How to use clubhouse to boost audio influencer impact

If you haven’t heard of Clubhouse by now, get ready because it’s taking the marketing world by storm and leaving many brands with a number of unanswered questions. We at Ad Results Media know about branded spoken-word advertising, and we believe there is tremendous value in brand engagement on Clubhouse.

What is Clubhouse?

Audio-only social media app where people gather in chat rooms to discuss various topics that span business, personal or cultural topics—pretty much anything. Rooms are usually divided into two groups: Those people who are talking and those who are listening. Each chat has a moderator who guides the discussion and has the ability to let someone actively speak up, or to remove disrespectful participants.

The app was born in March 2020, made available on Apple’s App Store in September, and finally became available on Android devices as of this May. Currently, the app is invitation-only and new users need to receive a referral from an existing Clubhouse member.

As of April there were 14.2 million global downloads of the app and 10 million active weekly users.1 With 70% of the people who have downloaded the app using it weekly, the astounding rate of regular usage indicates a high degree of overall user satisfaction with the app experience and is a great predictor of continued growth. 

Active users currently spend 11 to 22 hours a week searching topics or in chat rooms listening and joining in conversations. This app is going to give both Facebook (averaging 17.5 hours per user per week) and YouTube (averaging 4.7 hours per week) a real run for their money.2

Why is Clubhouse unique?

While a lot of the buzz around live audio conversation apps has been occurring around Clubhouse, Twitter, Facebook and Reddit have all developed competitive products. Twitter Spaces is currently in-market and widely available, while Facebook Live Audio Rooms and Reddit Talk have recently been announced, although still in testing mode with limited access.  How do Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces compare in various features? See the chart here.

How does it work for brands?

The good news is that any brand can create a club, launch a room and host discussions for free. The key to success and generating meaningful brand impact is attracting followers of your club or of your brand ambassadors, because any time a discussion is scheduled or occurring users are notified on the app to tune in based on who they’re following.

Clubhouse is more like influencer marketing than streaming audio. The most common in-app behaviors are finding and following other users and rooms or clubs based on topics of interest. To achieve a “follow,” your brand and/or brand ambassadors must present themselves as an expert in a field of interest that can offer unique insights.

Why should I care?

Active weekly listeners are spending more time on Clubhouse than most social media platforms.  The pandemic has inarguably changed all of our media consumption habits and this has left marketers navigating in somewhat uncharted territory with their channel planning. Clubhouse is a clear demonstration of a new behavior that has really captured the time and attention of consumers.

And, because there is always the potential for users to actively chime into a conversation on Clubhouse, they are a far more leaned-in and focused listener than other audio channels. Due to this more intense listening, a brand’s message has a much greater opportunity to resonate with the consumer and enjoy higher levels of ad recall.

There is no doubt that brand partnerships with influencers on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are really paying dividends for marketers, but the content doesn’t seem as fresh as the nascent Clubhouse experience. Partnering with influencers on Clubhouse offers a tremendous way to bolster your brand perception and diversify your current content mix.

There are a number of marketing tactics that help develop the top of the marketing funnel for brands—everything from awareness-driven media choices to content integrations and earned media outreach. Clubhouse is considered a top-of-the-funnel channel to-date, but it’s also an uncluttered environment that feels intimate and special. It enables brand spokespeople and messaging to be consumed and uninterrupted in an uncluttered space. All ears are on you!

Launch, learn and gain

Because the measurement and attribution capabilities are still very nascent, Clubhouse is best for first-movers to launch, learn and gain positive earned media along the way. To make the most out initial forays into Clubhouse, consider the following:

First, define the goal of your activation. While awareness/brand building can be achieved with Clubhouse, brands need to understand that any performance-related goals will need to be proven since the platform is in its infancy. What is the goal of leveraging Clubhouse for your brand? Is it increasing site visits, elevating your brand as experts in its category, or aligning with influencers as an implied endorsement to drive sales/orders/sign ups?

Then, ensure your audience is on the app, and consider the following: Are there rooms with content that is relevant to your brand? What discussions are taking place on Clubhouse? What influencers are active in the space that could serve as a conduit to increased followers?

At Ad Results Media, we help our clients take advantage of what Clubhouse has to offer through managed services for the following types of activation:

• Host a room. Create a room for a specific topic with influencers driving their followers to listen via Clubhouse or other social platforms.
• Sponsor a room. ״Rent” a room model, where a brand can sponsor an established influencer room or club that has an existing following.
• Post and press promotion. Early Clubhouse activations should be concurrent with press releases and promotion on the brand’s social channels.

Reach out to the Ad Results Media team to learn more.

Sources:

¹ The Information, Fortune

²https://techjury.net/blog/time-spent-on-social-media/#gref