Social audio platform Clubhouse burst onto the social media scene in January this year after Elon Musk tweeted that he’d be on the network for a chat. Almost overnight, the service became one of the Apple Store’s most in-demand apps, despite still being in beta and despite being invite-only.
Following in Elon Musk’s footsteps, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, Drake and many other A-list personalities have appeared on Clubhouse. And where A-listers go, the social media gurus are sure to follow. With publicity as ‘the next big thing’, weekly active users went through the roof, jumping from 600,000 at the turn of the year to 10 million by the end of February.
The result? In early April Clubhouse closed a new funding round that valued it at a staggering $4 billion. So what’s all the fuss about and, as a marketing communications professional, should you give it your time?
To answer the latter question you have to understand the ins and outs of the former. And there are lots of ins and lots of outs to consider.
The Good
Starting with the concept, Clubhouse is one of a new breed of ‘social audio’ services. These, and others including Twitter Spaces and upcoming products from Facebook, LinkedIn and Spotify, are audio-only. No text messaging, no video livestreams, no photo sharing. Just people talking to one another about a specific subject at a specific time.
On the latter point, it’s real-time. You can’t record a Clubhouse room natively and there are no repeats. So if you miss the time of a discussion, you miss out. Users love this aspect as it creates exclusivity. Get a couple of influential people from your industry to join you for a discussion and users will have no choice but to join at the time you set, rather than thinking ‘I’ll catch up at another time’. You build direct relationships not only with your audience but also with the influencers themselves. It feels intimate.
So what’s not to love?
The Bad
Well, as I said, it’s real-time. Only we live in an on-demand world. Think about how often you use Netflix to watch what you want, when you want. Now compare that to linear (live) TV. The same goes for Spotify and podcasts; we’ve become accustomed to full control, and lots of people don’t like the idea of having to tune into something at a certain time. It seems very 20th century.
There are also questions over how live audio fits in once we’re all moving around more again. During the last few months Clubhouse has had a captive audience of people in lockdown with time on their hands. But what happens when we’re back to commuting and working in offices? You can’t really take part in a room from a train. And are you going to ask the boss if it’s OK to take an hour to sit and listen to or take part in a Clubhouse discussion when you’re at your desk?
Then there’s the fact that Clubhouse is only on iOS at the present time. Android users don’t get a look in and, apparently, it’s going to be several months before there’s an Android app. Considering in the UK and US Android’s market share is around 48%, that’s a lot of people who can’t get involved.
The Ugly
Moderation is an area that Clubhouse is yet to adequately address. Technically rooms are self-moderated as the admin can choose who to let speak and mute anyone at any time. But there’s certainly a risk to your business holding a live event where people can say what they want without any recourse.
And one of the biggest concerns around Clubhouse cited by its critics is data privacy. In April this year 1.3 million Clubhouse user records were leaked. That’s about 10% of the total user base! Studies have shown Clubhouse’s data to be “leaky”, and until this is shored up it seems you’re taking your privacy into your own hands every time you log on.
You Decide
At the end of the day, you need to make a choice as to whether you think Clubhouse is right for your business. To my mind, there’s no doubt that social audio is here to stay in the same way that podcasts are here to stay. Whether Clubhouse is what that will look like is the big question.
As with most ‘next big things’ in social media, there’s absolutely no harm in testing the water knowing that you don’t necessarily have to stick with it if it doesn’t work for you. Experimentation and careful planning are key to success online, after all. And who knows - maybe it’s the thing that will catapult you to the next level?
Paul Sutton is an independent digital marketing consultant and the host of the Digital Download podcast. You can find out more at www.paulsutton.co