Let’s Talk About Clubhouse

Clubhouse is the hottest new social media platform that has the digital marketing world buzzing, but will the hype last?

Clubhouse, aka the audio-only app that tech insiders, celebrities, and influencers alike are all raving about, has been gaining a lot of traction in recent months as it expands its audience. While still in beta-mode (and invite-only) at the moment, we think Clubhouse is the next big thing in social media.

Sure, apps can come and go quicker than a flash of lightning, but every once in a while you get an Instagram or TikTok, an invention that has the power to reshape how we use social media to communicate with one another. Clubhouse is that next innovator. Here’s why we’re digging this new app:

Ideas Over Image

Social media has built up the idea that everyone lives picture-perfect lives, but we know this is far from the truth. While apps like Instagram encourage users to only showcase the highlights of their lives, there’s been a bigger push in the digital world to cut through the filters and content curation and be “real”. 

Clubhouse puts the focus on verité and personality, in large part due to its audio-only nature. Aside from your profile picture, your voice is your main tool of communication on the app, taking pressure off of having to appear camera-ready, worrying about having the perfect backdrop, and other appearance-based stresses. Conversations are the main way to foster connections on the app, letting personality and ideas take center stage. Seeing a platform place thought leadership above imagery is really exciting as we try to find ways to seek more authentic experiences on social media.

Bringing Conversations Online

Speaking of authenticity, Clubhouse conversations are about as close as we can get to IRL conversations in our pandemic-stricken world. They happen in real-time and aren’t accessible after the fact, creating just the right amount of FOMO to encourage users to hop onto the app when they see an intriguing conversation beginning.

While this may deter creators looking to utilize content across different platforms (you can’t record your Clubhouse conversation and turn it into a podcast episode, for example) we like to look at Clubhouse as a way to increase your status as a thought leader in a way that cultivates relationships rather than content.

Organic Brand Building

Of course, the big question everyone has is: will Clubhouse open up to marketing and advertising opportunities? And if so, how? Sponsored Clubhouse Rooms, pre-roll audio ads, and Room amplification are just some of the ways we foresee Clubhouse introducing advertising opportunities to the app as it expands, and Clubhouse has listed ticketed events and subscriptions as monetization methods that will be making their way to the app in the near future. For now, one of the delightful things about Clubhouse is that it is free from ads.

Now, just because official advertising opportunities aren’t available on Clubhouse just yet, it doesn’t mean you should ignore the app in your marketing plans. In fact, now is the opportune time to get in on the ground floor and establish a community on Clubhouse, one that you can use to organically expand your customer base.

Today’s consumers love to follow brands who have developed a sense of community within their social media messaging, and Clubhouse offers an inventive way to further that brand-building in a way that puts ideas and conversation above hard sales. Develop Clubhouse discussions around topics that naturally tie back to your brand—say, an eco-friendly skincare brand hosting a talk on steps you can take to be more environmentally conscious—and partner with influencers and industry experts who can add further insights to the conversation.

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Clubhouse isn’t the only app getting in on the audio-only trend. Twitter has started to roll out a competitor feature called Spaces. Like Clubhouse, users can enter a Space and listen to or participate in a conversation. Spaces lives within the main Twitter app, with live conversations appearing at the top of a user’s home feed. Facebook is also reportedly developing a competitor to Clubhouse.

While not everyone has access to Spaces yet and Facebook’s yet-to-be-released competitor is still in early development, Twitter and Facebook have a huge advantage over Clubhouse if their competitive products take off: established followings. Influencers with large followings on Twitter or Facebook/Instagram could flock to these competitor offerings and choose to focus their attention on cultivating their existing community rather than building a new one from scratch on Clubhouse. It’s happened before; just look at Snapchat after Instagram rolled out Stories. As more Clubhouse challengers emerge, we’ll be sure to keep you updated. 

Want to hear more about our thoughts on Clubhouse—or just need an invite? Let’s talk.