Clubhouse social media doesn’t have to be intimidating. Clubhouse still feels like the new kid on the block, but it’s actually been around for more than a year at this point. Initially, it was an app that only worked on iOS but just recently it opened up for Android. Clubhouse is still invite only too but at this point, plenty of people have invites readily available. I have some if you’re interested, just reach out.
Since I work in the world of social media, I want to make sure I stay up on new platforms like this. I want to provide my advice for how to use Clubhouse for your small business.
What is Clubhouse?
I like to describe Clubhouse as an interactive podcast. You could also think of it as a Zoom webinar where everyone keeps their cameras off. It’s an audio-only platform that has clubs, rooms, a hallway, and more. Here are some key terms to know with Clubhouse.
Clubs
Think of clubs like Facebook groups. They are groups of people who are interested in a specific topic. You can create your own clubs and invite people to join.
Rooms
Clubs can host rooms but you can also host a room without a club. Rooms are the main event. This is where people are talking about a certain subject. Let’s say your club is called Social Media Marketing, your room could be about a more specific topic within that like “Instagram algorithm changes.” Within a room, there are some people who are on stage. These are the leaders of the conversation. They can present what they want to say or interact with other leaders. However, they may also open it up to the rest of the room. Other people can listen into what the leaders are saying but they can also raise their hand to be brought up to the stage and ask a question. You can even join rooms where you’re an expert and add to the conversation when you’re brought up on stage.
Keep in mind that rooms are live and they don’t save anywhere. So you can’t reference back to a room once it has finished. It’s meant to feel like in-person conference.
There are also private rooms. Let’s say you want to chat one-on-one with someone, you can request a private room with them.
Hallway
Think of the hallway as your newsfeed. In the hallway, you’ll see a list of active rooms. The list will depend on what clubs you’re in, who you’re following, or what rooms are most popular.
Applause
This is kind of a funny thing but I wanted to include it since newbies might not understand. When someone makes a really good point, speakers will “applaud.” They do this by unmuting and re-muting themselves a bunch of times. It shows as the mic changing from on to off.
How to use Clubhouse Social Media
Now that you understand a bit about what Clubhouse social media is, let’s talk about how to use it for your business.
Positioning yourself as an expert
If you work in the knowledge industry or part of your sales pitch is telling people how knowledgable you are, Clubhouse is a great place to continue showing your expertise. I talked about Clubhouse earlier as a webinar. Imagine if you were invited to speak at a webinar every day on your area of expertise. People would start to associate you with your industry. When they have a question about that industry, you’d be the first person they’d go to. The nice thing about Clubhouse is that you don’t need to get dressed up and you don’t need to prepare anything. You just talk. You can talk like you’re chatting with your best friend and nerd out on what you’re interested in.
Learning
If the idea of talking in one of these rooms scares you, you can also take a more passive approach to Clubhouse. There are plenty of clubs on pretty much ever topic you could think of. If there’s an area of business that you’re struggling in or a hobby that you want to learn more about, join a room. Not only can you hear from experts but you can ask these experts questions. People like Opera or Serena Williams have been speakers in these rooms. Being able to ask such direct questions to big names is one thing that makes Clubhouse unique.
Driving traffic to Instagram or Twitter
I mentioned that Clubhouse has an option for private rooms to chat with someone directly but it doesn’t have a direct message option. If you’re hoping to text chat with someone or send them a link, you’ll have to direct them to your Instagram or Twitter. Thankfully, Clubhouse is okay with people connecting outside their platform. They even allow you to link your Instagram and Twitter to your profile. Let’s say someone in a room is asking you a question that is pretty detailed. You can’t answer it fully in the room but you do have a freebie or a blog post that covers the topic. Ask them to DM you on Instagram and say you’ll share the direct link with them there.
As people get to know you as an expert on Clubhouse, they may also want to follow you elsewhere. That’s another reason having those Instagram and Twitter accounts connected makes a big difference.
Genuine Connection
As with all social media, Clubhouse social media is about genuine connections. You’ll be chatting in these rooms with people and might get to know more people from your industry. Let’s say I meet a website person and chat with them about marketing in a room. Now, I have a contact for website questions.
If you meet someone who could be a client, see what you can do to build a genuine connection with them. Don’t start off the connection by selling something. Be helpful. Talk about their hobbies. Get to know them. You might have to build that connection off Clubhouse but Clubhouse is a great place to start the conversation.
Promoting yourself
If you have a really big following on one platform, start sharing that you’re talking on Clubhouse on there. You can link to your profile or a scheduled room.
If you’re really just starting to grow on Clubhouse, it’s one of the few platforms where just showing up gets your more followers. Join clubs. Speak in rooms. Build your audience that way. Then, you can move to creating your own club once people know about your on the platform.
Imagine if you could just grow your Instagram account by just talking. You can be on a walk, doing the dishes, or working on something else while you chat to a Clubhouse room. It’s that simple!
Connect with me on Clubhouse
Want your first follower? Connect with me on Clubhouse! I don’t use the platform much at this point, but I’m happy to support you.