Clubhouse has started an enormous advance since its establishment in April 2020 in the social media landscape. Big names like Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk are avid users of the app, and even Barak Obama has found his way to Clubhouse. Interested in the latest developments in social media, I quickly dived into it, and I discovered how it can be of great added value for entrepreneurs and the self-employed.
What is Clubhouse?
The name Clubhouse clearly indicates what it is about; it is a digital “clubhouse”. You enter Clubhouse through a large hall where you get an overview of the conversations (rooms) that are taking place at that moment and who the participants are. Those rooms can really cover the most diverse topics, ranging from “ways to plan a solo trip” to “investing for dummies” or “how to combine parenthood with building a career”.
That is why it is important – from the moment you receive an invitation to Clubhouse and create a profile – to clearly state what your interests are. It’s a matter of still being able to see the trees through the forest …
Take your time
I recommend that you first explore the app at your own pace: start by participating in a larger room (rooms can receive up to 5000 participants), so you can remain anonymous and leave the room unnoticed if it turns out not to be interesting.
If you feel more comfortable, you can try to raise your hand and maybe get admitted on stage by the moderator. Getting to talk on stage is the way to generate more followers on Clubhouse, who will receive a notification every time you are on stage.
Currently the app is still in the testing phase and therefore has a rather exclusive character: you must receive an invitation to gain access, and only iPhone owners can use the app. The intention is to further optimize the app so that access can be given to the general public.
Tips for entrepreneurs
For entrepreneurs Clubhouse is ideal to give your business a boost and to be able to connect with a very diverse audience. Certainly, in the current climate, where we are still glued to our home offices, this is an ideal medium to be socially active and to be able to network. However, it is important to take into account a number of guidelines:
- When you’ve explored Clubhouse and feel ready to take the floor, start participating in smaller rooms. The chance that you get on stage is much more realistic in a smaller room. Larger rooms are interesting to learn, but the chance that you will actually get the floor is small because there are so many candidate speakers.
- If you have the room’s moderator’s attention, so you can go on stage, try to make your point briefly. Don’t be too wordy and try to keep the audience interested.
- Have a clear profile picture that stands out. Among the often-numerous participants, it is important to stand out so that the moderator of the room notices you and calls you on stage.
- Plan very carefully which rooms you want to follow. The offer is overwhelming, and you can spend a lot of time on it. You also receive constant invitations to follow rooms based on your interests, so some self-discipline to deal with this is not an unnecessary luxury.
- Provide a link with Instagram and / or Twitter in your profile so that you can exchange messages with other participants after the room has ended and expand your network.
- If you feel a calling to organize a room yourself, try to announce the room and possibly organize it together with a partner. This is to avoid the “empty restaurant syndrome”. Few people are inclined to enter an (almost) empty restaurant.
- Repeat regularly what the room is about and what has been discussed so far: on Clubhouse nothing will be recorded, so visitors who join your room a little later must immediately follow the topics. It would be a shame not to do this and lose visitors …
Are you interested in getting to know this fascinating medium? Send me a direct message and I will send you an invite while supplies last.
If you are already at Clubhouse, you can find me via the username @socialmediaceo.
If you would like further advice on the use of Clubhouse, you can of course always contact me