10 Things You Need to Know Before You Start Using Clubhouse

Since the end of last month (January 2021), I’ve seen people post screenshots of their accounts on a new APP and ask people to follow them. Even though I'd never heard of that APP, my marketer’s intuition told me that it is the next BIG thing and I must follow it up, therefore, I did a little research and found out that this mysterious APP is called “Clubhouse”, an invitation-only, audio-chat social networking app, which currently only works on iPhone.

That means Clubhouse is not available for everyone, unlike other APPs. It is exclusively for iPhone users who have the invites!

Well, I can already see you rolling your eyes, saying “what a snobby APP!”  

However, it doesn’t matter if the founder of Clubhouse applied the spirit of the so-called “Hunger Marketing” deliberately or not, this strategy not only works, but has also attracted hundreds of thousands of people to join Clubhouse everyday since January this year.

According to the statistics, Clubhouse was established in 2020 and was launched by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth. In May 2020, it had just 1,500 users, and was worth $100m in December 2020, but in January 2021, the number of users grew rapidly to more than 2 million. Now, in February 2021, the number of users has jumped to 6 million and it is now valued at $1 billion, so it is considered a Unicorn startup like AirBnb, Uber and SpaceX.

In normal circumstances, “limited edition” or “invitation-only” doesn’t really appeal to me, but due to the fact that I’m a person very much into webinars or conferences such as TED talks, being about to listen to unlimited online talks and gaining new information and knowledge is like a dream come true, especially after I knew that Elon Musk had opened a chatroom on Clubhouse, so I said to myself that I must give it a try.

I started on 2nd February, and up to 6th February (the day I wrote this article), I spent 8 hours per day on average in order to familiarise myself with this APP. In the beginning I only went to chatrooms organised by Western users in the UK or the US, but on 4th February, I received my first invite as a speaker to a chatroom open to Chinese and Japanese users and since then, I’ve been active on Clubhouse as either the moderator or the speaker in many chatrooms organised by Taiwanese users. Based on my experience, I’d like to share some tips that everyone should know before joining Clubhouse.

#1 It’s a Podcast with interactive functions

Even though it’s been only four days, I’ve visited a lot of chatrooms. Some were more like professional online webinars, talking about the latest marketing tools and trends; some were real eye-openers, such as inviting Uighur people from all over the world to talk about what has been happening inside the Uighur concentration camps. There were also chatrooms focusing on women’s rights, or tips for surviving financially during the pandemic.

There are so many different topics that it’s easy for anyone to find a chatroom that appeals, and you can just drop in and participate in the discussion either by simply listening to the speakers, or requesting to be a speaker.

It seems to me that Clubhouse is a podcast with interactive functions, like an audio version of Twitter, or an online radio show in which the audience can talk to the hosts directly without phoning-in – simply click the raise-hand button in the APP, and the moderator can let you speak. 

#2 It creates incredible engagement

Unlike other image-based social media APPs, Clubhouse is focused on audio which can create higher levels of engagement, because audio has a magical power in connecting people.

Two years ago, Gary Vaynerchuk launched his first audio logo and in an article he explained why: “you’re in your audience’s earbuds, and that creates a bond with them that’s deeper than anything else.” That is exactly why Clubhouse’s users are highly engaged and many of them spend a long time logged on. 

Audio marketing has been a trend for a while, but Clubhouse seems to have pushed it into the spotlight and make everyone aware of the power of sounds.

In the world of Clubhouse, there’s no texting or messaging function, the only tool you can use to connect with your audience is your voice, and through voice, your audience can tell your emotion and hear whether you are happy or upset, excited or disappointed, being ironic or feeling indeed confused. Your audience knows that behind the voice there is a real person with real feelings, just like everyone else, and this can generate strong engagement which Facebook or Instagram can’t achieve.

#3 The ‘unrepeatable’ factor creates a fear of missing out

Since Clubhouse has become popular, many people worry that Podcasts will be replaced. I personally think it’s like asking “will going to gigs replace buying albums?”, which is an unnecessary question. One of the rules of Clubhouse is “no recording”, that means if you miss a chat then you won’t be able to find a replay of the content anywhere, because it disappears forever once the chat has finished. In other words, if you really enjoy a talk from a chatroom, when the room ends, this talk will only exist in your memory. This rule not only distinguishes Clubhouse from Podcasts but also creates a fear of missing out, which can be counted as hunger-marketing in a way.    

#4 It’s an audio version of LinkedIn

In addition to being the audio version of Twitter, if you use Clubhouse’s bio section correctly, it can also be an audio version of LinkedIn. Once you enter a chatroom, everyone in the room will be able to see the first 3 lines of your bio, and if they are interested in what you wrote, they can click “view full profile”. And when you are invited as a speaker, you will appear in the top row in the room (on a virtual stage), and therefore attract attention, which is an excellent opportunity for you to promote yourself, just like being highlighted by LinkedIn among millions of users.

For those wishing to use Clubhouse to connect with industry professionals, make sure the top 3 lines of your bio are eye-catching, and that you participate in chatrooms organised by people from your industry or related professional organisations as much as possible, because you might meet your future boss in one of those chatrooms. You never know!

#5 It’s easy to use and the sound quality is amazing

To content-creators or influencers, Clubhouse is a hassle-free social platform compared with YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. This is simply because there is no make-up or dressing-up involved, no cameraman, video editor, or lighting assistant required. The only things you need to prepare, are yourself, your iPhone, and the content you are going to present. Yes, you don’t even have to buy professional sound equipment, just use your iPhone and I guarantee you will be surprised how brilliant the sound quality is.

#6 It’s transparent and every participant can be seen

One thing Clubhouse can’t emphasise enough, is that the content is generated by every participant, not just one person. In other words, the content is a collection of people’s voices, rather than someone’s opinion. For this reason, one of Clubhouse’s rules is to use your real name, and as soon as you enter a chatroom, other people in the room will be able to see you and your profile, even if you don’t make any speech and only act as a listener throughout the entire session. If someone in the chatroom finds your speech very interesting or simply wants to know you after reading your bio, they can follow you and connect with you. This transparency makes people take full responsibility for what they say, and indirectly reduces the number of internet haters.   

#7 You are what you listen

People always say “You are what you eat”, but in the world of Clubhouse, it’s “You are what you listen”. The moment you enter a chatroom, people who follow you will know which room you are joining in real time. Your listening habits represent who you are, what topics you are interested in, and any contributions you make to the discussion can also be heard. All these will create the opportunity for your followers to learn about you, and form their perceptions of you.

It’s a great opportunity in terms of building your personal brand if you choose which chatrooms to join really carefully, based on what you wish to tell the world about your strengths or your profession. On the other hand, if the chatrooms you take part in are not appropriate, it will damage your brand and change people’s views on you. For example, if you are married but were found in a room called “Find Love on Clubhouse”, that definitely won’t add value to your personal brand!

#8 Who you follow is more important than who follows you

From a content creator’s view, the number of followers is always the key to success because that represents how much influence you have as an influencer, but in Clubhouse, nothing is more important than who you follow.

Clubhouse’s algorithm is based on the people you follow, and it will decide what content you are able to see. The rooms that show up in your homepage are determined by the people you follow, which means the first few rooms you see are the ones people you are following are currently in. If you don’t follow many people, or if the people you follow are not very active and don’t participate in many rooms, then not many rooms turn up in your homepage. If people you follow only join rooms which discuss issues that don’t interest you, you will probably get bored with Clubhouse very quickly, because nothing that turns up in your home page will be your cup of tea. That’s why who you follow on Clubhouse is extremely important. 

#9 Verbal content is king

Unlike Facebook or Instagram, Clubhouse is not image-based, and the only place people will see your image is where your profile picture is. That means you can’t rely on images or texts to attract fans. Instead, the content of what you say in the chatroom is your only weapon.

This is an APP designed for those who can deliver speeches well, and engage people with their ideas via these speeches. Therefore, it is unlikely you will be able to build a large fan base if you are not a natural speaker, or if you don’t have many new and interesting ideas to present. However, this doesn’t apply to celebrities, as they are already famous and have a lot of fans who can’t wait to join their chatrooms and speak to them, so whatever these celebrities are going to say on Clubhouse is really not the point.    

#10 It’s not suitable for everyone

Even though Clubhouse seems like the “next big thing”, it’s not for everyone and every brand. Before you sign up to Clubhouse, I suggest you consider 2 things: 1. Is Clubhouse an efficient way to promote your product or service? If what you want to sell is food, clothes, cosmetics, or any image-based product, maybe the best strategy is stick to Instagram. 2. Can you find your target audience on Clubhouse? Hosting a chatroom is very time-consuming and takes a lot of preparation, so before you commit yourself to Clubhouse, please think twice.

Clubhouse currently has no built-in method for monetization for its users but the company has plans to introduce a payment model soon, which will allow content creators to make a living directly on Clubhouse through things like subscriptions, ticketed events, or a tipping system from satisfied listeners.

To me, Clubhouse is a fun, highly interactive APP which generates excellent engagement. I hope this article has helped you understand a little bit about Clubhouse, and if you are already a user on Clubhouse, you are very welcome to follow me @mojareader.