5 tips to market a product, service, or yourself on Clubhouse

Clubhouse is the new app on the block that has been making headlines for being an invite-only app.

Until a few months ago, the platform was reserved for big-name celebrities, industry leaders, Silicon Valley investors, and the world’s biggest influencers where they would have uncensored audio group chats about their lives, hobbies, or industries.

“Our goal was to build a social experience that felt more human — where instead of posting, you could gather with other people and talk. Our north star was to create something where you could close the app at the end of the session feeling better than you did when you opened it, because you had deepened friendships, met new people, and learned,” said the app’s co-founders Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth.

A few of the app’s first high-profile users include Drake, Daymond John, Elon Musk, and Oprah Winfrey.

Despite Clubhouse’s exclusivity, it was valued at 100 million US dollars and received a US$12 million investment from Andreessen Horowitz within a year of its launch.

Anyone who gets an invite is granted access; each user is allowed to send out two invites. Today, the platform is enjoyed by over 10 million iPhone-users worldwide.

Clubhouse’s growing popularity has got businesses sitting upright about the app’s potential to monetise their products or services, not unlike other widely-used platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. 

Users are attracted to the app for numerous reasons — some are hungry for something new to escape the familiarity of established platforms, while others are merely looking to avoid misinformation and privacy breaches, something they feel the app affords them.

So, what is the marketing potential like within the millions of active rooms on Clubhouse?

The app might not be ideal for all brands due to Clubhouse’s exclusivity, but it could be ideal for those looking to reach out to a niche audience.

Among the app’s appeal include its conversational nature that allows users to share their knowledge and gain insights from others via various discussions — a key marketing benefit for some. Many of Clubhouse’s rooms currently enjoy high levels of engaged, active users. Spark the right topic for discussion and this could be a win for your brand in boosting its presence and maximise reach.

Among Clubhouse’s future plans include including subscriptions, tipping and ticket sales for in-app discussions. These offer potential for individual creators and brand chats, with the additional gating measures potentially weeding out less engaged, passer-by users, keeping the chats more focused on the right audience.

For now, here’s how new users can prepare for this dynamic app’s bright future:

Grow a following

Growing a following on Clubhouse can have massive implications for your brand. If your goal is to position yourself and attract a following, you need to be active on the app and show up on stages.

While it might be tempting to jump into large rooms, the chance of you being noticed in a crowd of 5,000 is slim. Rooms with five, 10, or maximum 20 people in the audience present a better chance to be invited to speak.

Be sure the rooms you enter are relevant to your industry and get to know the people who frequent them. As you get more active and gain prominence, the more followers you’ll attract.

Optimise you bio

Your Clubhouse bio is where you should tell people what you want to be known for. What you include will determine how people find you via search or the club directory, and the type of followers you hope to attract.

Be sure to take the time to perfect your bio — it’s the first thing users’ will see. Answer basic questions such as, who are you? Why do you do what you do? How can you be contacted?

Users are eager to follow accounts they resonate with or can gain knowledge from, so make sure to optimise your bio. Remember — your account may not be for everyone, but you’ll want to attract your target audience or people relevant to your industry.

Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate

When you’re building your brand on Clubhouse, consider collaborating with others to help build your brand.

When creating a Room, be sure not to hog the spotlight. Instead, try partnering with others within your industry who have a bigger following. Once they hop on stage, their followers will receive a notification. This could make their followers yours too.

Answer questions

Are you  an expert in your field? You could charge people a fee before answering their personal or industry-related questions. 

The app may not have a function to send and receive payments yet, but some moderators have accepted payments via the Cash App. 

Market your offerings

If you’re an entrepreneur with a product or service, you could talk about it and the value it offers in the rooms and clubs that you join on Clubhouse.

Just be careful not to make it all about you or to make the discussion constantly about your sell because you don’t have a captive audience.