How To Develop A Clubhouse Strategy
Clubhouse is an up-and-coming, invites-only, audio social media that was launched in mid-2020 (only on iPhone for now). Simply put, it is a live podcast app where people can attend “rooms,” and groups of personalities engage in interviews and discussions on a variety of topics. The application has been very relevant to the current pandemic situation, as people increasingly crave for personal connections as a result of the ‘new normal’.
As the application initially invited high-profile celebrities and industry leaders, there is definitely a sense of prestige and professionality on the platform, along with great emphasis on self-enrichment and meaningful conversations. Like a LinkedIn version of podcasts, Clubhouse is a valuable space for networking with consumers and other industry members, making it an attractive opportunity for both B2C and B2B marketers alike.
Why you need to jump on it
As a general approach to marketing in 2021, you have to “get with the times or get left behind”. Businesses have to be agile and flexible in the face of constant changes and new developments, including adopting new platforms to engage with potential customers.
New platforms could present innovative approaches that can help you maximize your marketing strategy. In the case of Clubhouse, it might have the ability to capture people’s (continuously) shortening attention span because of its live delivery.
Plus, you would have access to a ‘filtered’ audience base who are already interested in the topic and are ready to give you their attention. With its format, Clubhouse is certainly one of the most direct ways to communicate with your audience and engage in real-time conversations on topics that matter most to them.
To adopt Clubhouse as a part of your broader content marketing communications strategy, you should:
- Know your objectives
Set specific, realistic goals on what you’re trying to achieve on the platform. This would serve as the basis of your plan going forward and keep your overall marketing efforts consistent, which can be done by yourself or with the help of technology like Robotic Marketer.
Clubhouse is not really a direct-selling point. While utilizing Clubhouse as a communications strategy might not result in immediate sales, the focus is on building long-term loyalty by housing customer engagement, connection and community.
You can even use the application for research, as you can ‘listen in’ on people’s conversations and opinions. These might serve as pointers that can help you understand your customers’ preferences.
Whatever you’re planning to achieve, you should always have a clear goal in mind on every step of your marketing efforts.
- Know your audience
Before jumping in and opening up your own Clubhouse room, you should know your audience well. What are they interested in? What are they talking about? What do they know, or what would they like to know?
You should have a 360-degree view of your potential audience, be it from your internal insights, external research, customer profiling or from Clubhouse-specific research. On the application, you can do some research by following relevant opinion leaders and joining rooms with relevant topics related to your industry.
You don’t have to be a speaker to lurk around from room to room to listen in on what people are talking about. Eventually, you should get a better understanding of their interests and preferences, which opinion leaders they listen to the most, and even get an idea of possible opportunities that you can jump on.
- Communicate with your audience
After you’ve done enough research, you can utilize your internal and external networks. You can be a speaker as a brand, getting your executives to join and speak in a room, or create your own room as a moderator and invite your chosen speakers and thought leaders.
That way, you can get your (relevant) ideas and values out there and harness the benefits of hosting a virtual event (without the steep cost and hassle). Like similar virtual events marketing, Clubhouse is free, accessible and convenient to hold, easily reaching wider audiences without the physical and logistical constraints.
It is a win-win situation on Clubhouse. You can benefit from having wider reach and awareness if you have a great number of listeners tuning in, but you can also benefit from the intimacy and direct dialogue from having a smaller number of audiences in a room. Being focused and targeted in your audience approach can actually provide a stronger basis for your community.
While you certainly want to get your ideas out there, it is important to remember to engage with your audience and communicate in a two-way manner.
Clubhouse is all about engagement, so it is best if you avoid one-way interactions as a stand-alone broadcaster. Make sure that you talk to people and not at them. For instance, asking people for their opinions can build participation and connection, while also providing you with the answers you’re looking for.
- Evaluate your performance
After you’ve developed your Clubhouse strategy, it is important to measure your efforts. The metrics you use for evaluation should match the objectives you’ve set in place in the beginning. It can range from the number of attendees, quality of questions, feedback and discussions had, or even conversion to actions (e.g., attendees signing up on your website, etc.) and much more.
With the metrics in mind, you can evaluate what you’ve done right or wrong, and finetune your future efforts on the platform.
As you keep on listening to your audience’s interests, preferences and thoughts, you would also have an ever-progressing view of your customers. With that, you can continuously fine-tune your interactions and communications on Clubhouse, and more broadly, come up with an ever-improving marketing strategy for your brand.
