Table of Contents
UPDATED: JULY 2021!
This Ultimate Guide will show you not only what Clubhouse is, but step-by-step how to use it to your advantage as a lawyer!
People are buzzing about Clubhouse, the new social media platform, and if you have not joined up, you are not alone. Launched in April 2020, and still not available to the general public, Clubhouse is a unique app that requires an invitation, setting it apart from most other social media venues. The idea behind the niche app Clubhouse is a type of updated chat room; a place for members to converse, collaborate and connect. The exclusive members that are currently using Clubhouse include celebrities, business elites, and top entrepreneurs.
Like many, you may have questions about this social media newcomer. When will it be widely available and will it be the next big thing? Regarding the legal profession, what will Clubhouse for lawyers look like? And how will Clubhouse for law firms be used to promote, expand and enhance business? Read on to discover more about this compelling new app, and discover how it may allow future connections for you and your law firm.
What Is Clubhouse?
With most in-person networking events nonexistent these days, Clubhouse is becoming a fresh, new place to meet new people. Clubhouse users build a framework of drop-in chat rooms, available for any member to join, entering and exiting as they wish. A chat room can be planned and scheduled in advance, or it may be formed impromptu. When you create a room, you become the moderator and take the virtual “stage.” When individuals join someone else’s chat, they can raise a hand to participate, join the stage or simply continue as a listener / onlooker. Clubhouse is proving to be a busy place, with a large number and variety of chat rooms going without a time limit.
Still confused? Think of Clubhouse as a podcast you can jump in on anytime to provide value or ask questions. It’s like a radio talk show that is only live once (not recorded) and you can be a guest to be involved, or simply sit back and listen.
The Unique Features of Clubhouse
Audio-Based
The stand-out characteristic of Clubhouse is that it promotes the audio component of social media, something that has been lost in the jumble of videos, images and text that usually fill our social media pages. Being involved at Clubhouse can feel like a party or networking event, or a Clubhouse chat room can also function like a Q & A seminar. The rooms operate however the moderator decides, and if people want to simply listen, they can just press the mute button. People discuss everything and anything within Clubhouse’s chat rooms; the main goal is simply to connect. And when you are finished talking and the chat has ended, it disappears.
Network with Celebrities
The Clubhouse membership is exclusive, and it currently provides an elite opportunity to network with big names. At this time, members have the opportunity to connect personally and professionally with celebrities and tech giants that most of us cannot access. Clubhouse has a sense of intimacy, since anyone can join a room and enjoy a real conversation with anybody, at any time.
Clubs Within the Clubhouse
Clubhouse clubs are smaller communities within the entire platform. The structure of a Clubhouse club looks like this:
- Founder: the club owner who edits the club’s focus and rules, and has the ability to send invites.
- Admin: appointed by the founder or other admins; can approve or remove members.
- Members: approved club participants who can create private chat rooms within the club and nominate other Clubhouse members for admittance into the club.
- Follower: can follow public club activities; not an official member of the club.
The Next Best Thing? (TL;DR – YES!)
Some people expect Clubhouse to take the social media world to a new level. Having a real-time conversation with real people feels more authentic to some people than typing messages out back and forth, much like a Zoom meeting feels more tangible than a series of group email messages. Twitter’s Spaces, also in process, looks similar to Clubhouse, and chances are, there will be more like it.
I know, I know. You are thinking – it’s too much. Too much social media already. But, I’m here to say this is GAME-CHANGER. You can immediately connect with people that you want to connect with, and start clubs and discussions providing value to your potential clients. It’s really amazing. (Pinky swear.)
Benefits of Clubhouse for Lawyers
Clubhouse for law firms is an ideal fit, since it is an excellent way to spotlight abilities and services, connect with potential referrals and promote exposure for law firms.
Comfortable Audio Format
Clubhouse uses an audio format; users communicate through chat rooms. Sharing spoken information is standard procedure for lawyers, and often more comfortable and effective than communicating through video content or text.
Promoting Your Law Firm
Lawyers can host open chat forums, where visitors can ask questions, or they can tackle specific topics within their practice area. Another way to participate and generate name recognition is to join a chat in a topic related to the practice and ask to be added to the stage to provide additional advice or input.
Profile Exposure
When you participate in a chat room by raising a hand or taking the stage, it is common for other participants to click on your profile to see who you are, and you can also extend requests to connect with others in the chat room.
Connection Options
There are several ways to interact with a Clubhouse connection. You may invite others to related chat rooms, start a club, or be invited as a speaker in an upcoming chat room. If you have made a connection, you can click the profile, see where someone is, and join them.
Convenience
It is simple to engage in Clubhouse. You can conveniently jump in and out of chat rooms at your convenience, which is a gift to busy lawyers.
Diverse Topics
When you are finished discussing work related topics, you can venture into discussions about hobbies or other interests, since there are endless possibilities at your fingertips: political discussions, movie reviews, book recommendations, sports and more.
Step-By-Step Guide To Clubhouse
This is the part you really need! It will answer all of your questions regarding how you get on Clubhouse and what do you do when you are there!
How Do You Join Clubhouse?
There are two ways to join Clubhouse.
Clubhouse is no longer in the private “beta phase,” which was originally available solely to iPhone users who have received a personal invitation.
Now both iPhone and Android users can join!
For now, there are only a few ways you can access Clubhouse:
- When a person joins Clubhouse, they have the opportunity to send two people an invitation using the invitee’s phone number.
- When a member has been active on Clubhouse as a moderator and speaker, they have the ability to earn more invites to send.
- When you attempt to visit the Clubhouse website, you have the option to download the app and reserve a username. If you have contacts who have already joined Clubhouse, they will be notified that you have secured a username, and they may be able to allow you entrance to Clubhouse, even without using their official invitation.
Reserve Your Username Now!
When you first visit Clubhouse’s website, you have an option to reserve your username. Make sure to do this as soon as possible. Also, depending on whether or not you have a few friends already using Clubhouse, they may actually receive a notification that you are trying to get onto Clubhouse and allow them to wave you through even if they do not have an official invitation left to send!
How To Set Up Your Profile On Clubhouse as an Attorney
You have the ability to have a profile, just like other social media apps such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Profiles are never private on Clubhouse, which is fantastic if you want people to be able to find you, but not so much if you want to include personal information. Make sure you understand that there is no way to make your bio or profile private.
You can choose a photo (make it a good one) that will be seen by everyone. These photos are small, so choose something that pops. You have a lot of room to write your bio, however, the first three lines (125 characters) are what everyone will see as a preview while you are in a room on Clubhouse. Make sure to include keywords such as “lawyer”, “attorney” and the name of your law firm and practice areas as these are completely searchable on Clubhouse! Here’s my bio and profile as an example! (Follow me @annettechoti)
Clubhouse Profile and Bio Tips
- Make sure to tell the readers your value in your bio so they can understand exactly what you do.
- There are NO. CLICKABLE. LINKS. In your bio – EXCEPT Twitter and Instagram profile. While you can put other links into your bio – the only ones that will be clickable are Twitter and Instagram.
- Use keywords strategically throughout your profile to help potential clients and the algorithm to understand exactly who you are and the services you provide.
- Use an outside app to write your bio (such as notepad) so that you can include some emojis if you want.
Add Your Instagram Profile to Clubhouse
If you want to add your Instagram to Clubhouse follow these steps:
- Go to your profile and scroll all the way to the bottom.
- Find the Instagram logo with the words “Add Instagram”
- You will click on that and be prompted to log into Facebook to connect your Instagram account.
- You can disconnect your Instagram account through the settings gear icon at the top right of your profile, or by revoking access to Clubhouse through your Instagram account.
Add Your Twitter Profile to Clubhouse
If you want to add your Twitter profile to Clubhouse follow these steps:
- Go to your profile in Clubhouse and scroll all the way to the bottom
- Find the Twitter logo with the words “Add Twitter”
- You will click on that and be prompted to log into Twitter to connect your Twitter account.
- You can disconnect your Twitter account through the settings gear icon at the top right of your profile, or by revoking access to Clubhouse through your Twitter account.
Navigating Through Clubhouse
There is also a main menu at the top of your Clubhouse app, which allows you to do the following:
- Edit or view your Clubhouse profile
- Search for a member using their actual name, their username or even keywords (this is important because people can search for “personal injury attorney” and find YOU!) Profiles are not private so you can find anyone on Clubhouse if you know how to search for them.
- Invite new people to join Clubhouse if you have invitations available
- View your calendar with Clubhouse rooms that are pertinent to you
- Review your notifications
Sending Invitations To Others on Clubhouse
You may have the ability to send invitations to others on Clubhouse. Check out the little envelope icon at the top of your profile. If it has a small yellow star on it like the one below it means you have invitations to send! Click on it and then follow the easy steps to add someone! It is important to understand that someone must be in your contact list on your phone in order to invite them. If you want to invite someone that is NOT on your contact list, simply have them text you on your phone, and then you will be able to invite them on Clubhouse.
What Rooms Are Coming Up? Using Your Calendar
As you can see from the image above, there is also a calendar icon. Clicking on this icon will show you what new rooms are coming up that fit your interests, or are from people that you are currently following.
Understanding Notifications on Clubhouse
There is also a bell icon which shows whether or not you have any notifications. The above image shows that I had two notifications pending. Notifications on Clubhouse can include the following:
- Someone has followed you
- Someone you are connected with already is currently speaking in a room on Clubhouse
- Someone has invited you to a room on Clubhouse because they think you may be interested in that conversation
- Someone schedules a room in the future that you are following or that you may be interested in
You have the ability to manage the amount of notifications you receive through your settings icon in the top right-hand corner.
How To Use Clubhouse Rooms and Chats
Here is the real meat of this article. What is the point of Clubhouse anyway? How can lawyers use Clubhouse and small law firms or solo law firms use Clubhouse to gain more potential clients?
Visit Rooms Where Your Potential Clients May Be Chatting
Look to see where your potential clients may already be having conversations. There are already a whole host of attorneys on Clubhouse and using it to their advantage. Go into these rooms and listen to what people are already talking about. Many estate planning attorneys, for example, are using this as an opportunity to simply answer questions for potential clients for free. Remember you can never provide actual legal advice, but you can provide information, similar to a podcast or blog post.
Consider following the people that are in that room. They may then follow you back and be notified when you create a room and conversation in the future about estate planning (or whatever your legal area of practice is).
Create a Private Chat
You can see who is on Clubhouse by either viewing them in a room, or swiping to the left and seeing who is actually on Clubhouse at the moment. You can then create a private room and invite them to chat about anything!
Create a Room!
This is the best way to find and engage with your potential clients. If you are a bankruptcy attorney, you could host a room about the different types of bankruptcy, or a bankruptcy FAQ or bankruptcy 101 room. Your clients will literally come to you.
If you are a moderator of a room, you can do the following:
- Add another moderator to the room (This is suggested, because many times, someone may get kicked off accidentally due to technology, and if there is only one moderator that gets kicked off the room disappears completely.)
- Allow audience members to raise their hands and join the “stage” for the conversation
- Invite people to speak and accept requests from the audience members to speak
- Mute speakers and send speakers back to the audience
Sometimes rooms get very large, and can go on for considerable amounts of time (hours!). It is up to you as a moderator to make decisions regarding how you want to run your room in Clubhouse as an attorney.
Important Details About Clubhouse Rooms
When you first start out in Clubhouse, you will have a little celebration icon in the corner of your picture. This allows people to understand you are new, and it is an incredibly welcoming platform. The users on this platform are generally all new and very gracious to help others. After about a week, your “new” icon will go away.
Scroll To The Bottom of the Clubhouse Room
When you scroll to the bottom of a Clubhouse room, you will see the following:
Join the Conversation
If you want to join a conversation in a room, all you have to do is click on the hand on the right, (raise your hand), and the moderator of the room will allow you to the top of the room.
Make SURE to mute your microphone until you are ready to speak!
Add Others (Pinging Others Into the Clubhouse Room)
If you are listening to a conversation that you think might interest others, you can simply click the “plus” icon at the bottom of the room and search for people you think might be interest. You can even SEARCH for people after clicking this plus icon through keywords such as “lawyer” or “attorney”. It’s incredible, to be honest. If you are the host of a room, you can do the same thing to invite people to your room.
Pull To Refresh (PTR)
You will often hear the phrase PTR or “pull to refresh.” Clubhouse is an audio chat where many audience members will frequently come and go. Because of this, some people may be on the stage, leave the stage, or leave the room. PTR helps everyone know where everyone actually is in the room, such as if they have left, if they are on stage, or if they are in the audience.
Leaving a Clubhouse Room
If you need to leave a room, you do not need to make a grand exit. In fact, the only way to leave is through the button that says “Leave Quietly.” This actually allows you to enter and exit rooms without causing any disturbance at all.
Creating a Club in Clubhouse
HUGE CHANGES! YOU CAN NOW CREATE A CLUB IN CLUBHOUSE EASILY!
If you are interested in following a good one (*shameless plug*) you can look for LEGAL MARKETING LOUNGE, which is my Clubhouse Club.
You can only create one club at a time, and then need to commit to providing consistent content and conversations in that club. Creating a club is an amazing way to build authority and have people find you, instead of the other way around as a lawyer on Clubhouse.
BACKCHANNEL – DIRECT MESSAGING!
Direct messaging allows you to send a message within Clubhouse instead of clicking on a Twitter or Instagram account, or manually looking a person up on their website or LinkedIn. This is a massive change – and absolutely fantastic!
How Law Quill Can Help You
First, follow me on Clubhouse! @annettechoti
I’m going to be hosting lots of conversations about digital marketing and small law firms and solo law firms and am waiting to get a club approval now!
The Clubhouse app represents new possibilities in social media, because individuals crave real engagement and transparency, and some want less of the rigor of producing mountains of varied content. In addition to discussing all the available possibilities of this new type of social media, people are also talking about what Clubhouse will look like when the app becomes publicly available. The uses seem endless, and the prospect of Clubhouse for lawyers definitely looks promising. If you are already on Clubhouse, you have the chance to start making unique connections, host discussions and use this platform to your law firm’s advantage.
Law Quill would welcome the opportunity to visit with you about how we can help find content to talk about with potential clients on Clubhouse and also help you increase your law firm’s online visibility and gain more clients!
Schedule a free visit with us by scheduling a quick phone or zoom call at your convenience on our calendar today. You can also email us at support@lawquill.com.
