Building Community On and Off Clubhouse
The Clubhouse craze hit fast and doesn’t seem like it will be slowing down anytime soon. On Clubhouse you’re able to jump in and out of rooms based on your interest at the moment, connect with old friends, listen to role models and meet new collaborators. At first I felt like scrolling through Clubhouse rooms was like the new mindless scroll of Instagram or Netflix. I’d pop into a room, then leave quietly and head into a new one. I quickly learned that personally I enjoy the smaller rooms, under 100 people, where you can actually connect and it’s less like listening to a panel. I have enjoyed some of the bigger rooms; I have to admit I listened to Lindsay Lohan - but there is no community building with thousands of people, it might as well be a podcast. In the smaller rooms you can actually connect with new people and participate in interesting conversations. But what happens after you make a meaningful connection on Clubhouse?
On Clubhouse the way to stand out is to speak in rooms and have an interesting bio with relevant links (and it seems like the trend is a lot of emojis). If you want to leave an impact, invite your new connections to schedule a time on your Calendly (an idea from Sara of 99 & Saint Claire) and meet in your Virtual Venue where you control the look and feel. It will leave an impact and stand out from another generic Zoom meeting. Think of the Clubhouse app as a place to learn and network, then bring them back to your own personal clubhouse on your website.
With Virtual Venue you can make your own member clubhouse on your website. As the name Clubhouse quickly became associated with the app I was a bit bummed because I kept referring to Virtual Venue as a tool to build your own clubhouse, but now I see the opportunity how the two can work together. Connect with new people in Clubhouse then invite them to your own custom branded clubhouse using Virtual Venue that is right on your website. Clubhouse app is generic - there are no faces, no branding, your text is limited. Design out your clubhouse exactly how you want to and embed it on your website. Check out this preview of Virtual Venue to see how you can make it your own custom clubhouse.
We hosted two chats recently (on the Clubhouse app) with some of our inspiring early access Virtual Venue users about Digital Membership Communities and Building Community On and Off Clubhouse. Since there is no recording of Clubhouse chats, I frantically typed up notes of top takeaways so I could share them here.
Building Community On and Off Clubhouse
Clubhouse has quickly become one of the best ways to build community - but now what? Learn how to go deeper with the relationships you make on CH, even when you’re off the app.
On February 15th we hosted this chat with fellow Virtual Venue users and very engaged listeners.
Top takeaways on how to build community on and off Clubhouse:
On The Clubhouse App
Host rooms with friends and collaborators and schedule in advance to add them to the Bulletin
When you’re speaking in a room, ping your followers to join into the room
Join small rooms that are relevant topics and raise your hand to speak
Update your bio with links to your work, offers, a Calendly for virtual coffee dates
Find your people by joining clubs of interest
Keep showing up, make it a habit
Promote talks you’re doing to Facebook groups, Slack, Twitter, etc. If you schedule it then you can share in advance. You can even create a Mixily event to collect RSVPs of attendees and include the Clubhouse link as the location
Follow interesting people and message them on Instagram or Twitter to stay connected
Off The Clubhouse App
Start or grow your Digital Membership Community
Host Virtual events and meetings in your Virtual Venue.
“With testing out Mixily, I am able to create cohesive community experience that feels like every other touch point of my brand. Now I can create an experience, not just a black box.” -Grace of Quench Collective
“It’s so cool experiencing a product that is newly built and fulfilling my need, I haven’t had that before and it’s so good!” -Mariya
Bring people back to your website with special offers like free downloads or discovery calls
Send a regular newsletter with consistent updates and musings
Post on your blog or guest post on other community blogs
Join Facebook Groups, Slack channels or Circles that you learn about on Clubhouse, or invite your new contacts to ones that you are a part of
“Make your community feel like their input matters and ask them what they want to learn and talk about, be transparent.” -Sara of 99 & Saint Claire
Digital Membership Communities
Learn from these superstar founders about launching their digital membership communities and the systems and tools they use to host events, market, collaborate and scale.
We hosted a Digital Membership Community discussion on February 9th to celebrate our Product Hunt launch day! It was an inspiring and exciting way to kick off the day, getting to moderate a powerhouse group of 6 community leaders. It can be quite lonely as we all WFH (work from home), and digital membership communities help us connect and feel less alone.
We talked about marketing, tools, systems and how there is room for all community groups. Some highlights:
Be consistent with communication via emails and social media
As the founder of a community group, don’t be the gate keeper, invite guests to teach workshops with their expertise
Set up a referral program to grow by word of mouth
Each community is unique, so you shouldn’t all be meeting in the same generic Zoom rooms. Create custom video gathering spaces right in your website using Virtual Venue and call it your member clubhouse
“The reason I was so drawn to Mixily is that I could differentiate and have it be my own. I love that it’s not a traditional black room that we’re all used to.” -Allison of PoppyLead
“No ghosting policy.” When signing a client or a new member, give them a time stamp of when they need to confirm by. -Lis Best
“No asshole policy, it is really important to create a safe space.” -Sana of Jet Black Social Club
There is enough room for one person in many memberships. Many of the founders are also members of other communities. “It’s nice to host one and then go into another and have space held for me.” -Marisa of Attune+Align
Next on Clubhouse
Follow me on Clubhouse at mirayab to join future conversations about building community and virtual events. Want to host a discussion together? Email me at miraya@mixily.com and let’s get one scheduled on the Bulletin!