How An Invite-Only, Audio-Focused Mobile App Can Benefit B2B Marketers
By
Marcel Hollerbach
The latest social media platform to emerge from Silicon Valley, Clubhouse, is an invitation-only mobile app in which users communicate via voice chat rooms. Marketers should pay close attention, because — as with many other social media outlets — this audio-only platform could eventually become fertile ground for B2B marketing.
Clubhouse is unique from other social media platforms because its users communicate solely through audio content — similar to a live podcast. Clubhouse’s 10 million weekly active users can host conversations on any topic, ranging from informal discussions on the best snack foods to moderated Q&As on starting your own business.
While Clubhouse doesn’t currently offer professional tools for commercially integrated advertising, the app provides a disruptive way for brands to reach consumers. And the Zoom fatigue plaguing the remote work population is making the transition to more audio-based communications significantly more feasible.
5 Ways Clubhouse Can Enhance B2B Marketing
Marketing via social media isn’t new. But how can marketers take advantage of an invite-only platform with an audience limit of 5,000 people per conversation? With the right strategy, you can leverage Clubhouse to build loyalty, provide engaging customer experiences and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
1. More Personal Customer Relationships: More than 60% of consumers say that implementing a B2B reward program is the most important way for a brand to interact with them. What better way to reward your customers than to extend an invitation to join your brand on Clubhouse? There, you can introduce customers to the people behind your brand and communicate directly with them, helping build a loyal customer base.
2. Thought Leadership Opportunities: Clubhouse can be an effective platform to establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry. You can host Q&A sessions and audio-only conferences to discuss relevant topics with your customers, which is critical in establishing credibility and building trust — and potentially gaining new business.
3. Better Engagement: Encouraging open communication outside of normal business interactions is an effective way to reach your customers. Clubhouse provides a feature for listeners to “raise a hand,” so the moderator of a chat room can allow others to speak and ask questions. You can also host discussions with your customers to gather feedback on new products or services.
4. Narrower Audiences: While you can target specific audiences on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, those social media channels are still open to the public. With Clubhouse, you can hand-select who you want to join the platform and your chat rooms, eliminating wasted ad spend and irrelevant audiences.
5. Future Advertising Possibilities: Clubhouse has the potential to become a platform for advertisements in the future. Consider commercials that run during your favorite podcast: Those same ads could run during a quick break in a Clubhouse chat room. Companies like Bite Toothpaste Bits have already tapped into this potential. They recently hosted a room where they shared their founding story, which ultimately led to several customer acquisitions. And considering the familiar faces who use Clubhouse — e.g., Kevin Hart, Elon Musk and Oprah — influencer marketing is another possibility for these advertisers.
As people continue to grow tired of staring at screens, Clubhouse could be particularly beneficial for marketers to include in their portfolios. While we aren’t certain of Clubhouse’s future, there’s a great deal of potential for marketers to use its technology to build stronger relationships with customers and encourage more consistent communication.
Marcel Hollerbach is Chief Innovation Officer of Productsup
