Since the New Year you will no doubt have come across on one social media platform or another a friend, colleague or peer espousing the benefits of Clubhouse. But what is this new social media platform? Will it be the next big social media phenomenon, or is it just fad? Should you engage with it? And if you did would your business see a benefit – could it drive a sales funnel? And how if you want to do you get that elusive “invite”?

Clubhouse is a new social media platform launched in April 2020, in the depths of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. This app is, in its most simple form, an audio sharing platform where you can create or join a conversation. Conversations can be public or private and cover a wealth of topics, that can range from business professionals discussing the best ways to grow your business to celebrity gossip.

So, is Clubhouse a fad or is it the start of a new social media phenomenon? Only time will tell, but the growth of Clubhouse has been rapid from 20,000 people at the start to over a million people as of February 2021, with predictions that continued growth at this rate will see users reach around two million by December 2021. Attracting a diverse wealth of content creators including celebrities, industry professionals and entrepreneurs – from the solopreneur to most notably Elon Musk.

With these numbers and member profile Clubhouse could provide an ideal opportunity for you to network with likeminded businesspeople. Or using it to grow your reach on other social media platforms. Or by managing your own “conversation” take advantage of the opportunity to promote you and your business to a market with reach from local to global. Still largely unproved, this could be an opportunity to engage with the wider market and grow your sales funnel and ultimately to meet new clients.

Clubhouse is currently running in a Beta form as developers test the App, and consequently is currently only available on iPhone or iPad. Desktop and Android versions are not currently available. Due to the nature of the Beta version to access the App you will need an invitation from someone who is already on Clubhouse – either register and the App will scan for an invite for you, or if you know somebody on the App approach them for an invite.

Once on the App you will be required to create your profile, as with LinkedIn use your name as your profile identity – this is how you will be introduced to a room/conversation – you only get one opportunity to change, so, it is better to get it right the first time. In the bio you can explain about who you are, what you do and how you do it. You can also direct other users to your website or other social media platforms – although note, currently these are not live links.

The “conversation rooms” are where you will spend most of your time on the app. These are arranged similarly to a conference with moderators deciding who can and cannot talk and who can enter the room, who the speakers are and the audience which is divided. Typically, the audience is made up of VIP’s who have been invited into the room and the remainder who have joined the room via another method. If you are in the audience and wish to contribute to the discussion you can raise your hand akin to a Microsoft Teams meeting, and the moderator can then choose to approve your request.

Whether Clubhouse is right for you and your business providing an additional sales funnel only time will tell. For now, we all wait to see is it phenomenon, or fad?

Anna