The Big Shift to Audio-based Content & Rise of a New Social Platform: Clubhouse
In the last decade, with the significant increase in penetration rates of trending social networks such as Facebook, Youtube, and TikTok, our way of communicating and spending time has changed. We watch content, see each other on screens, learn things from videos, comment, like, and share much more than we used to do.
Here’s a quick overview of 2020:
Whenever we get tired of multiple screens, blue light, and video calls, audio-based contents come to the rescue. For sure, podcasts are the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to audio-based content. Everyone has their habits. For instance, I listen to podcasts on Spotify! And how about you? (Meet on Twitter). With 345 million monthly active users, Spotify is the World’s most popular audio streaming service provider.
In 2019, the Swedish audio streaming giant invested $500 million in the podcast business. They have brought in two companies: Gimlet Media & Anchor. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek describes:
In just shy of two years, we have become the second-biggest podcasting platform. Our podcast users spend almost twice the time on the platform, and spend even more time listening to music.
Without a doubt, Spotify’s differentiating point is its vast listener database that enables them to create new podcasts based on trends, interests of the users and match its podcast library with a broad audience.
And recently, a newcomer joined the Listening Club: I introduce you Clubhouse! The Clubhouse is a social network app -available only in IOS- based on a new digital audio format: Live-audio. Users can speak spontaneously and listen to each other. There is no camera, only voice.
The app was launched in April 2020 by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth. It reached 2 million weekly active users -including celebrities, influencers, CEO all over the world-. Lately, Clubhouse lived the aha moment with Elon Musk’s appearance on the network:
The sudden boost of the Clubhouse network relies on two particular factors: It is an invitation-only social network. You must get an invitation from an existing user to join the network. Once you get the invitation, you can download the app and create an account. It is always visible who nominates you on your profile. The sign-up process remains easy given that detailed personal information is not required. After the sign-up, the app asks permission to access all your contacts and send them an invitation. Eventually, my first impression was that everyone asks for an invitation and downloads it out of curiosity. The power of the word-of-mouth marketing strategy worked very well in the Clubhouse case.
The second reason for the undeniable rise of Clubhouse is the conversation. The best thing about the app is that there are no barriers between the community. The platform provides the opportunity to talk and share your knowledge through various rooms where you can directly address professionals (also a broad range of celebrities). Unlike the mainstream social networks, Clubhouse has quickly become a trending topic among start-up ecosystems, founders, developers, and technology lovers. Thus, the app facilitates professional networking. Once, I joined a room of a well-known consultant firm where entrepreneurs talk about their startups and have some feedback about the UX design of their apps and websites.
Furthermore, live communication creates new customer acquisition channels and consequently gets marketers’ attention. Recently, I experienced a successful example of embedding marketing in Clubhouse: Unilever, British multinational consumer goods company, sponsored one of the rooms with an influencer collaboration for their Lipton Ice Tea product. Unlike the usual marketing strategies, users experienced the product without any visual or video content. The experience depends on sharing and interacting.
The idea was to create a social experience that is focused on connection, learning, and authentic conversations, where people close the app feeling better than they did when they opened it because they have deepened friendships, met new people, and learned, Paul Davison and Rohan Seth said.
The manifesto of Clubhouse lies on real-time chats where users experience spontaneity. The positioning of Clubhouse is somewhere between podcast and radio with the live interaction of participants.
In contrast to the audio world, you have followers and followings. Therefore, it is considered a live audio-based social network. Here is the list of the most followed accounts on Clubhouse!
There are various rooms (live chats) -based on your followers- that appear on the home page. If one of your followers joins a room, you can see and enter the room as well. Once you enter, you see two distinctive zones: First for the speakers, second for the listeners. Every time you join as a listener (muted). To talk, you should ‘raise your hand’ and then be accepted to the speaker zone by the host. Turn back to WhatsApp group basics: Who creates the room, becomes the host. If you want to skip into another room, you can announce that you are ‘leaving quietly’. Currently, there is no topic search tool within the app. That’s why content remains limited.
There is no camera or recording feature. Moving away from visual interactions to audio-based ones allows casual talks -the hottest trend these days- with new people. You can work or cook while hanging on Clubhouse. So, it is fun and not boring at all!
It is still a free application. But, monetization and content moderation are crucial issues that Clubhouse has not addressed yet.
Clubhouse versus Podcasts
Although the formats are different, Clubhouse -in some ways- reminds me of Podcasts. Why? In the first place, both are like great companions! The need for a companion -especially while we are far away from our loved ones- fulfilled by audio-based content.
Podcasting has become the greatest companion medium. Not only can you take it with you while you do other things, but we also see people turning to podcasts for a sense of community and connection during a very stressful time, Tom Webster -Senior Vice President of Edison Research- said.
Secondly, I can do whatever I want when I listen to podcasts or join conversations on Clubhouse. Video-free content lets us free and gives us the flexibility to manage our time and work. The last point is learning. Both audio-based contents are great tools to expand our knowledge and interest in specific topics with committed people.
The main difference between Clubhouse and podcasts is the interaction that is fundamental for Clubhouse. You can meet the host and have a quick chat with new people in the Clubhouse while listening. Conversely, podcasts are like platonic love. You listen to every episode, love the host and content. Unhappily, the creator of the podcast is not aware.
I wonder how will Clubhouse evolve in the upcoming days. As our world has become filled with screens, the future of listening will be bright! Our great companions and platonic loves keep growing in this transition era. In other words, social networks force each other to develop while they compete. We call it the co-existence of social networks in the digital world!
About this article
This article has been written by a student on the Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Advanced Masters in Digital Strategy Management. As part of a content creation assignment, students are given the task of writing articles based on their digital interests and disseminate the articles online. Articles are marked but we make minimal changes to the content. Thanks for reading! James Barisic, Programme Director, MS DSM.
