January 22, 2021 7 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Picture this: You walk into an open room. There’s a panel of speakers sitting at the front of the room, just a few feet away from you.
They all look toward you as you enter the room. There’s a big sign that encourages you to raise your hand if you want to talk, and you’re being immediately pointed towards it. Feeling welcomed, you raise your hand, and in the next few seconds, you’re invited up on stage by a friendly usher and given a seat next to them. You take your seat, barely able to believe your luck.
Because, as you sit in and find out, one speaker is responsible for over $10 million in sales. He’s also sold enough of his own books to make The Wall Street Journal bestselling list. Another one runs the largest conference in the social media industry and reaches 90 million people on a regular basis with his website. And yet another is an in-demand keynote speaker, paid over five figures to come and give a 30-minute talk.
This is Clubhouse.
And those three people are real people: Dan Henry. Michael Stelzner. Brian Fanzo.
I had the accessibility I just described to you in individual rooms in Clubhouse.
I cannot believe the power of this incredible new social media app available to marketers and entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur myself (owner of a writing agency and an educational brand), I’ve found it incredibly valuable — and I’ve only been on Clubhouse for four days as of writing this, but I’ve spent more than seven hours already listening in and talking.
Here are three reasons why I think you should be at least sitting in and listening as of yesterday, one way to start using the app today to make a difference for your brand, and a “do not do” — or the only con I’ve found so far of Clubhouse.
Related: How Clubhouse Is Creating Unprecedented Opportunities and Access
1. Find your “average five” immediately in Clubhouse
You know the saying: You’re the average of the five people you hang out the most with.
If you’re anything like me, finding “those five” can actually be a giant hurdle. No one I know in real life — well, very few — are entrepreneurs. In fact, it’s extremely hard for me to find a real-life person that hits the average five benchmark. My goal is to spend time with people doing better than I am, and Clubhouse can help with that.
In one minute, I can have access to millionaires, in the next minute, I can speak live with them using Clubhouse’s “rooms,” and then hang out with them for literal hours in my day. It is incredible. Just like that, I’ve got my average five to hang out with, some of whom are performing multipliers better than me.
All you have to do is join the app (by invitation right now, so if you sign up, you’ll have to wait to be invited or get in right away with an invitation from an existing member), start following a few awesome people and then you’ll see the rooms they’re speaking in. You can join those rooms with one tap and listen in to live conversation from mega-successful people in the next few seconds. It’s unlike any other social media app I’ve ever experienced.
2. Networking without any pain or hassle
Linkedin is so full of spam, I cringe before I open the app or go online. The minute I do, I’m spammed with tens of dozens of pitches in the space of ten minutes in my DMs. It’s hideously terrible. In-person networking is, well, somewhat impossible. The networking group I was in has tentatively shut down due to the pandemic.
Enter Clubhouse. You can join rooms with 100, 200, 300 or more people, all of whom are seeking great conversations just like you. Many of them are open to networking and chatting more. And if you connect from their profile to their other social media profiles (their Instagram or Twitter, for example), you’re “in the door” with them way further on Clubhouse because you were just chatting live with them. You can reference that in your connection, too.
I’ve networked and talked directly with incredible speakers and entrepreneurs I would have never have met or come across were it not for Clubhouse. I’ve also listened in on a few “million-dollar rooms” (where the speakers are all millionaires) and heard people share that they got three new business deals in the space of a day or two just from hosting their own room and speaking. (Which I plan to try out doing myself soon!)
Related: 5 Rising Social Media Platforms to Watch
3. Low saturation (right now)
Nothing is better for marketers and people that would benefit from business connections than a new social media platform with low dilution and great reach. And that’s Clubhouse, for now. I’m sure it won’t be this easy to access top-notch people in another year (or even a matter of months), but for right now, accessibility to connections and new potential audience members is insanely high. So, get in on the action while you can.
Consider hosting your own room or joining as a speaker
The real benefits of Clubhouse lie in speaking. And remember, nothing is pre-recorded, it’s all live, so it is a bit of a commitment.
“Clubhouse isn’t delivering content, it’s delivering conversations.” Brian Fanzo said in to the room I described at the beginning of this article. I know, because it was so memorable that I wrote it down.
If you can deliver a great conversation, you could be reaching new audience members in a matter of a single day or less. I’ve seen it happen in rooms, and it’s incredible.
Don’t be a douche if you host a room
I was in a room on my first day in Clubhouse and was invited “on stage,” then given a turn. 20 seconds into my introduction, the host interrupted me to say, “So where’s your question?”
I was immediately turned off, offended and upset! It was my first time speaking on Clubhouse, and I felt like leaving forever. Instead, I brushed him off and proceeded to gracefully answer, “The question is coming!” I then finished my introduction and asked the question. The host/speaker who interrupted me never bothered to talk to me again and let someone else answer my question.
There’s no reason to treat a guest rudely. Don’t interrupt the guests you invite on stage, and be aware some of them may have knowledge. My first time on Clubhouse definitely didn’t mean my first time at the entrepreneurial rodeo.
That said, Clubhouse is still a huge plus right now for marketers and entrepreneurs. I recommend signing up, joining and trying it out for yourself.