Chances are that if you work around marketing or with marketers, you’ve heard of Clubhouse. In short, Clubhouse is a social media platform that prides itself on quality and exclusivity. In fact, you can’t even join the platform unless you receive an invite first!
Before we jump too deeply into it, though, let’s cover the basics first.
What is Clubhouse?
It’s an audio-only social media platform and app, meaning you can’t use it for face-to-face chats or for things like webinars or presentations. At its heart, it’s been designed as a way for people to network, chat, and listen to people all over the world.
Once you actually manage to get onto the app, it allows you to jump in and out of different chats. These chats cover a wide variety of topics and you can generally find something that you’ll be interested in quite easily. It’s been compared most commonly to a podcast format, which is how it’s used by a lot of people.
There are rooms where you can openly chat and network, but many personalities and business professionals have begun using it as a kind of live podcast. Whether you want to use it as a pseudo-LinkedIn, listen to some interesting panel discussions, attend an audio-only conference, or just listen to your favourite podcaster live, Clubhouse has, at times, a dizzying array of conversations that you can be involved in.
Finally, Clubhouse has 1 main rule: conversations that are hosted via their app aren’t recorded or saved. They’re designed to be spontaneous and exclusive, meaning that if you weren’t there, you’ve missed that conversation forever.
Who is Clubhouse popular with?
Clubhouse has been popular with a variety of celebrities and leading business profiles. One of the reasons it became such a big success initially was its uptake in Silicon Valley among the tech elite and industry-leading figures. Its exclusivity was almost certainly one of the main reasons why these groups of people were so excited, but with over 600,000 registered users now, this is becoming less of a factor for people joining.
This exclusivity meant that for regular people finding their way onto the app, they could connect with celebrities and industry-leading businessmen, whether it be through seminar-style talks or even open chats. Being able to hear or participate in live, uncensored conversations with famous and powerful people almost certainly lead to Clubhouse’s meteoric rise in the social media world.
How can you join Clubhouse?
As of right now, you do still need an invite to join Clubhouse. Whilst you wait for an invite, you can download the app and reserve a username, but that’s about it until someone you know is able to bring you into the fold.
If you’re itching to get onto the platform, you might be in luck. Clubhouse has said they are planning to release to the general public as a whole soon. They haven’t announced when yet, unfortunately, so keep your eyes peeled!
Are there any downsides to Clubhouse?
As a new social media platform, there were always going to be teething problems for Clubhouse. Deleting an account on Clubhouse isn’t something you can do through the app; you have to contact them directly. This is obviously a major hassle and it’s been reported that it can take weeks for Clubhouse to actually action and delete your data.
There’s also been a lot of criticism about the app’s moderation of content, with a lot of reports of anti-semitism, homophobia, racism, and more being rampant in some conversations. Seemingly, this is something that they still don’t have a plan for so consider this carefully before joining the app.
At redPepper Marketing, we love exploring new social media platforms and seeing how they can benefit our clients. If you’re interested in utilising Clubhouse, or finding out more about how we can help you build a general social media marketing strategy, take a look at our website or get in touch today!
