Community Is At The Heart Of Social Audio With Clubhouse - Forbes

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Are you on the Clubhouse app? If you are, you are one of the lucky ones to enter this private, beta invitation-only platform which has become the new darling of the social media world. Clubhouse takes the “six degrees of separation” concept to a whole new, real-time level. People around the world visit in the app’s “rooms” with people that would have never been in their network or within their reach to speak to such as Elon Musk, Oprah, Soulja Boy, and the most recent tech leader to jump in on Clubhouse, Mark Zuckerberg. Some even describe it as the next generation of TEDx talks with real-time Q&A.

I was invited to Clubhouse back in September 2020 and I have to be honest, I did a happy dance when I saw the text invite. After joining in on the conversations and seeing the possibilities, I launched a “Futurist & Foresight” club. I also co-moderate a weekly Extended Reality (AR/VR) club. After a brief holiday hiatus, I have been pulled back into the vortex of real-time social audio, and it is truly showing the reason it has been trending globally. I would dare to say that Clubhouse has become my third most important social network after LinkedIn and Twitter. I think that statement in itself says a lot. 

Carlos Gil, co-founder of Outlaw Masks and CEO of Gil Media Co., had a similar experience, “at first, I was hesitant to join Clubhouse and said to myself, “I don’t need to be on another social network” however, investing a few weeks of my time on the platform made me realize that the buzz is more than just hype and if you know how to work a room, whether, at an in-person conference or networking mixer, Clubhouse is a goldmine for professional connections.”

And a goldmine it might become. Over the last weeks, I noticed Clubhouse has grabbed more headlines and I see more professionals talking about it on other social media channels. The platform almost couldn't handle the surge when tech leaders like Elon Musk and Facebook leaders such as Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Boz, and Fidji Simon jumped. Elon Musk said in the Clubhouse room Good Time, “If you need encouraging words, don’t do a startup.” Clubhouse’s millions of users seem to be all the encouragement they need.

According to Vajresh Balaji, author of Fintech Democracy, who is also a data analyst, the app has crossed 6 million registered users as of February 1, 2021. He’s tracked user data about the platform since January using Testflight data. 

A recent report titled The Future of Social Audio: Startups, Roadmap, Business Models, and a Forecast, from Jeremiah Owyang, industry analyst and founding partner at Kaleido Insights defined social audio as real-time voice conversations with social features. Owyang, whom many consider a super-user, points out that “If you were familiar with Party Lines four decades ago, you remember how friends and strangers could dial up to audio-based conversations regardless of location. In 2021, instead of landline phones, quarantine-limited users are downloading apps for real-time conversations with friends and family.”

For Michael Stelzner, the CEO of Social Media Examiner, “the pandemic has made so many of us yearn for real, live conversations and Clubhouse brings a unique dynamic by adding social elements to it.” For him, the platform feels like part conference and part podcast. He’s become very active since he joined and hosts multiple rooms every week. 

Clubhouse x Brands

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I haven’t seen too many brands enter Clubhouse, and I personally think that’s a good thing. I would caution brands before entering the platform to think through how they will show up in this new space. Audio, to me, is very intimate, and brands that do attempt to enter should do so organically and authentically, not haphazardly. 

Stelzner recommends that brands should get employees on the platform and then consider doing what Social Media Examiner did and open a club and host talks.

“What brands need to know about Clubhouse is that it's possibly the most personal social media tool they'll use. More so than video, this is asking someone to give up their time (often, a lot of it) simply to listen to your brand. That said, be authentic in what you're offering them,” said Peter Shankman, Futurist-in-Residence at Epic Marketing Consultants Corporation. “Is it something they truly want, or just something you think they'll want? Is it something people are willing to spend their time listening to? If not, reevaluate it before you get in there.”

For TerDawn DeBoe, CEO of Creative Thought Solutions and Founder of ClubhouseDaily.com, brands wanting to get on Clubhouse need to make sure they are joining with the right intent. For her, the culture on Clubhouse is different because it's not about how much you can sell, it's more about how much you can give from the right place. 

DeBoe shared four things brands should keep in mind when entering Clubhouse:

Be Intentional With A Clear Call To Action

Before you jump on the "next big thing", set your intention for what you want to accomplish by being there. Ask the right questions and have clear goals. She urges brands and professionals to have a clear call-to-action and to connect with people after being in a room via direct message on other platforms. Ask them to visit a landing page or even share a keyword they can text to her text marketing software to receive updates for the next time she will be live. 

Think Creatively

“Remember that Clubhouse is still in its early stages and being on the platform makes you an early adopter. Come to the platform with curiosity and using your knowledge, skillset, and creativity to help improve the collective experience will make a lasting impression before the app becomes public” added DeBoe. 

Collect Valuable Data

When DeBoe first joined the app, she joined for the experience and her marketing hat went out of the window. She quickly realized that she was losing valuable data by simply not tracking what she was doing on the app and all of the results she had achieved. She created a spreadsheet that tracked the actions people took once they spoke in rooms. Now, when she goes into a room, she tracks the following:

• New Clubhouse Followers 
• New Instagram Followers 
• New Facebook Friends/Followers 
• New Email/Text Subscribers
• New Collaborations Scheduled 
• New Speaking Opportunities 
• New Consultations Booked 
• New Conversions To A Paid Service

Additionally here are three ways I suggest brands can start using Clubhouse:

1. Partner with a thought leader in your industry that is already using Clubhouse and have them host a few rooms around topics of interest to your brand. 
2. Create an after-party for big events in your industry such as conferences, trade shows, webinars, or to discuss virtual events you’ve attended.
3. Do an after-hours podcast special. After a podcast, invite your followers live and in real-time with your special guest and open up the conversation to your subscribers.
4. Take a thought piece or press release and talk about specific trending news in your business category.
5. Create a club that focuses on a non-profit you believe in or part of your Corporate Responsibility.

The Future Of Clubhouse

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As a futurist, I always try to think about what lies ahead for Clubhouse beyond the obvious. Here are three predictions for the future of the platform.

• Conversational AI: I can hear it now! Kuki, an AI chatbot created from Pandorabots AI/ML technology, recently became the first conversational AI interviewed for a podcast, when Guy Kawasaki interviewed her for his Remarkable People podcast. Guy’s Kuki episode goes live on Feb. 17. On Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. EST, I’ll be interviewingKuki  live on Clubhouse with several VIP guests like Guy in attendance hosted by the Extended Reality (AR/VR) Club that I co-moderate with Amy LaMeyer from the WXR Fund, Joanna Popper from HP, and Maddie Callander from Boost VC. I will interview Kuki for a few minutes and then allow others to ask her questions live. After that, we will have a conversation with Pandorabots CEO, Lauren Kunze, about Kuki, the future of AI creators and companions in XR in the metaverse. 
• The new MTV Unplugged but in your ears: Live music, felt but not seen. It would be interesting to see how the music industry will push forward in Clubhouse. I envision it almost being the new MTV unplugged. With music stars like Ricky Martin, launching startups dedicated to immersive audio, they will probably have a first-mover advantage on the platform. Martin’s new startup, Martin Music Labs, wants to remix your music to be more immersive with its proprietary sonic experience Orbital Audio. I can only imagine what debuting a single on Clubhouse could sound like using his Lab’s technology. 
• Performing arts using spatial audio: As the performing arts innovate and adapt to this pandemic, we’ve seen new forms of entertainment coming into our homes. What if they start coming to Clubhouse too. For example, Darkfield, an immersive performing arts company, could try to bring their latest project DOUBLE, an immersive audio experience to audiences on the platform. Their immersive audio experience that uses 360-degree binaural sound truly perplexes the senses and is one of the most immersive audio experiences I’ve had in years.

In some ways, I feel like we’re reliving the past. A past when many sat around a radio listening to Orson Welles’ War of Worlds and hanging on to every word. Podcasts and social audio on Clubhouse and Twitter are becoming increasingly important. We are entering a new era where what we listen to will not only impact who we gather with but also how we engage with content. 

Social audio is here to stay and with it will come new opportunities for brands to connect with audiences. How do you see the future of social audio changing the way a brand connects with their audience?

Written in collaboration with Navah Berg.

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Community Is At The Heart Of Social Audio With Clubhouse - Forbes
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