Last updated - July 8, 2021
Social media presence is vital to the success of any online brand. Choosing which platforms to put the most effort into is tricky, so a careful study of their advantages is critical. Any social media presence is useful for Shopify, but the best one to use depends on the business itself.
Earlier, I had looked into the future of Clubhouse and what it could do for the Shopify community. We’ll look at how Clubhouse works, setting up your bio, and the pros and cons of the app. Then we’ll look at ways to leverage Clubhouse for marketing.
As a new app, Clubhouse is constantly evolving. It has reached the stage where investors will be looking at ways to monetize it and start profiting from their investments.
What is Clubhouse?
Clubhouse is touted as an exclusive, invite-only audio app for iPhone users. It was launched in April 2020 and has been downloaded by more than 10 million users as of February 2021. Although it has 10 million downloads, you can count on around two million active weekly users. Those users spend an average of between 11 and 22 hours per week on the app. Some spend as much as 40 hours a week in Clubhouse.
As you can see from the figures, you’ll need to spend a lot of time on the app to grow your Shopify community size. You may see significant benefits from it, but it generally takes a lot of work to build a loyal following.
How Does Clubhouse Work?
Let’s look at how Clubhouse works before reviewing ways to use it to direct traffic to your shop.
Joining
The first way to join is by invite. Each member has three invitations. If somebody invites you, download the app and sign up using the invite code. The second way is to download it without an invite. You’re then placed on a waitlist. Your contacts already on Clubhouse will be notified that you’ve acquired it, and they may invite you or wait until the developers allow you to join.
Conversations
When you enter a conversation room, you’ll see a list of its owners, moderators, and speakers. Your mic is automatically on mute, and if you want to talk, there’s a hand icon on the bottom right of your screen. Press the icon to get the moderator’s attention if you wish to contribute to the conversation.
Alternatively, you can listen without talking and keep your mic on mute. The maximum size of a room is 5,000 people. So if you want to be heard, it’s best to start with smaller rooms and build your reputation and followers first.
You can also start a conversation yourself, in which case you’ll have three options.
- Open: Anybody can join
- Social: People you follow
- Closed: Private group chat
Setting Up Your Clubhouse Bio
Treat your Clubhouse bio as a miniature LinkedIn profile. The first three lines are searchable, so make the most of them. Another good tip is to try to get your bio to match an existing club associated with your business.
Lastly, you want to link your Clubhouse bio to other social media accounts where you have an active business presence. Currently, you can link directly to Instagram and Twitter from your Clubhouse account.
You can use a Shopify Community app to assist with your Instagram feed and redirect customers to your shop. All that’s left after that is to build your Clubhouse reputation by contributing to conversations and gaining followers. Use that reputation and following to generate interest in your other social media feeds, where you can direct potential customers to your shop.
Pros and Cons of Clubhouse
Every social media platform has advantages and disadvantages when it comes to marketing. Let’s look at these.
Pros
- It can help brands build trust from tech-savvy customers
- Users can listen while busy with other activities
- Constant, evolving content
- You have an opportunity to be noticed by big names in your industry
- You can build a sense of community around your brand
Cons
- It takes time to build a following
- Content is unscripted, so listeners may become bored with unnecessary trimmings
- Exclusivity (limited audiences)
- Too many notifications
- Other social media platforms already developing similar apps
Using Clubhouse for Building Shopify Communities
You can use any social media platform, including Clubhouse, for marketing. You’ll have more success with some platforms than others, so the question we need to ask is how valuable Clubhouse is in increasing your Shopify presence. Let’s first look at how to build your community. Shopify stores thrive on engagement.
Building a Shopify Community
Trying to build a community around your brand is a mistake that many marketers make. Instead, you create one around a subject that includes your brand. If you’re not passionate about the niche that your trade falls into, this won’t be easy.
If you’re selling swimwear, build a community around the beach or swimming pool information. Invite other sellers with complementary products to contribute.
This enables you to immediately build trust and supply helpful information to your customers. The other advantage of this strategy is that your community will appeal to a larger audience.
You need to keep posting new content so that it remains in people’s feeds. At the same time, remember that it needs to be content of value, or your customers will treat it as spam. The Shopify community forum has many tips for building a community and a brand.
Using Clubhouse to Build Your Shopify Community
When you set up your profile on Clubhouse, you also list your interests to help you find clubs and conversations that fit your passions. Use the opportunity to find topics that relate to your own Shopify community. Start contributing to these discussions in the smaller rooms where you’re more likely to have a chance to speak.
As you grow your reputation and following, you’ll find it easier to be heard in larger forums. If you have enough followers, you can start your club or conversation room through the Clubhouse app.
The social media links you place on your bio can direct your followers to other communities. Remember that because these discussions are unscripted, you need to have intimate knowledge of your subject.
Conclusion
The Clubhouse app is an excellent means to engage with your community on a more personal level than merely posting content on other social media platforms. However, it will take time to build a loyal following, and you need to have excellent knowledge of your theme.
You also don’t have as many options to redirect customers to other advertising platforms or directly to your shop. If this type of engagement appeals to you, it may be better to wait for other platforms to develop their own versions that will integrate better with existing marketing strategies that you have in place.
Further reading
