Clubhouse: A New Audio-Based Social Network for Business Promotion

Clubhouse is a new mobile app and social network that allows users to communicate via voice, without video. It offers several formats: calls, podcasts, and voice messages.

The platform launched in April 2020. The social network's initial community consisted of developers and entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley (USA). However, the network gained widespread popularity ten months later, in February of this year, thanks to the mass registration of public figures.

And it made a truly big splash: in just seven days, Clubhouse had amassed over 1 million users. By the end of February 2021, the app already had 6 million users, 10 times more than in December of last year.

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People united in target groups meet in virtual rooms and discuss issues of interest to them. Clubhouse gives registered users the opportunity to join the community and participate in thematic discussions (ask questions to opinion leaders, connect with experts), or simply listen to speakers' messages and their conversations with other participants.

The digital marketing niche has responded positively to this development, seeing it as a powerful social media marketing channel alongside Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Businesses have also embraced the platform, as it offers new opportunities for promoting products and services.

The downside is that the official app is currently only available for iOS. However, the developers promise to release an Android version soon. Another significant limitation is the invitation system. But paradoxically, it was precisely this closed membership status that made Clubhouse popular.

This brilliant marketing decision led to a viral effect: in late February and early March 2021, users actively hunted for coveted invites and bombarded moderators with offers to invite those they found interesting and considered worthy to the social network.

Why is it worth joining Clubhouse?

Clubhouse provides access to digital conferences with engaging speakers, including highly successful businesspeople. Interest in the new social network is driven by the business audience's desire to grow in their (or new) industry and participate in a hands-on exchange of experiences. Everything here is based on the speaker's personality, on those who are engaging and possess compelling expert opinions. Moreover, existing businesses gain the opportunity to unite the market around the created themed room.

So-called "talk rooms" are themed. They attract a target audience interested in interacting with experts in their respective fields. All conversations take place online, in the here and now. Conversations are not saved, although the possibility of implementing this feature has been raised repeatedly. Clubhouse is a modern interpretation of "talk radio," as it allows you to ask a question and receive an immediate answer.

The new social network offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to connect with other industry players, share experiences, and find investors and new partners. Many marketers believe the platform is destined to become an effective tool for developing B2B marketing and promoting personal brands.

Clubhouse in Ukraine

In our country, the popularity of the trending social network was boosted by the creation of Ukrainian House on Clubhouse. It was created through the collaboration of three successful entrepreneurs: Kharkiv resident Nik Belogorsky (Director of Security Intelligence at Google), Kateryna Mikhalko (developing the social entrepreneurship project Project Mova!) in Ukraine's regions, and Vladislav Grezev, founder and CEO of Lobby X.

Katya and Nick moved their public discussions to a new platform, and dozens of their followers began joining them. The conversations became regular, and as a result, Ukrainian House was born. Now, this community broadcasts daily at 9:00 PM with prominent figures from Ukrainian business, politics, and culture. Among the broadcasts have already featured Pavlo Vrzhesh, co-founder of the creative agency Banda; Vladislav Rashkovan, Ukraine's representative to the IMF; Vladislav Chechetkin, co-owner of the Rozetka chain; the co-founder of Monobank; and others. The community currently has over 12,000 members.

Who should I subscribe to for business benefits?

The appeal of Clubhouse lies in its maximum interactivity. There's no distance between speakers and their audience. Insightful business-related conversations take place in rooms in several formats.

Thematic discussion

The social network is hosting interesting discussions on digital marketing, artificial intelligence, and futurology. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of the unique opportunity to discuss pressing issues with experts and learn from international experience.

Interview with a star

It's a kind of group interview format. The trick is that you can not only listen to the podcast but also ask questions to the famous person in an informal setting.

Pitching 

There's a large cluster of rooms where startup owners pitch their projects to investors. While this takes place in the entertaining format of a reality show, it's important to note that many pitchers manage to close deals during the process.

Community rooms

The most popular communities (such as The Dacha) feature product founders and business angels who regularly organize thematic discussions. These communities offer a great opportunity to find partners, co-founders, and motivated employees.

Corporate rooms

Companies hold online conferences to find partners and startups for corporate innovation. Executives and top managers of these companies interact with the audience. This is a powerful tool for remote collaboration and a convenient format for receiving feedback from clients and users.

The benefits of promoting business interests on Clubhouse

This social network's format allows brands already familiar to their audiences to attract more people, converting one-time buyers into loyal customers, and turning them, in turn, into brand ambassadors or evangelists.

Clubhouse provides the opportunity to promote business interests through:

• use of native advertising;
• engaging the audience during the discussion;
• clear communication of the values ​​of the promoted product;
• expert opinion of specialists;
• building trust with the target audience.

As with everything, engaging content is essential for promotion. A brand should create new rooms regularly and invite people they find engaging. It's also important to create a well-designed account bio, where you can talk about your business, yourself, and leave a link to your account.websiteThey subscribe to someone who is interesting to the audience, is an expert in their topic, and can communicate effectively and engage the audience.

Competitors are not sleeping

Audio-based social media is the new trend of 2021. Recognizing the hype surrounding Clubhouse, many platforms have decided to adapt. The Stereo app was launched, which, unlike Clubhouse, immediately included the ability to save broadcasts and listen to them as recordings.

Telegram has also launched a voice-based discussion format. LinkedIN is working on a similar project. Facebook is also eager to enter this arena. And now Spotify has decided to enter the fray: the platform announced the acquisition of Clubhouse competitor Betty Labs, the developer of the Locker Room app. Soon, we'll be able to discuss and communicate within Spotify.

Interestingly, Twitter wanted to buy Clubhouse for $4 billion; negotiations were held, but the deal fell through. It's difficult to predict how the Clubhouse platform will develop in the future, as we see others actively adapting to its format. But right now, Clubhouse is arguably the most powerful platform for business promotion, so it's worth seizing the opportunity.