Clubhouse – Practical Tips for Social Audio Media Event Organisers
Clubhouse is THE medium for Legal Marketing, and here come some tips and insights that I have collected over time.
Search for “Social Audio” in order to retrieve all the other relevant Clubhouse articles on my website. I do generally not support recorded content, such as podcasts and Zoom meetings for law firm marketing, but a social audio media meeting is an entirely different class of events. It is easy to organize, it does not require preparation, and genuine, authentic contributors can be easily spotted, while fake personalities get debunked in no time.
In short words: Social Audio is “magic”. I am willing to spend one hour per week of my own time for that purpose.
Here come my tips for Clubhouse:
Create a Link To Your Scheduled Clubhouse Event
You need the URL of your future clubhouse event in order to share it with others. Only that way can you make sure that at least some people will attend your event, and that you are not alone.
This is how I do that:
Create the Clubhouse event by a) clicking on the calendar symbol in the Clubhouse app and b) clicking there on the calendar symbol with the “+” sign in the calendar. A “new event” page will open. Fill it out and save the Clubhouse event.
In order to retrieve the link to your Clubhouse event, proceed to the event by a) clicking on the calendar symbol in the Clubhouse app and b) clicking on the calendar symbol with the “+” sign in the calendar. Then click on the “Upcoming for you” selector button on the top of that page and select “My Events”. Your event will show up. Click on it. A window will open that gives you the following choice: “Share”, “Tweet”, “Copy Link”, and “Add to Cal”. This is what I do: I send the Clubhouse event link to my other smartphone that I have paired with my computer (click here). From there I can do anything with that Clubhouse event link.
Not Everyone Can Open A Public Clubhouse Event Link, Even If They Are Clubhouse Members
That is because the Clubhouse system is so new that it comes with bugs all over the place.
Here is one major bug.
Sometimes I get a public Clubhouse event link that looks like that “https://ios.clubhouse.com/room/MEpJjJGv”.
Before you share that link, remove the “ios.” from the link so that the same link looks like that: “https://clubhouse.com/room/MEpJjJGv”
That way also Android users can open your event just by clicking on it.
So test your Clubhouse event link with other Android users before your event.
Multiply the Clubhouse event on LinkedIn
I highly recommend creating a LinkedIn event and using the Clubhouse event link as a so-called “Broadcast link”. The LinkedIn event comes with a group chat and it is very easy to share the event with other LinkedIn members.
Here is a short manual on how to create and manage a LinkedIn event: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/98192/create-or-manage-a-linkedin-event?lang=en
You can add two photos to the LinkedIn event. Here is how my LinkedIn event for my next “The 4×4 Innovation Meet” (click here) looks like:
The most important button on the LinkedIn event page is the “Manage Event” button on the top right side. I have highlighted it in the picture above. You need that “Manage Event” button if you want to change any detail of your LinkedIn event after having created it.
Recording Audio
This is the technology that I use:
– a second smartphone with a second phone number and a second Clubhouse account. I am using my old iPhone 7.
– an adapter “Apple Lightning to headphones 3.5mm” (click here)
– a signal splitter from “headphones 3.5mm to earphones + microphone” (click here)
– one connector cable 3.5mm male-male (click here)
– one digital voice recorder (click here)
And this is how the setup looks like when it is used. Plug the free end of the 3.5mm connector cable into the earphone connector of the signal splitter.
The second smartphone can be old, and there might be other adapters that connect the digital voice recorder with the second smartphone. The above setup works well for me.
All that is required is that I log into the same Clubhouse event with two smartphones at the same time.
If you use this setup, there is no echo feedback loop with the first smartphone during the Clubhouse event as no microphone is connected to the second smartphone, but only the digital recorder.
Check out the result of a recorded Clubhouse event here: https://ip-lawyer-tools.com/clubhouse-event-the-4×4-innovation-meet-1/
All is good.
Use Your Brand in the Room Title, Plus A Catchy Tagline
Ask yourself: how would you find the following Clubhouse event without having its URL? Will it attract useful targets?
Play with the event title to make it easier for your targets to find you when they browse the Clubhouse events.
That is another bug of the Clubhouse system: one cannot find your event on Clubhouse with the search function of the app. That is why there are currently only two ways of attracting targets to your Clubhouse event: either they know the URL of your event or they randomly stumble in after being attracted by its event title.
Housekeeping After the Event
Post your event information together with its recording after the Clubhouse event.
Add the sources and information that was put into the chatgroup of your LinkedIn chat.
Here is an example of one of my own events:
Use Slideshare for Sharing Information That Lasts
Although Clubhouse is not intended for sharing written contents, it can make sense to put some slides up with information that you want to share.
That can help your audience to better find you. You can give away a white paper or any other bonus that you have in mind in order to stay in contact with them.
I have written an article that explains how SlideShar works, click here: https://ip-lawyer-tools.com/slideshare-treasure-chest-and-marketing-tool-for-ip-lawyers-in-one-place/
Add Another Moderator, Always
Add at least one other moderator to your room. Here is why: if you lose your data connection and if you are the only moderator, the room will end and you will not be able to recreate it. But if you have another moderator in the room and if your connection is lost, the room will be able to continue without you and you can join again
To add another moderator, tap on the profile of someone who is on the stage and choose “Make a Moderator”. Immediately, that person will be upgraded and a little green symbol will appear next to their name.
BTW, that is another reason to log into the same Clubhouse event using two smartphones. If you drop out from the Clubhouse room with your first smartphone, e.g. because of your fat fingers, then your second second smartphone will keep that Clubhouse event going until you log in again with your first smartphone.
International Timer Tool
Use the WorldTimeServer tool (click here) for finding a time of the day when you want to have the recurring Clubhouse Event happening-
This is what the tool gives you:
Select a time of the day at your own location where there all the other locations have “green” or “yellow” boxes. If there is a “red” box, this should be your own time zone, for a marketing event. Make it easy for your potential customers to attend your Clubhouse event!
My own Clubhouse event is at 10pm, every Thursday evening. Now guess from where most of my clients come.
How To Start Your Scheduled Clubhouse Event
On the start page of the Clubhouse app, there is large green bottom that says “+ Start a room”. Click on it.
A selection will appear: “Start your scheduled event” or “Start a different room”.
That selection will only appear if you are close enough to your scheduled event. A few hours before the event is too long.
If you are much too early, only the usual selection between “Open”, “Social”, and “Closed” will appear, for starting an ad-hoc Clubhouse event. That is not what you want.
Call-to-Action
Set up your own recurring Clubhouse Event in the area of IP, today, by doing the following steps:
1. Identify your targets: do you want to talk with sole inventors or with corporate IP people? Or with foreign associates in the area of IP? Write that answer up.
2. Select a time of the day when you want to have the recurring Clubhouse Event. Use the timer tool above.
3. Select a unique brand for your recurring Clubhouse Event and a catchy title
3. Set up your first Clubhouse event
4. Create a link to your Clubhouse event, and test it with other Android users
5. Set up a corresponding LinkedIn event, and use the link to your Clubhouse event as the so-called “Broadcast link”.
6. Contact me over LinkedIn and send me your recurring event for listing on my IP events page (click here)
7. Promote the LinkedIn event to your contacts, over whatever communication channel that you have
8. welcome to the infinite world of Legal Marketing!
Martin “Clubhouse” Schweiger