Is Clubhouse good for your brand?

By Rebecca Steckham, Director of Social Media

Is Clubhouse good for your brand? Clubhouse is one of the fastest rising stars in social media we’ve ever seen. The invitation-only audio-based app, which launched in April 2020, is now a $4B platform with 10 million+ weekly active users and big name influencers and celebrities like Oprah, Drake and Elon Musk. And while there aren’t many guarantees in life, we can promise you this with any high-growth social media app:

1. The influencers will come
2. And the monetization will too

That’s where Clubhouse stands now, on the edge of monetization. And while Clubhouse has a long way to go before it gets there (it’s still in beta) and third parties are already looking to do the same, it’s time to think about how this platform can be harnessed for marketers.

The most important thing to know: it’s not about carving out a space for your brand and asking the community to join. The community is already there. It’s about joining a community where your brand fits organically.

Take e.l.f. cosmetics and Chipotle for example (you read that right): to support the partnership, CMO Kory Marchisotto of e.l.f. and Tressie Lieberman, VP of Digital and Off-Premise at Chipotle, took part in a conversation inside of the “Disruptors” Club on Clubhouse in March this year. This Club touts itself as “a home for anyone who is leading or inspired by disruptive strategies changing the future of marketing.” Now you can see why burritos x cosmetics were a great fit to join in.

With a little over 50% of the world’s population of 7.77 billion people now using social media, and the average person owning 8.6 social media accounts, Clubhouse is playing (successfully) in a very crowded space.

Why could Clubhouse be good for your brand?

1. The platform is private and intimate. You need to be invited to join and opt-in to the niche communities you want to engage with
2. You can be a speaker, listener, or moderator during scheduled hosted rooms (conversations)
3. It’s real, it’s live and it’s authentic (that’s code for building trust)
4. Users are spending 8+ hours on the app, with some hosted rooms lasting 50 hours long
5. Your products, competitors and/or industry are probably already being discussed right now on Clubhouse by your target audience
6. The desire to engage is more powerful than ever

How do you get started on Clubhouse (or any social channel)?

1. Work with a social media partner who understands your strategic objectives and has experience with new social channels
2. Be clear on your target audience. Just because it’s popular, doesn’t mean it’s right for your brand.
3. Build an end-to-end strategic solution that takes a holistic view across all your social channels incorporating planning, content creation, social listening, influencer programs and community management – at scale
4. Determine if an on-demand or always-on solution is the best approach
5. Be clear on your goals and how you’ll measure success

Clubhouse isn’t the first platform to take advantage of voice and audio but it’s probably the one you’re hearing about most now. We can’t ignore that the brands are there and more are coming, even before the monetization of the platform. And while it has fad-like tendencies, our question isn’t whether it’ll stay (it will), it’s what will come next.

Learn more about how we can help you Schedule a call to discuss how Tag can help you to create, launch and manage your next social media campaign.