Talking tech
Talking tech: should I be on Clubhouse?
Voice is currently taking over social media, but what does it mean for you?
It will come as no surprise that using voice specific technology is increasing. The likes of Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa have made all of us more eager to use our voices than taking the time to type. Voice is now so commonplace that a recent PWC survey found that two thirds (65%) of consumers aged between 25-49 years old talk to their voice-enabled devices daily.
With that in mind, it was only a matter of time before the social media behemoths focused their attention on voice rather than text or images. In March, Spotify acquired a company called Betty Labs for its Locker Room audio app, a month later Facebook launched audio chat rooms to its mobile app, Twitter rolled out its Spaces to anyone with more than 600 followers, and an invite to Clubhouse became the hottest ticket in town. We look at those last two to see what the craze is, why they matter for marketing and if your business should be embracing Clubhouse, or audio apps in general.
What is Clubhouse?
As with Facebook when it first launched in 2004, Clubhouse is currently invite-only. If you are one of the lucky few, you can select topics of interest to follow. You can then join or simply listen in to conversations that interest you. What aligns it more to Snapchat than Instagram is that once the conversation ends, it’s gone for good (although some have found ways to stream the conversation, such as Tesla Founder Elon Musk).
So what’s Twitter Spaces, is it different?
Twitter Spaces allows users to create chat rooms that anyone can drop in and listen to. The host of the room is able to share a link for people to join and has the power to control who is speaking at any one time. Whilst Spaces can currently only be started from within the Twitter app on your mobile device, it is expecting to roll out for the web shortly. In direct contraction to Clubhouse, it is thought that Twitter plans to allow people to record conversations natively.
Why am I hearing about this right now?
Both are relatively new to the social media marketplace. Clubhouse started in April 2020 and became popular during the pandemic, while Twitter only announced Spaces in November, and is currently still in beta.
The exclusivity of Clubhouse was a big draw for many, and helped pique curiosity around the world. Elon Musk becoming an early proponent of the platform also didn’t hurt, especially when he famously asked Vladimir Putin to join him for a chat on the app.
Which one of the social media audio spaces proves to be the most popular in the long run will be interesting to see. It is a case of placing your bets.
Why do I need to know about it?
It seems certain that audio-based platforms will be a big part of the future of social media, meaning that to stay up-to-date and relevant, you should keep abreast of the latest developments, even if you are unlikely to use them yourself.
So, should I get one?
If you can – yes. No-one wants to be landed with a MarkKing424242 type username further down the line! As well as being a fast-moving way of interacting with others, Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces are proving to be a great way to network with others and learn about things that you may not have previously.
Should I be using it for my business?
As the most widely available of the two currently, you should consider using Twitter Spaces as a promotion tool for your business and treat it as you would any other online event by promoting it across your various networks.
If you are lucky enough to have received an invite to Clubhouse, you can use it to build relationships with key B2B clients by inviting them too. This can help create goodwill and position your company as one that has its finger on the pulse.
While both are still new ways of communication, we recommend trying them out if you can – who knows what conversations you will find!
