Look Out Linkedin 👀 Clubhouse is the New Viral Professional Social Networking App in Town

Photo credit nappy.co

If you have not heard about the new viral social networking app Clubhouse- don’t worry the app is still in beta version and is only available through invite only. It’s not too late! Keep reading to learn more about the Clubhouse app (available on iphone only right now), how it works and some clever ways people are using it level up 📈 professionally and personally.

⭐️ If you are on Clubhouse you can find me @midwestrenee

So what’s with all the hype about Clubhouse?

No newsfeed or no direct messages Clubhouse centers around 100% audio only communication.

The disruption begins with Clubhouse removing the all too familiar features of social media such as a news feed, messaging, stories and even annoying advertising. The app is very lean with a few core features- Clubhouse rooms, the “hallway”, search to find people and houses, explore to browse other rooms, a follower list to see who is active online and a profile bio. Each user has a profile that includes a name, bio section and ability to link twitter and facebook profiles.

Clubhouse is used for both professional and personal use making it a more efficient use of social networking time spent.

Many believe in the tradition that business and pleasure do not mix- but Clubhouse has directly challenged this notion. Anyone on the platform can create a Clubhouse room for others to join and the wide range of topics are truly astounding. The mix of room topics has set Clubhouse to be a mashup of Linkedin, Reddit, Slack, Facebook, Twitter, Match.com, Tumblr, Calm app and any music/podcast streaming applications- all rolled into one. I have joined rooms for positive affirmations, a live DJ jam session, how to negotiate for higher pay and “Ask Me Anything” with industry leaders.

Here is a small sample of the range of topics of Clubhouse rooms I have seen so far on the platform available for anyone to join into listen:

Professional:

“Behind the scenes of a Million Dollar Month”

“Ask an Arthur”

“Preparing your Talk and Leveraging Post TED Opportunities”

“Tax Tuesday: Q&A with a CPA, CA and a Tax Strategist”

“Linkedin Lounge: Tips and Tricks to get massive value with your Linkedin Strategy”

“The Science of first impressions-connecting with people”

Personal:

“Morning Affirmations”

“Celebrating & Remembering Loved Ones”

“Album Listening Parties”

“Match Making”

Clubhouse offers high value content with less screen time

Being the futuristic nerd that I am, I have been *ready* for this disruption from voice technology for a couple of years. I remember reading about the new trend of voice technology back in 2018 in the annual Future Today Institute Technology Report (to learn more visit https://futuretodayinstitute.com/).

Clubhouse will make you feel as if you have arrived to the future due to the ability to get the benefits of social networking without having to hold our phones. This gives our eyes, thumbs, wrist and text neck the break they deserve. Just by simply going on to the app and listening to conversations allow for longer periods of engagements and high value conversations that can go on for hours easily. I often join to listen to Clubhouse when I am walking on my treadmill or cooking allowing me to learn while multitasking. Everything is happening live which means I can raise my hand and ask a presenter a question in real time.

Clubhouse has members dropping Gems upon Gems upon Gems in a live streaming virtual networking event

We all know successful people are very busy and might not take the time to create original content on their social media platform. On Clubhouse it is so easy for anyone to becoming a content creator and high performing professionals are able to easily share knowledge to listeners in a room. I have connected with many individuals on Linkedin hoping to learn something from them, but usually there is little to none added value to my professional network. On Clubhouse you can easily hop into a room to network with anyone in the world, talk to them directly for free!

Photo credit nappy.co

There is something about being able to connect with others over voice with some structure (each room as a moderator who will facilitate or remove bad actors) that is beautiful. In the time of this pandemic the ability to hear each others voice and pick up on emotions folds in a human element that has been stripped away from the other social media apps.

I believe we are in a new era of social networking ushered in by the viral wave of Clubhouse invitations. Time will tell how long Clubhouse will keep the invite only model- Twitter has already responded to the competition with the announcement of Twitter “testing ‘Spaces’, its Clubhouse-like voice chat rooms”

For anyone who is actively on the Clubhouse platform here are some tips that I gained in a Clubhouse room titled “How to use clubhouse for professional networking” that I want to share below.

Tips on how to use the Clubhouse platform for networking

• Include payments in bio for tips! Feel free to place your $CashApp handle or Paypal tip far link in your bio. This will allow others who may gain any insight for information you shared in a room to give you a tip.
• Optimize your Search by keyword and even emoji! The Clubhouse search can find names, keywords and yes even emojis so be sure to put them in your bio to get discovered.
• Add a picture in your bio! Pro tip stand out in your creativity by adding a background color ( I used Canva)
• Real time instant collaboration! When someone says something interesting that makes you want to follow up, be sure to message them. If the person has their twitter or instagram linked send them a message on the other platform and reference the Clubhouse room.
• Attend one on one sessions with high level professionals! You can request to have a private room with someone for personal coach. As a courtesy offer compensation for their time.
• Ping people into interesting rooms! When you find a good room and know others could benefit be sure to hit “+” to add them to join the room. Be sure to turn the notifications on if you really want others to ping you into a room.

In conclusion, I believe Clubhouse is here to stay because it is not just a social media it’s a social networking app. People all over the word are able to talk less and listen more using their real names and authentic selves. Anything is possible with this open format including monetize collaboration, a/b testing marketing with room titles, advertise one’s business and take your professional networking deeper. The information gate keeping has been removed and now we are all able to network learn from experts while having much needed thoughtful conversations.