Clubhouse has risen to popularity practically overnight. While the app was launched in the spring of 2020, it wasn’t until recent months that users soared from thousands to millions, largely due to the sudden rise in celebrity presence. With $110 million of funding raised, this app looks to be far more than a momentary success.
For businesses that hope to leverage Clubhouse to build relationships with their clients, the following guide will walk you through the do’s and the don’ts of using this app. As is true with any social media presence, having a clear strategy outlined prior to testing out the waters is key.
1: Understand the Purpose of Clubhouse
Before downloading the app and joining the millions of users, it is important to understand the purpose of Clubhouse. Unlike most social networking apps, and contrary to the trend of TikTok, Clubhouse is an audio-only networking app.
Even joining the app is a different experience than traditional social platforms. Each person who joins Clubhouse gets a limited number of invites to share with friends, family, or colleagues. Without an invitation, the best you can do is download the app, reserve your username, and wait for a coveted ticket into the club.
Once you’re part of Clubhouse, the purpose of the app becomes a little clearer. Users can stroll down the hallway — Clubhouse’s version of a feed — and hop in among chat rooms, each featuring different topics and moderators. Fellow Clubhouse users create chat rooms, and joining a room is simple.
Once there, you can either listen in on the conversation folks are having — think “fly on the wall” — or join in. However, you can only speak if a moderator has invited you onto the stage.
Different rooms will be run in different ways depending on how large the audience is and what the purpose of the conversation might be. In some cases, moderators might invite everyone on stage to speak. In other situations, it might be more like a podcast-style conversation with the majority of folks in the audience.
In the end, Clubhouse is a fairly simple social networking space. Through conversations, connections can be made and followers gained.
2: Create a Meaningful Succinct Bio
Once you are able to join Clubhouse, it’s time to create a meaningful but succinct bio. This is one of the only ways other users will get a glimpse of who you are since Clubhouse does not feature a timeline full of posts and pictures.
Think through what unique value you want to bring to Clubhouse. For example, if you are a traveling motivational speaker, you will want to highlight this in the first sentence of your bio. If your business’ specialty is service-related, mention a quick snippet about the work you do upfront.
Your bio should include all of the following:
- A succinct and meaningful statement about who you are (i.e., what makes you interesting and worth connecting with?).
- Links to your Twitter and Instagram profiles (more on that below).
- A few topics that you’re interested in, as well as ones you have expert knowledge about.
- A natural use of keywords that will help people find you when using the search function.
An interesting bio will help you build connections as you join and host conversations.
For a personalized touch, add a professional quality headshot to your profile.
3: Link Out to Social Media
Because Clubhouse only allows for a limited version of connecting with others — there’s not even a direct message feature built into the app — it is important to link out to your own social media profiles from your Clubhouse profile.
Under settings, you can connect your Twitter and Instagram profiles to your Clubhouse profile. Since the bio section is text-only, these are the only two social platforms that you can directly link to, so if you plan to connect to them, be sure you are active there.
4: Host Interesting Conversations
After getting your feet wet roaming the hallway of Clubhouse, it’s time to host your own conversation. To build a quality network on Clubhouse, you’ll need to start hosting chat rooms.
When creating a room, make the room name and description clear and compelling. This is the only hook to draw others into your room. Toggle your room setting to public so anyone can join in on the conversation.
The best way to get started with hosting conversations is to begin a conversation with a few colleagues. Pick a topic that is niche, unique, and adds value.
It can help to spend time beforehand curating a list of interesting topics on which you or your colleagues can offer industry authority.
5: Focus on Authenticity
If Clubhouse has taught businesses anything, it’s that users are looking for authentic and meaningful conversations rather than a steady stream of ads and recycled content. Clubhouse is a place where people flock to learn about new topics, to hear from industry experts, and to connect with others in a unique audio-based way.
In a sense, Clubhouse is the exact opposite of the Instagram feed of influencer models and the trending dance moves of TikTok. It feels more like wandering down a vast hallway with doorways opening into rooms where diverse sets of people are having unique conversations, sharing ideas, and bouncing concepts off of one another.
For any business looking to join Clubhouse, authenticity must be central to your presence on the app. Not only that, but there should also be a true person behind the content.
For this reason, Clubhouse makes a good fit for company founders, staff members with industry expertise, and others from your business who can add meaningful conversation.
6: Join Relevant Clubs
In addition to chat rooms, Clubhouse allows users to create clubs based on a singular focus, topic, or shared interest. For example, Women Empower X (WEX) has a club focused on women empowering one another while making meaningful connections.
The main difference between a club and a chat room is that a club is permanent whereas a chat room is temporary.
When you join Clubhouse, it is important to plug into relevant clubs. This is where critical networking can take place. After joining a club, you’ll be notified of any subsequent chat rooms that launch out of that club. Additionally, clubs allow for pre-scheduled events, allowing you to mark your calendar for relevant programming.
Our move. crush. count. club is dedicated to people who want to discover new ways to differentiate themselves and their businesses. Business leaders participate every Wednesday night at 7:30pm Eastern Time to learn and share their knowledge on how to strike back against a marketplace that continuously tries to marginalize and commoditize them.
7: Hop on Stage (But Practice Good Etiquette)
While Clubhouse allows you to simply listen in on any conversation that is open to the public, networking will only begin when you put yourself out there. While hosting your own chat rooms is a great way to start out, take the chance to hop on stage and join in on other conversations.
Look for chat rooms where the topic is either something of interest where you can ask meaningful questions of the speakers, or is something where you might be able to offer up some insights and expertise.
Remember, always mind your manners when joining a stage. Keep yourself on mute until it is your turn to talk. Listen to the conversation and get a feel for the room before joining the stage.
8: Start Following Users
The goal of Clubhouse is to allow users to network, sharing ideas and conversations in a unique space. To get the most out of your experience on Clubhouse, start following other users.
Remember, there is no way to direct message another user in Clubhouse. For this reason, having a catchy bio and linking out to your Twitter and Instagram accounts is key to building relationships outside of the app.
As you hop from room to room, consider following popular speakers and people with similar interests. The more you join into conversations and host interesting chat rooms, the greater your chance at networking with fellow users.
Additionally, when you find users that you’d like to connect with on a deeper level, follow their Twitter and Instagram accounts as well.
9: Showcase Events
Another great aspect of Clubhouse is that it gives you a chance to host events in a virtual space. For example, Women Empowering X hosted a one-day virtual event with a full lineup of guest speakers and panels.
If you plan to host an event on Clubhouse, do your prep work ahead. Plan the event just as you would an in-person conference. Link out to an agenda with detailed information about when speakers will go on stage and what topics will be covered. This will allow interested users to hop in and out of the event as needed.
Building Relationships Backed by Strategy
Clubhouse provides business owners, staff members, and industry experts a unique opportunity to connect in a virtual space. Not only can you build meaningful relationships on Clubhouse and connections spanning the globe, but Clubhouse also gives you the chance to listen in on relevant chats, gleaning information from a wealth of knowledge and expertise.
If you plan to leverage Clubhouse as a networking and marketing tool, you need a solid strategy. At J&L Marketing, we can help your business grow your online presence through targeted marketing and networking efforts. Our team will be happy to discuss how you can leverage Clubhouse, as well as other social media outlets to create a holistic marketing strategy. Talk to our team today to learn more.
