January 4, 2021 By Fiona Lucas

CLUBHOUSE – audio takes on video for engagement and variety

Have you received an invitation and joined Clubhouse? It’s the (currently in private Beta) invitation only Audio only platform taking the world by storm.

Important to note: Currently Clubhouse is only available on the Apple Store for iPhone users. Android is coming.

The app is for adults (18 and above) due to data collection regulations and as discussions may potentially include crude humor and adult concepts depending on the group.
(From the privacy statement : Our Service is not directed to individuals who are under the age of 18. Company does not knowingly collect Personal Data from individuals under the age of 18. If you have reason to believe that an individual under the age of 18 has provided Personal Data to Company through the Service please contact us and we will endeavour to delete that information from our databases.)

Note: This article is based on my personal experience over the past few weeks on the app. Features and updates are constantly being added which may alter the information included here at the time of writing.

What is Clubhouse:

How to explain? It’s like listening to a LIVE podcast, except that you can ask to join in. Or you can host your own “room” or even create a club.

It’s also kind of like having a conference phone call, or being part of talkback radio. It’s different, yet it’s familiar!

Clubhouse is about communication and communicating in Real Time – so it’s live, in person (and you don’t need to be camera ready because it’s voice only).

Founded by Paul Davison & Rowan Seth (both entrepreneurs with impressive histories) with an aim to foster “meaningful conversations and human connections”.

Be warned, once you go in, it’s really hard to leave!

These are the guiding principles from the Clubhouse community guidelines:

Be yourself. The authenticity of Clubhouse begins with the people.
Be respectful. This applies to every person, at all times.

Be inclusive. Tolerate, welcome, and consider diverse people and perspectives.
Build empathy and understanding. Engage in debates that are in good faith.
Foster meaningful and genuine connections. This is what Clubhouse is all about.

Who is it for?

Pretty much everyone (over 17) with the focus on quality conversations. There is no private messaging ( you need to follow up folk by following on Twitter or Instagram and you can message there). Everything is done within a Room.

As Clubhouse evolves I’m seeing it as a wonderful opportunity for people to not only learn and evolve, but to grow their own authority. How brilliant to be able to listen and develop deeper understanding of the problems that need to be solved (and therefore better develop products and services) and to build community.

Eventually I think those with existing communities will be able to offer a newer way to connect. There are plenty of opportunities to be innovative, perhaps adding a community stream to an event. It’s also another way to find people for guests for your own livestreams and podcasts.

Why I’m loving it

Firstly, it’s a great equalizer. When it’s audio there is less bias and prejudice.

Secondly, like many I was suffering “zoom fatigue” and the time is ripe for a new player in the social media scene.. With so much of my work having to move from in person connection or in person events, I was missing the engagement that comes with the networking at such events.

Don’t get me wrong. I think the ability to connect with a wider audience through video is something that has kept our world together, and certainly Clubhouse won’t be replacing the need (and it’s not a visual training tool ) but it adds a further layer, and new opportunities for personal and business development.

When I first joined around 10 December I was unsure about a few things. Giving up personal information is something I am always cautious about, especially access to contacts (and I’m still not that thrilled with that aspect – you can turn it off, but then you can’t invite anyone).

Then, I was a little frustrated with finding “rooms” that were quality or topics that I was interested in (now there is a search option so that’s soooo much better) and missing out on content because my time zone was different.

For me, the smaller more intimate Rooms are better as there is more chance of being able to join in and to really get to know people. There are rooms with hundreds of attendees and they can be a bit overwhelming (but often the content is mastermind level so you find yourself taking copious notes).

Now I’m totally in love with Clubhouse. I love that the focus is not on produced content but on quality conversations. The ability to learn from others is massive, but not learning in the traditional sense. This is not listening to a seminar or a panel, but an engaged and vibrant community willing to exchange knowledge.

What’s Good?

Those on the app early are benefiting from some intense and deep discussions where business growth strategies, new tech and everything in between are taking place (sometimes for hours). Incredible knowledge bombs are being dropped and shared by some pretty amazing investors and high rollers!

Building relationships, expanding and making new connections, with a broad range of people. This to me is one of the most outstanding features.

A huge plus is that you can listen while you are doing other things, just like a podcast, but then you can stop and “put up your hand” and ask to be included in a discussion, so it’s not a one way street. I found this works best in smaller rooms, although there were some large groups going literally for almost a full day who brought in speakers on a rotating basis.

You can leave a Room easily if it’s not a conversation that interests you.

I love that it can be two – way, actually engaging in real time is refreshing.

Another feature I do like is the ! symbol which is used to indicate if a member has been blocked by multiple people. According to Clubhouse “People use blocking for many different reasons on Clubhouse—so it might just mean this person has strong opinions, opposing views to the people you follow, or a personal history with someone you know” .

The founders also run a weekly “Townhall” to let users know about the latest updates.

What’s not so hot?

Clubhouse is currently in Beta, so I’m very aware that it will be evolving all the time.

For me the main drawback is that if you are not available at the time, there is NO recording. You can’t go back or rewind to listen to what you missed.   On the other hand, you could say this isn’t really a drawback as it means those who are in a “room” are fully engaged and committed, but it can be a frustration.

Also be prepared at least initially to be drawn like a moth to a flame. It can be a massive time suck, so make sure you have a few hours free to explore.   And keep a notebook handy. You cannot record the content (or you will find yourself removed from the app).

There are some Rooms filled with people who are on the self-promotional trail and focused on the sell, so choose your rooms and don’t be afraid to leave if you don’t agree with the content. There have been thankfully only a few groups which have had some disrespectful or racist or discriminatory comments, however Moderators can easily remove detractors and it’s also a simple process to report.    (Content is kept while a room is “live” only for the purpose of reviewing any user reports and then it is deleted).    I read a couple of reports where Moderators did not challenge remarks, but that really leads into the importance of having good moderators and understanding how to moderate (see the section on Moderation below).

When it comes to business chats, there is certainly currently a gap for more conversations suited to small businesses vs 7 figure turnover and high end strategic discussions.

How do I join?

The recommended way is to download the app from the Apple store and reserve your user name. Sticking to your personal name is best (you must sign up with your real name, but there is an option for a nickname). You can only change your username once, so choose wisely. Make it easy for people to find you. Then wait for an invitation (or for the app to open up from Beta).
You can only have one profile and it must be in your actual name, not your business.

Invitations:

At the moment invitations are still fairly limited. When you join you are generally issued with one invitation. You can gain more as you host or moderate rooms.

Choose wisely when inviting others and make sure you know and trust the person you invite. Should someone you invite breach regulations it may reflect on your standing also.

Once you get an invitation, Set up your Bio.

The first three lines of your bio are seen in preview when someone looks at your profile in a room, so make you use works that let people know how you can help them. They are also searchable terms but use keywords strategically, but don’t go overboard with keyword stuffing.

Draft your Bio in your iPhone notes and add emojis and formatting, then cut and paste it to your bio.

Add a clear image of yourself. It can help to stand out if you use a bright background.

Add your twitter and/or Instagram handles.

New: Choose your topics/interests.

Click on the search icon to bring these up. This can help you find Clubs and people who have shared interests. These are expanding over time.

Navigating:

Hallway: The main feed is known as the Hallway. At the top will be listed any Clubs/scheduled rooms you have joined. The remainder of the hallway is where you will see Rooms that are active.

Search icon: At the top left of the screen is the search feature. You can search for people and clubs, or you can choose a topic to find conversations.

Envelope Icon: At the top of the screen above the main feed the envelope will let you know what invitations you have available and your contacts so you can allocate them.

Calendar icon: This will show you what is coming up based on those topics you have selected. If you click the dropdown arrow “Upcoming for you” you can choose if you see all upcoming, upcoming for you or your own events.

Bell icon: This shows invitations to Clubs and other notifications. This includes when people “ping” you to invite you into a room, and a list of anyone who has followed you and allows you to select interests to help improve your feed.

Swipe left from Hallway: to see a list of Active Clubs you’ve joined and any connections who are available to chat.

General Etiquette.

Read the community guidelines.
When you are invited in a room to join the speakers, your microphone by default is on, so quickly turn it off until you are asked to speak.
Keep your mic off whilst others are speaking
Be mindful of any room guidelines when you speak, and be mindful of how long you are speaking for.
Don’t pitch (unless specifically invited to), it’s about having conversations and sharing insights and knowledge.
At the moment as there is no option for applause, use your microphone and flash it off and on quickly to indicate appreciation or support.
If you don’t have anything to add to a conversation, you can remove yourself back to the audience and allow others to step up.
To leave a room you can use the button “leave quietly” which lets you exit anytime.
If you want to invite a connection to a room that you feel would be of interest to them, or you feel they could add value, you can “ping” them by pressing the + sign.
If you would like to speak and you are not on the stage, you can click on the raise hand 🖐🏼 which lets the moderators know you are interested in joining in. They may then send you a message at the top of the screen asking if you would like to join in.
If you receive an invitation to join the stage, but you are not ready to, it is fine to decline.
It is considered good etiquette to follow the speakers in a Room. You can also click on their profiles and follow their Twitter and/or Instagram. This can enable you to follow up with them via direct message (DM) as there is no messaging on the app.
While you are in a room, check people out, follow those who interest you or share interests.
The community guidelines outline how to report an incident or a user.
You can follow, unfollow or block users

Starting & Moderating a Room

You can start a room on the spot, or schedule an Event.
Choose if you want your room Open to anyone, Social (open to your followers) or Closed (direct invitation only – great for team catch ups!)
Think carefully about the topic and make sure that you make it clear what the Room is about. You can’t change it once you set it up!
As soon as you open the room you will be noted as a moderator (with a green symbol alongside your profile).
It’s good practice to invite one or two others to moderate with you. Choose carefully as they will have the ability to add and remove speakers as well as close the room. Having additional moderators helps you, especially if the room gets busy as they can promote speakers, or mute people when required. It is also beneficial as if you get interrupted or need a break, you don’t need to close the room.
A room is set up in three tiers. The main “stage” for Moderators and Speakers, a “front row” where anyone followed by any of the speakers or moderators appear and the third tier is the Audience.
There is movement within tiers. The longer a person is in a tier, they will ‘move up’ the room. If they leave they go back to the end of the tier.
Should the speaker or moderator a person is connected to leave the room, they will drop out of the “front row” and back to the audience.
It is good practice to acknowledge new people as they enter the room. If the room is small you can greet by name and if desired invite them straight up to the stage. If you have a large audience you can just do a general welcome to people joining.
Before you invite someone to speak, if you don’t know them, take a look at their bio
Be prepared to keep the conversation to the topic of your Room. Don’t be afraid to stop someone speaking if they go off topic. You can easily mute them. The best moderates actively moderate, encouraging and support speakers, especially if they are more reserved, with questions to the group and to share knowledge.
Be thoughtful when invite speakers and include a diverse range of people and perspectives.
Encourage participation, take questions if appropriate
Remember you are in charge as moderator. If someone is disruptive, you can eject them from the room, you can move speakers around, return them to the audience and invite new speakers in.

What is a club?

A club is a way to gather a group of like minded people around a specific topic or interest. You can attach up to three topics to your club.

Currently there is a waiting period to be approved for Clubs and priority given to those running a regular Room for at least 3 weeks.

The fine print:

Be aware that the app does collect and link quite a bit of data and make sure to read the Clubhouse privacy statement

Data includes: Contact Information, identifiers, your contacts (this is how you are able to invite others when you are given invitations), User Content and usage data.

You can remove access to your contacts, but this is done via your iPhone [go to your iPhone settings (not the app settings), tap “privacy,” then “contacts,” and toggle off access for Clubhouse]

Got other questions? Check out Clubhouse’s Knowledge Centre.

Here you can find out how to start a Club, learn more about using the App, submit feature requests and more.

Are you a member of Clubhouse? You are welcome connect with me. You can find me on the app under @filucas.

I’d love to know what your thoughts are, please share with me.

October 6, 2019 By Fiona Lucas

Are you using user generated content?

Humanize your brand with user generated content

The quest for new content is never ending. What is user generated content? It’s allowing your fans, customers, clients, users to tell their story of your brand, or to contribute in other ways to your social media presence. It’s marketing generated by them for you.

image by davicidig depositphotos

User Generated Content (UGC) is becoming a big go to for brands big and small. It’s not a new concept, but it is developing in the ways it can be incorporated into a business strategy.

Becoming creative with your clients, letting them tell the story of your brand, letting them take the lead? Perhaps it’s time too consider.

According to research by Stackla in the “Bridging the Gap” 2019 Data report

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Consumers find UGC 9.8x more impactful than influencer content when making purchasing decisions…” quote=”Consumers find UGC 9.8x more impactful than influencer content when making purchasing decision, yet 49% of marketers are planning to increase their investment in influencer marketing in 2019″ theme=”style3″]

So consumers seem to prefer to connect with Peers and “regular” people over influencers. That’s pretty big.

It also is a call to influencers to choose to promote products that match their brand and that they actually like and use. Nothing is worse for a brand than an endorsement made purely because of the monetary transaction that took place. Seek out micro and macro influencers, people in your own community and local area who can become brand ambassadors for you and share content with you. Best of all engage your customers in your marketing.

Use contests and promotions

Another fabulous way to bring engagement and fun to your social media pages is to run a contest or promotion which requires entrants to post their entries. Whether a creative image, or a paragraph, all of the above not only creates engagement, but it’s done for you. Nothing beats the excitment of interaction with a little competition. Be sure to follow the appropriate rules when running promotions however.

Celebrate their wins

Asking your audience to share their wins and achievements, whether business or personally is another way to generate content for your brand.

It’s such a feel good thing, just writing this makes us smile! Every business is only as good as its customers, so celebrate them, respect them and get to know them

Make Sure you have permission

Having permission is everything. Whether you are talking to a client, an influencer or strangers with a competition, it is vital to ensure they have given permission for content to be used. For a competition this would be written in the terms and conditions. For a client or influencer, make sure you have a signed agreement in place which outlines how you may use any content provided.

Of course if they are posting it directly themselves, then permission has been granted by the very act. We would still recommend having terms and conditions somewhere on your blog or on Facebook as a note or in the about of your page that content posted may be used. One thing to be wary of, is that you need to be sure the person sharing the content, owns the content.

There have been issues where folk have entered a photographic competition for example, with an image that was not theirs to share. Make sure you have a line in terms and conditions that says entrants are agreeing that they have copyright and are giving you rights to their intellectual property.

Would you be game to ask a stranger to judge your product?

It might sound risky, but if you are confident in your product, getting the reaction of someone seeing/using that product for the first time is worth a million words. That first look of surprise and delight is pretty hard to fake! You can ask people at events, tradeshows, marketplaces and on the street and video their reactions, or ask them to film an “unboxing” of a product. (see above, make sure you have permission to use the content, have them sign a disclaimer before you give them the product).

Whatever you do, be authentic – mean it!

Please don’t ask questions or run competitions just for the attention. You will build much greater trust and rapport if what. you do genuinely comes from an interest in your clients/customers and prospects.

May 16, 2018 By Fiona Lucas

Support the small businesses you love online

Facebook news feed and small business support

How can we support local business, especially in a busy online environment? You probably have seen all kinds of stories about Facebook making changes in the way the news feed operates. Most of these stories have been written for business owners and marketers to help them make sense of the changes. What about for you, the Facebook user? How do these changes affect you?

The changes are aimed at being positive. Facebook want to provide you, with more of what you love, and less spammy posts.

Part of the way they will be doing is this is by asking you, to let them know which Pages you love, what types of content you like and which sources you trust for information.

[ctt title=”‘At a time when there is a lot of confusion around news and information sources, it is really important that we can trust the information that is in our news feeds.'” tweet=”‘At a time when there is a lot of confusion around news and information sources, it is really important that we can trust the information that is in our news feeds.'” coverup=”5jFW8″]

For many small businesses and local businesses, changes could mean that they appear less and less in our feeds and even more so they will need to pay a lot more in advertising to try and stay visible. It also means they need to work harder to provide you with the information you want to see.

How to be more visible

As a small business owner myself, I want to provide the best value and service I can to my clients and followers.

[ctt title=”‘I believe that small businesses are the lifeblood of local economies, and we can only grow by ensuring we meet the needs of you, the reader, the consumer, the customer and client. – Fiona Lucas\'” tweet=”‘I believe that small businesses are the lifeblood of local economies, and we can only grow by ensuring we meet the needs of you, the reader, the consumer, the customer and client. – Fiona Lucas'” coverup=”Uip5a”]

Conversely we can only do that if we get your support in helping us to shape our content and by sharing the message.

Facebook want to see that you really enjoy content and it will measure this by whether you merely “like” a post or whether you comment or engage with it directly.

coffee up with support local business geelong local business — Image: Adobe stock

Further to this Facebook are trying to decide which businesses provide relevant and trustworthy news, and to find this out, Facebook may ask you in a survey if you trust particular content.

So…

[ctt title=”how can you support the small businesses, particularly local businesses you love and trust, and help them to give you more of what you want?” tweet=”how can you support the small businesses, particularly local businesses you love and trust, and help them to give you more of what you want?” coverup=”3v21U”]

Here are 7 things you can do right now:

1. Make sure you mark your favourite pages as “see first” in your news feed. You can do this on a computer or laptop by going to the page, click the button that says “following” and then click on “in your news feed”. Select “see first” and save. On your mobile device, in the facebook app, click on the “hamburger’ triple line symbol for more, scroll down to settings, choose news fed preferences and set up.

2. Turn on notifications for your favourite brands and businesses so you know when they have given you more great value and information. 3. When you see a post you really like, make a comment, ask a question or share your opinion. 4. Share content you love with people who share your interests and ask them to comment or give their opinion on the content. 5. Ask them questions and let them know what information you would like them to provide. Businesses want to give you value and earn your trust and respect. 6. Show them the love and tell the world by leaving a review or testimonial. 7. If you are asked a survey question about a business, please do respond to the questions to provide your support.

Mark Zuckerberg said “ I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions”

7 things to support small business online

Why not share this video to help the small businesses you love, and tag them in your post!

If you want to read Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement on the changes, you can read it here on his personal page

The FB News room announcement on Trusted sources was made on 19 January and can be read here along with information on changes to the algorithm for business here

I’m making sure that I keep in my feed my clients, my favourite local businesses and the people who inspire me and keep me informed.

Let us know your thoughts!

We would love to know what you think about Facebook currently, whether you are a Facebook user personally, for business or both. Have you noticed changes already? Will you make an effort to engage more with content or does it seem to be more of a chore?

Many people we spoke to this week said that they are busy, they like to read or watch content and they give it their approval by a like or share. Others said they just like everything to be nice 🙂 What is your view?

August 27, 2016 By Fiona Lucas

Online complaints – Don’t be an accidental troll

The power of online reviews & complaints:

Online Reviews help businesses to share wins and to build trust and provide social proof of the value of goods or services. They can also provide a space for disgruntled customers to make a very public complaints. Unfortunately at times consumers act in an emotional state and do not fully consider the consequences of their actions.

It is heartwarming for a business owner to receive positive reviews for their services and products, but it can be absolutely heartbreaking when a complaint gets out of hand.

Previously we wrote an article covering many of the issues to be considered by both businesses and consumers when providing online testimonials (you can read it here). In this article we really want to focus on helping consumers through the steps of providing a review or making a complaint so that the interests of all parties are protected. Most countries will have extensive consumer laws in place. These are there to help protect both business and consumers by providing rulings and guidelines on all manner of consumer law. In Australia the ACCC is the ruling body.

How to make an official complaint:

There are guidelines for making an official complaint, and we strongly recommend that the first point of call is always to contact the business direct, before heading to social media.

Make contact with the business as soon as possible

Don’t delay. A fairer outcome for all concerned comes with a timely complaint.

Make sure you state the complaint fairly and the outcome you are seeking (replacement of an item, refund, repair).

Have proof of purchase or any contract readily available as the business may request such documents as part of their complaints proceedings.

Be polite.

Put your complaint in Writing via email or a letter

It can assist to put your complaint in writing so that there are no misunderstandings. State your complaint and your desired outcome. Having your complaint in writing also helps to document the process.

The ACCC provide a handy tool to help you determine your rights. It is a general guide only, and does not constitute legal advice.

You can find the tool here: Use your rights

Be fair and reasonable

[clickToTweet tweet=”Keeping your cool is important. Remember to focus on the issue at hand and try to avoid confrontation.” quote=”Keeping your cool is important. Remember to focus on the issue at hand and try to avoid confrontation.”]

If things are getting heated, ask to speak to someone else, or tell them you will call again tomorrow because you are upset at the moment. Don’t allow emotion to cause further issues.

If you have not had any response, then posting a question or a tweet to a business asking them to respond, without any emotion attached does seem to make some businesses take action. Please do this respectfully and only after all other attempts have failed.

If you are not getting a resolution

Don’t continue to complain, after three attempts to resolve the issue, if you are still not happy or the business has not responded, your next step is to seek advice from either the ACCC or a third party.

The ACCC provides a list of places to go for help, you can access the list here.

If you are still not getting a satisfactory response, your step would be to obtain legal advice. Do not launch into an attack online or bombard the premises with abusive phone calls. None of this will help you to resolve the issue and you may find yourself being charged for harrassment or other charges. This leads us to talk about the elephant (troll) in the room. The use of social media for complaints.

Don’t become an accidental troll (or incite others to troll)

[clickToTweet tweet=”With businesses so accessible these days via social media, it can be tempting to launch into an attack on a business ” quote=”With businesses so accessible these days via social media, it can be tempting to launch into an attack on a business when you are feeling that your complaint has not been dealt with. “]

Complaining to friends can get them riled up too and sometimes we see cases of a disgruntled customer inciting their friends to write poor reviews and complaints against the business. This is unethical behaviour and further if the people writing the reviews have never used the business, they are in fact breaching laws around the creation of fake reviews. (see our previous article on writing testimonals here).

The risk of being charged under defamation laws will loom in this instance. If your friends do go on the defensive for you, ask them to please remove such reviews and complaints, to protect their own reputations. Publically launching into a personal attack on businesses or naming and shaming can often backfire and should not be part of your plan for resolution.

What if you have written a bad review and then the problem is resolved?

In this case do the right thing and at the very least add a comment to your review that the issue was resolved and thank them for the resolution. You may or may not choose to delete the review or amend it in other ways. You have the right to leave a review for a business provided it is truthful and not malicious.

When can’t you request a refund or cancel a service?

When it comes to services, under Australia law there are certain rights which the consumer has, but also there are times when you cannot cancel or request a refund. According to the ACCC website these include:

issues arising which were outside of the control of the provider,
because you just decide to change your mind after the service was completed
you have insisted on having a service provided in a particular way, against the provider’s advice
you failed to clearly explain your needs to the provider.

For example you engage a painter and you are told that the surface needs a primer. You insist this is not necessary and direct the painter to paint without the preparation. The paint starts to peel within weeks. You cannot request a refund because you have been given expert advice and chosen to go against it and insisted they do the work your way.

[clickToTweet tweet=”The area of complaints is one where emotions can run high on both sides.” quote=”The area of complaints is one where emotions can run high on both sides.”]

The above is general information only and should not be considered legal advice.

We are happy to continue research into this area and welcome discussion on the topic. Please however refrain from naming and shaming any organisation in your comments or using inappropriate language (we are a family friendly blog!).

You may also wish to read our article on etiquette and responding to complaints from the business side here.