How B2B Tech Can Use Clubhouse Without Disrupting the Platform

“Clubhouse is for people.” 

I  spent the weekend on Clubhouse after securing an invite from the very generous Chelsea Baldwin (www.BusinessBitch.com). Clubhouse is the latest social media platform, where live conversations occur in an audio-only format in rooms and clubs. 

I listened in on numerous rooms, took the stage (spoke) a few times as well, and even attended one of the weekly Town Halls, where I heard the above quote from Clubhouse co-founder Paul Davison (@paul on the platform). 

Clubhouse reminds me of my past experiences attending conferences. In rooms of all sizes, I heard everything from marketing strategy and advice to language learning lessons and debates over the ethics of the platform itself. 

Since I work in the B2B tech marketing space, some ideas came to mind about how tech companies can use Clubhouse. However, I think it’s important that businesses don’t attempt to undermine the platform’s user-centric purpose of personal connection. While Clubhouse isn’t meant for businesses (at least, not at the moment), there’s an opportunity for business people to use the platform to connect with colleagues, customers, prospects, and others in their industry. 

Here are three suggestions for how tech companies can build business connections on the platform.

Host Rooms to Answer Questions from Prospects

On Clubhouse, a room can have multiple moderators and up to 5,000 audience members. Tech companies can use this as an opportunity to get a team of their employees together to talk directly with prospects. 

For example, say a company has noticed some frequent questions that usually come up in prospect calls or appear on forums like Quora and Reddit regarding their products or services. Hosting a Q&A room in Clubhouse might be a great way to answer them. Individuals from various backgrounds — product development, pre-sales, sales, marketing, and leadership — can come together as moderators and have an honest and open discussion with potential customers.

Build an Exclusive Club for Customers

Nurturing customers is an important step to creating repeat buyers and product evangelists. Offering exclusive access to resources is one way to improve their customer experience. 

Clubhouse already thrives on a level of exclusivity; access to the platform is currently invite-only and available only on iOS, though Paul did say in the Town Hall that they’re looking to make it available for other operating systems soon.

Businesses can take advantage of this exclusivity by having someone on their team create a club specifically for customers. While anyone can follow a club, club creators can control who’s actually a member.

Clubs specifically for companies could be used to share details and answer questions about upcoming product launches, listen and respond to customer feedback in real time, or even offer first access to new developments.

Companies could also schedule events for customers to speak with leadership about the direction of R&D or other information about the company’s future.

Keep in mind, though,  that as of January 18, 2021, Clubhouse members are limited to creating two clubs each, and they must have hosted a weekly event for at least three weeks. They also have to apply to create clubs.

Join Industry Discussions and Learn from Others

Lastly, I hope that everyone spends time in rooms and clubs that they can learn from, and that their companies encourage it. 

As a marketer, I found some great rooms on small business marketing, email marketing, YouTube strategy, B2B lead generation, and LinkedIn storytelling. I also caught the tail end of a discussion for Black women in corporate America that I truly wish I had heard all of.

There may be numerous learning opportunities within someone’s industry, but if they are in a niche industry that hasn’t yet been explored on Clubhouse, they can be the one to introduce it. There are also plenty of discussions that people can join for fun. 

Clubhouse is currently a great way to connect with others and learn something new. With tech-focused companies often offering tuition reimbursement and other educational opportunities, it’s clear that they value educating their teams. Clubhouse looks to be one way to do it — especially if they develop a “Clubhosue for Business” service in the future.

For now, though, “Clubhouse is for people,” so tech companies can encourage their people to explore it.

For more B2B tech marketing advice, send over an email to jasmineflemingfreelance@gmail.com, and let’s schedule a 1-hour strategy session.