Clubhouse App: Understanding and mastering your brand or message
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Clubhouse is the latest social media platform that is growing faster than most people realize. Just because it’s an audio-only app, don’t let that deter you from realizing the power this can add to your online presence.
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Table of contents
Introduction
Clubhouse is a new social media platform that is growing significantly. Business owners are already seeing the benefits of being members of Clubhouse and it is helping them to build their brand. It is unlikely that you are a member of Clubhouse yet as you need an invitation to join. This guide will prepare you for marketing success with Clubhouse.
In this tutorial, you will learn how Clubhouse can help you with your business, branding or just your message. You will also learn what you need to do in order to be ready for your Clubhouse marketing. Learning and understanding exactly how Clubhouse works is very important especially the rooms and clubs.
You must approach your membership of Clubhouse in the right way to see the best results. This starts with the creation of a compelling Clubhouse profile which you will learn how to do in this guide. We will also show you the best ways to develop your brand on Clubhouse and build a large following.
What Is Clubhouse?
Clubhouse is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms. It is an audio-only app that is currently available to users of Apple iOS and Android devices. The social audio app started in 2020 and has become a platform for leaders in their field, top influencers, celebrities and more to hold audio group chats.
These audio group chats are uncensored and the speakers can talk about anything from their lives, their work, their visions, their industries and their interests. At the time of writing this guide, Clubhouse is a free-to-join app. When it first went live, you were only able to become a Clubhouse member if invited. Now they’ve thrown the doors open, and this is the perfect time to take advantage of this powerful app.
Clubhouse has grown significantly
The initial launch of Clubhouse was in March, 2020. It is the brainchild of Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth. Both of these guys used to work at Google and Davidson also worked at Pinterest. They created Clubhouse after performing some experiments with social media apps.
At first, Clubhouse was marketed to some top-tier influencers, industry thought leaders, investors from Silicon Valley and celebrities. Now they have opened the app up to members of the public. Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk were two of the biggest names to join Clubhouse.
Growth of the Clubhouse platform has been incredible. In December 2020 it had a membership of around 600,000. Now there are more than 10 million active Clubhouse members. There has been an investment of $12 million into the platform so it is here to stay.
It is still early days for Clubhouse and they do not have that many users compared to the giants of social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Despite this, there is an opportunity for you to reach out to your target audience here. When they make the app available to everyone without an invitation then we predict it will grow significantly.
Now that people can invite others to the platform it is going to continue to grow at a rapid rate. The app is also now available for Android devices which is going to help growth. Initially, it was only available for iOS devices.
Launch or Join Rooms
As a user of Clubhouse, you will be able to create your own “rooms” or join other people’s rooms as an audience member. You can use a room to communicate with people that you know and also your target audience.
Rooms in Clubhouse is where all of the audio conversations take place. When you enter someone else’s room, you will see everyone that is currently participating. Each room will have at least one moderator, and you can identify these people by a green star next to them.
Stages and Speakers
Within every room is a stage. You will be able to see those that have the right to speak on the stage (known as speakers). It is possible to distinguish between those speakers that have the microphone right now and those that are currently muted awaiting their turn to speak.
When you see all of the individuals that are participating in a room, some will have a “party” emoji next to them. This signifies that they are new to the platform. If you tap on any of the participants you will be taken to their profile on Clubhouse. Having a good profile is essential and we will discuss this later in the guide.
Your Followers can see what Rooms you are in
Later on, we will discuss how you can build a good following on Clubhouse. When you enter a room, your followers will be able to see this. They will also be able to see the speakers that you can see. If anyone taps on your name then they will view your profile.
With Clubhouse you have the possibility of networking with other members that are interested in the same things that you are. This is great for niche marketing. You can follow others in a room and they can follow you.
Leave Quietly
Once you are ready to leave a room there is a link available that allows you to leave quietly. Maybe you only want to listen to one speaker in a room. When they have finished speaking you can quietly leave. You have to option to raise your hand to speak if you want to when you are in a room.
Clubhouse Hallway
Although Clubhouse is different to other social media platforms, it has a “hallway” which you can think of as your newsfeed home page. Here you will be able to see an overview of what is going on in rooms where you have an interest.
On your hallway page there is also a search field where you can search for what you want. If you have received any messages from other members these will be in your inbox. On the hallway page, there is also a calendar as well as icons for notifications.
Clubhouse Search
You can use the search or “explore” feature in Clubhouse to use keywords to find specific rooms. The results are in the form of a feed which will suggest related rooms and clubs for you. Use the search feature to find specific people as well as specific clubs.
Clubhouse Clubs
One of the best things about Clubhouse is the ability to create or join clubs. These are mini-communities within Clubhouse that have an interest in a specific niche, industry, hobbies, and more.
When you perform a search for clubs you will be able to see the title of the club, the number of members that it has, and the number of followers. When you join any of these clubs, you will receive notifications from the managers when they launch a specific room to discuss the subject of the community.
In the next section, we will discuss how Clubhouse is different to other social media platforms.
Clubhouse Is Different From Other Social Platforms
If you are expecting Clubhouse to be similar to other social media websites, then you are going to be disappointed. There are a lot of differences between Clubhouse and the other major platforms. In this chapter we will look to see how Clubhouse compares with 4 of the largest social media sites:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
It was never the intention of the founders of Clubhouse to be like these other social platforms. This is a good thing too, as you can use all of your social media platforms with Clubhouse to supercharge your campaigns or marketing.
Clubhouse is a new platform and there are bound to be some enhancements to it as time goes on. But we don’t believe that it will ever look similar to the social media platforms that you are probably used to.
Clubhouse is only available for Mobile (for now)
With the other four major social platforms that we have mentioned above, you can access them using a mobile device or a desktop or laptop computer. This is not the case for Clubhouse. Right now, you can only use Clubhouse if you have an iOS or Android mobile device.
The app for Android has not been available for that long. For the first few month’s people could only use Clubhouse if they had an Apple iOS device. As far as we can ascertain, there are no immediate plans to make Clubhouse available to desktop and laptop users.
No Business Profiles permitted (for now)
At the present time, you cannot create a business profile or page on Clubhouse as you can with the other four social platforms. You have to use your real name when you become a member of Clubhouse. If you have an alias that you use on other social platforms then you can mention this in your profile.
We do not see this as a major barrier. In time, we do expect Clubhouse to permit the use of the platform for businesses. There has been a lot of money invested in the platform so far and there will need to be some monetization methods implemented at some stage. The investors are going to require a return on their investment.
Only Audio Content permitted
With the other four platforms, you can make text posts, image posts, and video posts. These are not permitted on Clubhouse. It is a social audio platform and we do not believe that this is going to change. The audio content is what makes the Clubhouse platform stand out from the rest.
It is very likely that other social platforms are looking at the success and fast growth of Clubhouse and will want to offer an audio option as well. We cannot say if or when this will happen but it is probably going to.
Clubhouse does not have Messaging (for now)
Unlike the other four social platforms, you will not find a messaging app in Clubhouse. It is possible for a member of Clubhouse to make contact with other members but this is not the same as Facebook Messenger for example. Clubhouse encourages people to get together in rooms and clubs.
No Newsfeed with Clubhouse (for now)
When you login to Clubhouse you are not going to find a newsfeed as you do with the other four major social platforms. What you will see is an overview of what is happening in rooms that are related to your interests.
The home page of Clubhouse is your “hallway” and from here you can join rooms where there are audio events you are interested in. You can also use the search feature in your hallway to find other rooms and clubs of interest and to find other members by name.
No Minimum or Maximum Content Restrictions
You can add as little or as much audio content as you want with Clubhouse. With the other platforms, there are limits to the amount of content that you can post. Twitter is the most restrictive of all as you probably know.
If you want to talk for 10 minutes or for 24 hours on Clubhouse you can. They will not impose a time limit on any of the rooms that members create. Not having any restrictions is a good thing and sets Clubhouse apart from the other platforms.
Clubhouse is like an Event Venue
Clubhouse is different to the other social platforms in that it is more like an event venue. There are rooms, stages, speakers, moderators and so on. The other platforms do not really have anything like this.
Of course, you could run a Facebook Live session for example with different features, but you will not have any moderators there. Members of Clubhouse expect to join and create rooms. So, the event venue scenario is acceptable to them. With the other social platforms, there is always a lot of other things going on which can be a big distraction.
Clubhouse doesn’t offer Paid Advertising (but they kinda do)
At the time of writing this tutorial, there were no paid advertising opportunities with Clubhouse. This is very different to the other four social platforms which all have paid advertising. Clubhouse is going to have to add this feature at some stage or find another way to generate revenue. There are currently no monetization methods on the platform.
The investors are going to demand that the founders of Clubhouse find a way to monetize the platform. Nothing has been decided yet as far as we are aware. How paid advertising would work with Clubhouse is unknown at the moment. This past spring they began discussing adding it as a feature, and they know make it possible for users to send their favorite creators like a virtual tip jar.
In the next section, we will discuss how to use the basic features of Clubhouse.
Clubhouse Basic Features: How To Use It
For you to get the best results with Clubhouse you need to know how to use it properly. In this section, we will go over the basic features and explain step by step what you need to do. There is quite a bit to learn so you need to be patient.
Download the app and sign up
Now that it’s free to join Clubhouse, there’s no longer waiting to have an invite. You just download the app from your usual spots, and if you have a Twitter account, you can connect this to your account so you’ll have all the same profile information. This will include your Twitter user name, your picture and other info. You don’t have to join them, but if you want to connect your social media platforms, it’s very easy.
Choose your interests
Clubhouse needs to know what you are interested in so that it can serve up the most useful rooms and clubs in your hallway. They will provide you with a long list of subjects that you can choose from. You can select your interests later if you want, but we recommend that you do this right away.
Once you have selected your interests, Clubhouse will request that you access your contacts and use your chosen interests to identify others that you might know and some influencers that would be worth your time following.
Your Profile
The next step in the process is to complete your profile. This is so important that we will go into more detail about how to set this up correctly in another chapter. For now, we will cover the basics. We have already mentioned that you can use an existing Twitter account to set up your Clubhouse profile.
If you do not have a Twitter account then you will need to set up your profile manually. You will need to add a good description that tells others about your industry, your interests, your hobbies and so on. Add a good photograph of yourself to your profile.
It is unclear at the moment how much influence the description in your profile has on the Clubhouse search feature. We recommend that you assume your description will help you to be discovered during a search. You want to give yourself the best possible chance of being discovered by other members.
You can link your Instagram and Twitter accounts to your Clubhouse profile. If you have accounts on these platforms then this is very easy to do. After adding the links to your profiles there will be 2 icons appear in your profile beneath your description.
Check out your Hallway
As we have already explained, the home page of Clubhouse is quite different from what you may be used to with other social platforms. It is called your hallway and you will find active rooms displayed here.
If you have joined any clubs or followed any of the rooms in Clubhouse then you will see some of these displayed at the top of your hallway page. Right at the top of your hallway page, you will see the main menu options. Here is what you can do from this main menu section:
Use the explore or search function to find other members, clubs and rooms using a keyword or a specific name
Invite someone that you know to become a Clubhouse member
Check your calendar which will have information about upcoming rooms that may interest you
Read any notifications that you have received
Edit your profile (or just view it)
One thing that you need to be aware of is that no icon exists in the Clubhouse app for your hallway page. To get back to it from any other page you will need to tap on the back button until you find it.
Find Users, Clubs and Rooms
If the information on your hallway page does not interest you right now, you can use the explore (search) feature in Clubhouse by tapping on the magnifying glass icon. Here you can enter the name of a member that you are looking for, or perform a keyword search for rooms or clubs that interest you.
All profiles on Clubhouse are public so if the person that you are looking for is a member then they will show up when you search for them. You will then see information about the person that is pulled from their bio.
Invite others to join Clubhouse
When you become a full member of Clubhouse, they will allocate a number of invitations to you. This is likely to be one or two to start with. In order to invite someone that you know to join Clubhouse, they must exist as a contact on your phone. You also need to give Clubhouse permission to access your contacts.
Once you have set everything up to invite others you will see your phone contacts displayed in a list. You can select someone from this list and send them an invitation to join. Your contact will receive a text message from Clubhouse telling them that you have sent them the invite. It will also tell them to use the right phone number when they choose to accept your invitation.
Using your Clubhouse Calendar
The purpose of the Clubhouse calendar is to show you what rooms are upcoming in the future. If you do not currently have the time to join a room at the moment, you can tap on the calendar icon to see what rooms will be coming soon.
All of the rooms in the calendar will be tailored to your interests. You can scroll through the calendar and when you see a room that you would like to listen to you can tap on the notification symbol.
This will ensure that you will receive an alert on your phone when the event is due to start. It is also possible for you to share this event on social media.
Check your Notifications
There is a bell icon in your main menu at the top of your hallway page and this is for your notifications.
You can receive a notification for a variety of reasons. Here are the most common types of notification:
You will be notified when another member follows you
You will be notified when a member you are connected with is speaking in a room that is likely to be of interest to you
You will be notified when one of your connections invites you to an active room they think you will be interested in
You will be notified when someone that you are following or a club that you follow schedules a room to start
Your Clubhouse Settings
You can access your Clubhouse settings through your profile. Here you will see a gear icon in the top right corner and when you tap on this you will open your settings page. One of the things that you can change to suit your requirements is your notifications.
On the settings page you can specify the following:
How often you receive notifications
Whether or not your notifications should include trending rooms
Pause your notifications if you want to
From your settings page you will also have access to the following:
A detailed FAQ
Guidelines for communities
Terms of service
Privacy policy
Support (reporting an incident)
If you discover a problem with Clubhouse, then we recommend that you report this immediately. While it is likely that they will have fixed most of the bugs by now, you could experience a new problem. Reporting this will help the founders to improve the platform.
In the next section, we will discuss how to use Clubhouse rooms and clubs.
How To Use Clubhouse Rooms and Clubs
Now that you know how to use the basic features of Clubhouse, it is time to learn how to use rooms and clubs. This is really where the magic happens in the app. To put rooms in perspective, imagine attending a large convention and being able to see different conversations going on in different rooms. Clubhouse attempts to emulate this scenario.
Viewing Clubhouse Rooms
You can stroll down these imaginary corridors and see various rooms right from your hallway. Each room has a name and you can check out some of the people in each room. It is also possible to see who the speakers are and the total number of people in a room.
All of the rooms that appear in your hallway are public. They are available for anyone to enter.
Alternatively, you can create a private room where you can invite one or more of your connections so that you can talk in private.
When you want to invite people to your private room for a chat, you can see who is available right now by swiping left on your hallway. You will see everyone available here and whether they are online or not and which rooms they are in (if they are in a room). There are different roles that you can play in rooms.
An App Listener
When you first become a member of Clubhouse you will be a listener. You will not have access to a microphone in a room but you will be able to listen to room conversations as they unfold. It’s a good idea to become a member of the audience at first so that you get a feel for everything.
While you are listening in a room you can always tap on anyone else in the room (either a speaker or audience member). The reason for doing this is that you may want to follow up with them and make a connection afterward.
As a listener or a member of the audience, you will see an “all rooms” option that you can tap on at the top of your screen. This will take you back to your hallway where you can check out other rooms that have started without having to leave your current room.
This is a really good feature of Clubhouse. You are able to minimize the Clubhouse app and do other things without having to give up your place in a room. The conversation will continue as you are doing other things so you will not miss out on anything.
Clubhouse Speaker
As a speaker in a Clubhouse room, you will have the ability to use your microphone and mute it as necessary. While there is another person speaking it is always courtesy to put your microphone on mute. If you leave your microphone unmuted then there may be background noises that will distract the speaker.
After you have finished your speaking session, be sure to wait for a couple of seconds before muting your microphone. The last thing that you want to do is to cut off the end of your speech which is possible because there could be a lag between you and the people that are listening to you.
A moderator will run each room and there are likely to be different rules applied depending on the subject matter. If the room is very large then the moderator is likely to only invite a limited number of people to the stage. They will probably request that you keep any comments or questions down to a couple of minutes.
It is important that every question is addressed in a room and the moderators have the control to move you back into the main audience after you have asked your question and received an answer. They will then move on with the next question.
Interviews tend to take place in smaller rooms. In this scenario, it is likely that you will only be able to listen to the interview. A moderator can also make the room more open by inviting the entire audience to the stage so that they can speak in turn.
Room Moderators
If you want to be a moderator of a Clubhouse room, then you have two options available:
Start your own new room
Have a moderator in an existing room you are in upgrade you from a speaker to a moderator
As a moderator you will be able to do the following:
Allow or not allow members of the audience to raise their hands to speak
Invite anyone from the audience to speak
Accept requests from audience members to speak
Upgrade other speakers to moderators
Mute the microphones of other speakers
Move speakers back to the main audience
When you are a room moderator you can help to direct the tone of the conversation. You will have a strong influence over the conversation and the energy generated within the room. It is important that you make the right decisions as a moderator. Are you going for a structured or an open room? What criteria will you use to select new speakers?
It can be a big commitment being a moderator as you will need to be available in the room for as long as it remains open. You can play your part by reviving a flagging conversation by inviting questions. If your room is getting a bit chaotic then you can bring order to it to maintain the audience.
Stages in a Room
You need to be aware of the different stages in a room. When you first enter you will see the owner of the room, the moderators and the speakers near the top. This is the main stage. All of the speakers here will share the main stage.
Directly below the speakers on the main stage is the first row of the audience. This has a name “followed by the speakers”. This stage will highlight members who have already had interactions with the speakers and have begun to build relationships.
Below this “front row,” you will see the remainder of the audience. These are the other people in the room that are just listening to the conversation. A phrase that you will need to get used to is “pull to refresh” or “PTR”. This is because Clubhouse allows people to just drop in and chat whenever they want.
Another reason for this phrase is when a speaker has temporarily changed their profile picture to show another image which is important for the room. A moderator will call out “PTR” so that you can pull down the room screen to refresh it with what is currently going on.
Clubhouse Clubs
A club is a community set up on Clubhouse. It is possible to start a room with a club as either a private or a public event. Only club members will be permitted to attend a private room. Anyone can join a public room.
If you want to create your own club then you have to commit to hosting a minimum of one recurring conversation. You can host as many conversations as you want that are not recurring. To make a club founder request, you have to host your first 3 recurring meetups and then fill out a specific request to start your own club.
Four different types of Club membership
The Founder – this is the owner of the club. As a founder, you can change the description of a club and the club rules. You can also invite members to join your club without the need to make a request or wait for approval.
Admin – a club founder can appoint other admins. A club admin can approve new members and remove existing ones. They can also open private or public rooms.
Members – a member is someone that has been approved to join the club. As a member, you can create a private room but not a public one. They can nominate other members of Clubhouse to join the club and also participate in public and private rooms.
Followers – a club follower is not an official member. They can follow the activities of a club but they will not be able to create any rooms. Followers receive notifications about any public rooms that the founder or admins schedule.
At the moment, Clubhouse only permits their members to open one club at a time. They do this
because they do not want members to spread themselves too thinly. It is also to avoid clubs becoming dormant. The waiting time to establish a new club is around two weeks.
In the next section, we will discuss how to set up your Clubhouse profile.
Maximizing Your Clubhouse Profile
Your Clubhouse profile is essential for your success. You need to set up your profile in the right way so that you show your audience exactly what you want to be known for. The information that you add to your bio is pivotal to how you are discovered in the member directory. It is so important that we decided to dedicate a complete chapter on setting up your profile.
Most people do not pay much attention to their bios on social media. But if you want to be successful with Clubhouse then you must invest the right amount of thought, creativity and time into the creation of your bio. This is your chance to stand out from the crowd.
Having a great Clubhouse bio will help you to develop your following (more on this later). By thinking through the message that you want to portray, and paying attention to detail when it comes to including keywords, you can make your Clubhouse bio the best it can be. So, let’s get started…
Use the Best Photograph
It is critical that you use the best possible photograph of yourself in your Clubhouse bio. You probably already have a number of photographs, so you need to review these to see if they are good enough for your bio. If they are not, you need to take a new photograph of yourself.
What should you look out for when choosing a photograph of yourself for your Clubhouse bio? Follow these guidelines and you won’t go wrong:
Your photograph needs to show you smiling and show your complete face in the center of the frame
It is essential that your photograph looks good in different sizes. Your bio photo will appear throughout the Clubhouse app. Sometimes your name will be associated with it and sometimes not. You need to ensure that your photo is as clear as possible
Use a background for your photo that is clear and has contrasting colors. Clubhouse has a white to an off-white background and it can also be a light beige color. These are good neutral colors that will help your photograph to stand out.
Choose a bright background for your photograph as this can really make it stand out from the vast number of other photographs on the Clubhouse app
If you need to go to a professional photographer and invest a little money to have the perfect Clubhouse bio photo then do that. They will have a number of different backgrounds that you can choose from. Show them the app on your phone so that they know which background will work the best for you.
Create a great Description
It goes without saying that the description you create for your bio needs to be great. You get a lot of room in your bio to write a full description. Be aware that the first 125 characters or so (the first 3 lines) are the most important. This is because these are used as a bio preview in Clubhouse rooms.
The editor for your bio description is plain-text. This means that you cannot mark it up in any way and you cannot add hyperlinks. It is not easy to add emojis to your bio description either. You need to get creative here to compensate for this.
Importance of the First 3 Lines
We have already told you that the first 3 lines of your bio are the most critical in your Clubhouse bio. The preview screen will show your bio photograph, the number of members that are following you, the number of members that you are following, and the first 3 lines of your bio description.
So, you need to think about how you can tell people who you are and what you stand for in those first 3 lines. The rest of your description is important, but nowhere near as important as those first 3 lines.
Think about what you are able to offer others when you are creating the first 3 lines of your bio.
Clubhouse is a networking app and you always need to be thinking about what value you can add to the community. When other members read your preview, they need to know what you can offer them. If your first 3 lines are weak then they will find someone else to follow.
Tips for a Great Clubhouse Bio
Although there is no limit on how long your bio can be, don’t get carried away with this. Just because your bio is longer than the majority of others does not mean that you become more appealing. The quality of the information that you provide is much more important than how long your bio is.
Here are our top tips to creating an awesome Clubhouse bio:
Always think “what’s in it for them”. Ensure that your profile highlights the value that you will bring to the conversation
You can add a link to your bio, other than Twitter and Instagram, but it will not be clickable. So, when you are adding a link, you want to ensure that this is memorable. There is no way for other members to copy and paste your link. Get a short and memorable domain name that you can add to your Clubhouse bio
Create a list of the subjects that you are interested in discussing. This will tell other members what kinds of conversations appeal to you and would like to be invited to discuss
We are sure that the Clubhouse search feature uses keywords in member bios to find them. Add related keywords to your bio to help other members discover you. Avoid keyword stuffing at all costs
Use an external app to create your bio description first (see below)
Get the Format Right
We recommend that you use an external application such as notepad to write your Clubhouse bio description. This will help you to get the formatting right so that it will look great on Clubhouse.
Nobody wants to see a bio description that is just one large block of text.
Make your bio stand out by using emojis. Again, you need to do this in an external editor because the Clubhouse editor doesn’t provide you with a way to add emojis to your description. The use of emojis will certainly make your profile stand out. Be sure to use them in the first 2 to 3 lines of your description.
Another way to make your profile stand out is to use bold and italic markup. Again, you do not want to go crazy with this. Identify key places in your description (like the first 3 lines for example) where you can use bold and italic for the best impact.
In the next section, we will discuss the advantages of Clubhouse for building your brand.
Clubhouse Advantage For Your Brand
Clubhouse provides you with the opportunity to build your brand and in this chapter, we will explain why this is the case. A lot of marketers are unable to see the marketing power that Clubhouse can provide as it is different to other social media platforms. Once you know the advantages of using Clubhouse for your brand marketing there will be no stopping you.
Be Prepared for Marketing on Clubhouse
You need to think about the strategies that you will use to get the best results from Clubhouse.
Preparation is very important and those that fail to prepare will prepare to fail. These are the most important things that you have to know before you begin your Clubhouse marketing journey:
You need to know your audience
You need to decide what value you are going to provide to your Clubhouse audience
Use these first two things to decide on the type of conversations you want to have on Clubhouse
Clubhouse is not the kind of social media app where you can just add a post with a link back to your website. It requires you to be creative and strategic. It is unlikely that you will achieve a lot of short-term gains with Clubhouse so set your sights on the long-term.
Building Trust and a Community
Your target audience is always going to favor individuals and companies that provide authentic and trustworthy messages. The fact that your company may have been around for decades doesn’t matter that much anymore.
In these current times, your audience wants to be sure that you care about them and that you will share your values with them. By starting a Clubhouse room where you discuss everything about your brand in an uncensored way, you will come across as a lot more authentic and trustworthy.
Clubhouse provides you with the opportunity to participate in live conversations in a community space. It is OK to be vulnerable in these spaces. You can deliver audio content to both large and small groups of your target audience. There are no scripts and anyone can join in.
Making yourself open and available to your target audience is going to help with the building of trust. You are willing to talk candidly about your industry and your brand and your audience will really appreciate that. This is not something that all brands will be prepared to do.
Prove you are a Thought Leader
The Clubhouse app was based on thought leaders and influencers. This means that your target audience will want to listen to new ideas, insider information and join in discussions with experts in their niche.
Being a thought leader will boost your credibility and standing in your niche. So, you need to grab the Clubhouse opportunity with both hands. Be willing to share your expertise and your thoughts on how the niche will change.
Your Audience wants Audio Content
Videos are a great way to get your message across to your target audience, but after a while, watching a lengthy webinar can be mentally draining. More people are checking out podcasts these days and even webinars with no visual content.
One of the major advantages of using Clubhouse is that it provides a break from the continuous screen time that is forced down people’s throats these days. Your target audience will always crave personal connections and will want to attend live events. Clubhouse makes this easy for them to do this.
Networking and Collaboration
The Clubhouse app has a wide variety of rooms and clubs on virtually any subject that members are interested in. It is highly likely that you will be able to find rooms and clubs that are related to your niche where you can network and collaborate.
You can be strategic with the way that you use Clubhouse for your marketing. Getting to know club founders and moderators can certainly help with the development of your brand. By choosing the right Clubhouse rooms you can speak to the right people that are going to provide you with the most value.
Provide your Expertise and Support
It is best if you view Clubhouse as an easy and free way to provide value to your target audience. You can also use it to build trust with new audiences. Have the mindset that you need to give before you can take when you are using Clubhouse for your marketing.
Be prepared to offer your expertise in your niche to Clubhouse members. Provide your support to them by helping them connect with your audience. When you are seen as someone who always gives a lot to the Clubhouse community you will be able to achieve the results that you want.
Create your own Community
Clubhouse provides you with the opportunity to hold discussions with your existing customers and your target audience by creating a community. Make sure that you provide value for your community by sharing your knowledge and exchanging tips.
Clubhouse provides Opportunity to Set Expectations
You are able to clearly set expectations for other Clubhouse members about what you will deliver in your conversations. It is really important that you clarify what other members can expect from you when you are leading discussions.
By setting the right expectations it will help your target audience to understand the context of your message better. His helps to ensure that your followers know what to expect from you which will help you to engage better with them.
Use Clubhouse for Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Clubhouse is ideal for word-of-mouth marketing and raising the awareness of brands. When you can sell your story effectively on Clubhouse this will increase your chances of more rewards through your social connections.
Take the opportunity to sponsor a room as your brand. This will put you in the driving seat and enable you to tell your story. Clubhouse offers a really unique way for your target audience to engage with your brand.
Get Valuable Feedback
You can use Clubhouse to obtain valuable feedback about your brand. For example, you can set up a room to pitch a new product or service that you are launching. Others in the room will provide you with their opinions which will help you to perfect your new product or service.
If you are currently experiencing a problem with your business, you can start a room to discuss this. It is likely that others have experienced the same problem in their business and will be willing to provide you with constructive feedback and advice on how to overcome the problem.
Tap into Trends
It’s a good idea to consider Clubhouse as a way that you can listen in to the social buzz. By following influencers in your niche, you can pick up on the latest trends. You can also keep an eye on your competitors on the platform.
Make it your businesses to immerse yourself in conversations that are related to your niche. In this way you can gain a better understanding of the needs and wants of your target audience. It will not take you long to notice emerging trends in your niche when you are up to date with the latest news. You need to stay relevant with your brand.
Connect with Investors
If you are looking for investment in your business then Clubhouse is a great way to connect with potential investors. There are venture capitalists that are already Clubhouse members. This provides you with the opportunity to get in front of these people and pitch your business to them.
Start a room where you will share all of the relevant information about your business. Invite investors to your room and take note of the feedback that you get. This will help you to adjust your pitch and also to tweak your business plan if this is necessary.
In the next section, we will discuss Clubhouse marketing tactics.
Proven Clubhouse Marketing Tactics
Now that you are aware how Clubhouse can help you develop your brand, it is time to introduce some marketing tactics that have worked well for others that are members of this audio social community. Remember that Clubhouse is relatively new, so other strategies will emerge that you can monitor on Clubhouse to see how effective they are.
A good Clubhouse marketing strategy is one that encourages engagement from your target audience. You need to use marketing tactics that will enable you to really connect with your listeners and set you apart as an expert and a thought leader in your niche.
The Clubhouse app provides you with the opportunity to reach out to new audiences and build good relationships. Clubhouse marketing should definitely be part of your brand strategy and here are some effective tactics that you can use:
Join Relevant Rooms and Conversations
You will get nowhere with Clubhouse marketing if you are just a passive listener. The chances are that you will learn a lot from just listening and we recommend that you do spend some time doing that.
But speaking out is the name of the game here. When you speak out it is the easiest way to gain exposure for your brand and build greater awareness of it.
To get the best results from Clubhouse you need to be as active as possible. Identify rooms that are relevant to your niche and get involved. Take the opportunity to be on the stage and have your say.
This doesn’t mean that you need to talk for the sake of talking. You need to have something of interest to say and add value to all conversations.
When you are just starting out with Clubhouse, we recommend that you avoid the rooms that have thousands of members in them and go for the smaller rooms. You are more likely to be invited to the stage to speak in a smaller room.
You will need to use the “raise your hand” feature to be noticed by the moderators who will evaluate your potential to add value to the conversation. This is where having a great profile comes into play.
Start a Niche Related Room
Starting your own rooms on Clubhouse will get you the best results. If you have any fears about doing this then work on overcoming them as it is so important that you start your own rooms. The audience will instantly perceive you as an authority and an expert when you start your own room.
It is really easy to start a new room on Clubhouse. Navigate to your hallway and you will see the “Start a Room” link at the bottom of the screen. Tap on this and then select “+Add a Topic” so that you can give your room a name (there is a 60 character limit here).
Now you will need to choose from the following 3 options:
Make your room “public” – anyone can join your room
Make your room “social” – only members that you follow can attend
Make your room “closed” where only you can select the members to attend
After this you are ready to go. We recommend that you promote your new room on your other social profiles. Don’t forget to inform people of the subject of your room and the date and time that it will open.
Learn how to Moderate a Room for Best Results
You will get the best results from Clubhouse marketing by starting your own rooms. It is essential that you know how to moderate your rooms effectively. Follow these tips to make every room that you start a success:
Make it very clear what the purpose of your room is
Be prepared to add additional insight to tips, suggestions and comments made by others
People can join a room at any time so restate the purpose of your room every 15 minutes or so
When you invite people on to the stage to speak, mention the experience that they have that is relevant to the subject
Keep your room moving at all times
If you have a large room then get a few more moderators involved to help manage it
Collaborate with Influencers
You have the option to co-host a room on Clubhouse. So, you can find experts in your niche that will be willing to co-host a room with you. These experts or influencers will have their own audiences and this is a great way for you to tap into them.
The collaboration on Clubhouse is all about sharing the microphone. Your audience will appreciate this as it is likely to lead to greater diversity of thought. This is a great way to build the necessary traction that you need to succeed in your niche.
It is best that you plan a co-hosting event in advance. Talk with the other host(s) and discuss the main talking points. Take the opportunity to see their point of view here. You want your co-hosting event to be a win-win for all involved.
Use Brand Ambassadors
If you are part of a company, you can identify other people that would be good brand ambassadors on the Clubhouse platform. You need to encourage them to become a member of Clubhouse and participate in relevant rooms and join relevant clubs.
The other company members that you invite to join Clubhouse will all need to complete their profiles properly. You can help them to do this with the knowledge that you now have. Make sure that they describe what role they play in your company.
You can get a good start here by encouraging your new brand ambassadors to start new rooms around your niche. Explain to them that their talk is not to be over promotional. Instead, they need to discuss the problems that the target audience has and how they can overcome them.
Make Announcements on Clubhouse
Tell the Clubhouse community that your company is launching a new product or service. The best way to do this is to start a new room that you dedicate to new announcements. Think of this as a live press release.
You want to invite as many of your target audience as you can to your new room announcing your product launch. Use your other social media profiles to spread the word about this. If you have an email list then send a broadcast email about it.
Start a Roundtable
You can start “roundtable” rooms where you will discuss the problems and issues that your target audience is experiencing in your niche and tell them how your brand can help. When a roundtable room is done right, it will attract a large audience who will derive a lot of value from it.
Bear in mind here that you mustn’t be “over promotional” in your roundtable rooms. Clubhouse was not designed for this and you do not want to get flagged for doing this. The aim of your roundtable needs to be to focus on solving problems for your audience. Be clear what you will discuss.
Knowing your target audience well is crucial here. You want to create roundtables about problems you know a lot of them are experiencing. Explain how you overcame these problems and talk about the solutions that you have to help your audience do the same.
In the next section, we will discuss how to grow your followers on Clubhouse.
How To Grow Your Clubhouse Followers
In order to promote your brand more on Clubhouse it is necessary for you to grow your following. At the end of the day, if you want more followers on the Clubhouse app you need to be as active as possible. Following more Clubhouse members is a good thing to do as is joining in on room discussions and hosting your own rooms.
Here are some effective ways to increase your following on Clubhouse:
Take a More Active Role
The number one way to increase your following on Clubhouse is to be more active. This means to host several events on the platform and invite as many users as you can. You can also participate in different rooms that are related to your niche as a speaker.
It is all about putting yourself out there so that other Clubhouse members can get to know you. After you have been active for a while on Clubhouse, you will have the opportunity to create your own club (community).
Provide Your Audience with Value
Some people jump on to Clubhouse and then start to show off about what they know and who they are. They try to pitch their products and services regularly and end up getting nowhere. Don’t be tempted to do this. Make your focus adding value to other users of the Clubhouse app.
If you are in a room and have a question to ask then keep it as brief as possible. Don’t waste people’s time by going on and on about something. For people to like and trust you on Clubhouse you need to add to conversations.
Hosting a room is something that we would definitely recommend. But when you are doing this then make sure that it is not just a pitch for your products and services. Provide a great deal of value first and then get in a small pitch afterwards.
Prepare a Brief Announcement
Each time that you speak in a Clubhouse room you want to tell the audience who you are. The secret here is keeping it brief. Nobody wants to listen to you rattle through your entire CV. Just announce who you are, what you do and where others can find you.
Get In Clubhouse Early
Clubhouse is growing at a significant rate but it is still a relatively new social app. Do whatever you have to do to get in right now. Don’t think that waiting to “identify the territory” is a good idea because it isn’t. Get in now so that you can establish yourself as an authority in your niche.
If your niche is popular then there will be other experts making an appearance sooner or later. When you get in early you can defend yourself from being overwhelmed with new influencers. Build up your following as early as you can.
Create an Awesome Profile
We have dedicated an entire section in this guide to creating an awesome profile so read every word and put this into practice. It is essential that your profile stands out as this will help you to gain new followers on Clubhouse. Be sure to add a link to your website in your profile.
Start to Follow Related Clubs
You cannot be a speaker in a club until you are nominated to do so. Start to follow related clubs so that you get noticed. After a while you should be nominated to join a club. This allows you to host rooms in that club. Clubhouse will tell everyone about you speaking in this club which will help to increase your following.
Hosting Rooms to gain more Followers
Hosting rooms on Clubhouse is one of the most powerful ways to gain more followers. You need to do everything that you can to entice members to show up in the rooms that you host. Use these 5 tactics to increase the size of your room audiences:
Schedule your rooms in advance and then use your other social media profiles and your email list to promote each room
Make the description of your room compelling. Be clear on what you will discuss and why it is important
Invite experts to be co-hosts – the right influencer can bring a huge audience with them
Get the timing right – keep your room on track and do not go on longer than a couple of hours
Be a good moderator – tell people about the subject of your room every 15 minutes or so and reset it. Run your room professionally and you will get a lot of respect and more followers
Engage your Audience
Here you will need to use all of your people skills. The first thing to remember is to be polite to all of the Clubhouse members. They will start to like you and then follow you. Be sure to thank other members when they make a contribution.
Set expectations and be consistent. People like to know where they stand with you and expect you to be consistent with your content. If you like talking then control yourself and do not talk too much. Always be respectful of other people’s time.
In the final section, we will discuss the Clubhouse marketing best practices that you must follow.
Clubhouse Marketing Best Practices
If you want to be successful with Clubhouse marketing in the fastest possible time, then you need to follow these 8 best practices. Many people make a lot of mistakes with Clubhouse, and if you follow these best practices, you can avoid these and successfully develop your brand.
Understand What Clubhouse Is All About
Clubhouse is not the same as other social media platforms. It is an audio only platform that is only available for iOS and Android devices. Since its launch in 2020, Clubhouse has grown significantly. It now has more than 10 million active users every month.
You need to know about rooms and clubs. Join a room that is related to your niche or create your own room. There is a stage in every room where you can speak. People that follow you will see what rooms you are in. Your homepage is your “hallway” and you can search from here. A club is a mini community on Clubhouse.
Clubhouse Is Different From Other Platforms
You need to understand that Clubhouse is different to other social media platforms. There are no business profiles allowed on Clubhouse and you have to use your own name. It is not possible to post any other type of content other than audio. There is no app for messaging within Clubhouse.
Don’t expect a newsfeed with Clubhouse like you get on Facebook or other social platforms. Your hallway will recommend rooms that you can join. There are no restrictions on content at Clubhouse. You cannot run ads on Clubhouse. It is best to consider Clubhouse as an event venue which is different to other social platforms.
Master the Clubhouse Basics
It is essential that you know your way around the Clubhouse app. The first thing to know is that you have to be invited to join Clubhouse. You will need to choose your interests and complete your profile. Get familiar with your hallway page and use the search feature to find other users, rooms and clubs that interest you.
Once you are a Clubhouse member you will be able to invite others. Use your Clubhouse calendar to see what is coming up in the near future. Check your notifications on Clubhouse and get used to all of the setting that the app has.
Know how to use Rooms and Clubs Properly
Rooms and clubs is what makes Clubhouse tick. You need to know how to view rooms and join them. Start off by being a listener in rooms then migrate to becoming a speaker. Learn about moderators and what they do. Understand how the stage works in a room. Understand the power of clubs and what you have to do to become a member and create your own club.
Setup your Clubhouse Profile correctly
Your Clubhouse profile is critical for the success of your marketing. Use the best possible photograph of yourself and be sure to create an enticing description. The first 3 lines of your description are the most important. Always think about “what is in it for them” when creating your profile and use the most effective formatting.
Clubhouse Advantages for Brand Building
You need to be prepared to get the best results from your Clubhouse marketing. Use Clubhouse to build trust and create a community. Demonstrate that you are a thought leader and provide the best audio content. Networking and collaboration are important for success. Always be prepared to offer your expertise and support.
Create your own community on Clubhouse and set expectations. Clubhouse is a great platform for word-of-mouth marketing. You can gain valuable feedback on Clubhouse and also tap into trends. It is also possible for you to use Clubhouse to tap into investors.
Use Proven Clubhouse Marketing Tactics
Although Clubhouse is a new platform there are some marketing tactics that are proven to work. Be sure to join relevant rooms and conversations. Start your own niche related room. Learn how to moderate to achieve the best results. Collaborate with influencers on the platform.
Encourage others that work at your company to be brand ambassadors. Make announcements on Clubhouse about your products and services. Create roundtable rooms where you can help other members to solve problems in your niche.
Grow your Following on Clubhouse
There are a number of ways to grow your followers. Being active on Clubhouse is the best way. Always provide other members with value. Briefly announce yourself. Get involved with Clubhouse right now. Make your profile awesome. Start following related clubs so you are nominated to join them. Host rooms and engage your audience.
Conclusion
Clubhouse is a very powerful social media tool to have in your arsenol if you use it right. It’s not like the others where you can just try things out willy nilly.
One big tip is that while Clubhouse does prohibit recording of your sessions, if you get everyone in your audience’s consent, you can record to make it a podcast. You can record using an iPhone screen recorder or Voice Memos. If you have a podcast production studio already, you can easily record the session.
This way, you can use that audio to distribute on other podcast networks to further market your brand, company or message.
The post Clubhouse App: Understanding and mastering your brand or message appeared first on Movie TV Tech Geeks News By: Curt Johnson