, then followers will not be able to attend the event scheduled.
To help guide members through your journey on Clubhouse, there will be orientation and town hall meeting chat rooms in the hallway throughout each week. These chat rooms will be there to answer any further questions about updates especially when you’re new.
Ultimately it's the people that make Clubhouse, Clubhouse.
Clubhouse for Marketing: Final Thoughts
What’s next? Well, monetizing is definitely what I see as the next step for Clubhouse members. The private groups are looking to curate content and income for the members that want to join and gain exclusive knowledge from its early-user experts. Jumping on this popularity wave now is probably a good idea, especially with such little investment outside of your time.
Connecting with Fellow Experts Made Simple with Our Slack Channel Especially in quarantine, it can be difficult to try new things and connect. Enter the Marketers in PJs Slack channel. Join our crew and ask fellow marketers and writers questions about marketing, job advice and listings, and the latest social media trends. DM me if you want to chat about Clubhouse!
