Why communicators should give Clubhouse a whirl

Clubhouse, the new invite-only social media app, is growing at an unbelievable pace.

In May 2020 it had 1,500 users, in December 2020 – 600,000, and in early March 2021 – 13 million. Recently new downloads have dropped, but the overall growth picture is impressive. Should you join this crowd? I believe you should at least try it out. If you are an entrepreneur, you can find new ideas, advice or potential business partners. This will work out best if you already do business on social media platforms. If you are a social media expert or fan – you simply cannot miss the new phenomenon. But what exactly draws people to Clubhouse?

1. Human interaction.

The app helps fill the void created by the pandemic. Millions of people are stuck at home working remotely. No watercooler chit-chat in the office. No chance to meet friends in a café. With Clubhouse you can easily interact with others: chat with your friends, make new connections, meet potential business partners, learn new things. You just need to enter a room or create your own. Unbelievably easy.

2. Direct exchange of thoughts.

On other social media  outlets, comments or tweeting often feels less personal,. On Clubhouse – the exchange of thought is direct.  It’s a live, natural conversation.

3. Authenticity.

Here you talk to real people. Not brands. Yes, people work hard to establish their personal brands on Clubhouse, but they are still human. They are real people who make mistakes — just like you and me. Whereas on other social media channels, you are never 100% sure if the post was written by this famous CEO or by their PR team. You never know if a person talking on video is such a natural star or the video was rehearsed and recorded 20 times to achieve the perfect result.

4. Friendliness.

Because people are real, usually appearing with their real names, and enter direct conversations, they generally behave the same way they would if they met you at a conference or in hotel lobby. They are nice, friendly and welcoming. Unlike on other social media platforms, where people feel anonymous and thus more inclined to write nasty comments.

5. Real value.

The quality of conversations is amazingly high. As a listener you get real value. You can ask experts questions and usually you get quality answers. Social media pros teach you how to boost your social media presence, successful entrepreneurs give you business advice, flight instructors teach you how to fly safely. People on Clubhouse often present the best version of themselves — and the advice and expertise  they share reflects that.

6. The advantage of being a pioneer.

Being on Clubhouse feels like re-living the beginnings of social media, maybe even beginnings of the internet. It is still a time where you can have easy access to the people you want to reach. It is relatively easy to gather your tribe and get noticed with your messages. You can grow with the app. All the niches are not yet taken, especially in languages other than English. Thus, you can still establish your expert position.

7. No video.

The fact that you cannot have video conversations reduces the entry threshold, which levels the playing field. Nobody will see if the expert or the big boss sits on their bed with messy hair and in their pajamas.

Despite all its advantages, Clubhouse still has a lot of features that need improvement or at least fine tuning. At the moment, the app is available only to iOS users. There are controversies related to data privacy.  Despite these concerns, Clubhouse fans do not seem to mind.  They are not discouraged by the fact that they need to be invited to join. Or maybe exactly this is part of Clubhouse’s allure?

Will Clubhouse become a new Twitter? Who knows. Big social media companies are working hard on their own apps. But instead of just watching it, join it and experience it firsthand. Oh, you need an invite? Let me know in a comment under my LinkedIn post. I might find one or two invites. Take your time, I will not give them away on first-come, first-serve basis. You will greatly increase your chances if you use my first name in the comment. By the way, my name will forever be linked to yours in the app, for everybody to see. Just another little Clubhouse feature that makes the app special.

Jacek Lawrecki is an international communication executive based in Poland. Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.