If you haven’t heard of Clubhouse yet you must have been hiding under a rock somewhere! But for those who don’t know it’s an exclusive, invite-only social media app that hosts audio only chat rooms, where you can listen in and also put yourself forward to join the conversation. 

With rumoured users including Oprah and Jared Leto, many are joining Clubhouse in the hope of being in the same ‘room’ as a top celeb, but there are also lots of business deals being done on the platform, and from a PR perspective it offers a fantastic way to build your own personal brand. 

It’s still new enough for you to get in early (if you can get an elusive invite!) and raise your profile or try and claim ownership of your area of expertise by building clubs and hosting rooms. The Muckle Media team are lucky to have access and we’ve enjoyed joining rooms over the past few weeks, we’re even been on the stage a few times and are hosting our first own room next week. 

If we’ve got your interest, or you were looking for an invite anyway and that’s how you found this, here are the best ways we know of to get a Clubhouse invite:

Option one – Reserve your username 

While it is invite only, you can join the (very long!) waiting list by downloading the app and reserving your preferred username here: https://www.joinclubhouse.com this will speed up your registration when you do get an invite. There is also an algorithm that allows your contacts (if you allow access on the app) who are already in Clubhouse to see that you are on the waiting list and they will randomly be invited to let you in without using their limited invites, so a first step idea is definitely to join the list. 

Option two – Ask around! 

The easiest way to get access is to find someone you know who has an invite to spare for you. They are hard to come by though as each member only starts with two, so be selective in who you invite in! Active members receive additional invites regularly, so it’s worth asking friends and contacts if they can let you in when they can. We’ve also seen reports of people selling invites, but we really don’t recommend this route, it’s not in the spirit of the idea and you may be scammed. 

Option three – wait a while 

If you’re not in a rush you can just wait for the invite to arrive or the app to open up – but it’s so much fun in there you really might be missing out.

We’re out of invites for now and prioritising sharing ours with team members and clients, but comment on our post and we’ll let you know if our team ever have spare invites available. 

Building your personal brand? If we can help, on Clubhouse or with wider PR, please get in touch! https://mucklemedia.co.uk/contact-us/

As Harry and Meghan hit the headlines with their announcement that they plan to stand back from senior royal duties, Buckingham Palace don’t appear to have been involved or potentially even aware / in agreement with the announcement, so what can family businesses learn about PR during a challenging succession?

 

Here are our five key takeaways:

 

1. Get on the same page

 

Even when families don’t agree it’s important that the external communications is aligned and pre-planned in a way that everyone agrees with. The way the royal announcement was managed, with Harry and Meghan making their announcement followed by a very reactive statement from Buckingham Palace saying that discussions were still at a very early stage, means it appears that either the palace wasn’t consulted at all or there was disagreement regarding when and how this would be announced and Harry and Meghan jumped the gun and made their statement. Perhaps working with a mediator or adviser could have helped to address the issues earlier and agree a longer-term plan that everyone was happy with.

 

2. Consider your wider stakeholders

 

According to ITV News, the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William were not told that the announcement was coming, leading to shock in the royal family as the news was shared. Whenever making important announcements it’s key to consider all important stakeholders, from family members and employees in a family business through to trade unions and key customers. While posting a statement to social media might feel like an easy way to reach everyone at once it is rarely the best strategy for a joined up, strategic communications announcement. Use the most appropriate channel for each audience, considering face-to-face, telephone, video conference, all hands meetings and email before mass audience channels such as social and traditional media.

 

3. No surprises

 

Whether it’s the royal family, a local business with a loyal customer base or a multinational family business, it’s important not to surprise people. When it comes to succession, a lot can be done early on to sow the seeds of future leaders, both within the family and externally. Setting out publicly a long-term plan for leaders to leave a business is also effective to avoid the element of surprise.

 

4. Wait for the detail where possible

 

Although it appears the story was leaked which led to Harry and Meghan releasing their statement, where possible you should have as much information available as you can by the time an announcement is made. Set out w clear timeline for when the changes will come into place and address as many potential questions up front as you can. Where succession is involved make it clear who will be picking up the duties. If the announcement has to be reactive and details haven’t been agreed, make that clear and communicate a timeline for further communications.

 

5. Consider the long term

 

Always consider what the announcement could mean in one, five and twenty years. Family businesses often have very long-term views and it’s important an announcement isn’t made in 2020 that causes a headache for the business leaders in 2040. If you’re going to commit to something or release a projection is it achievable and what could change in the future to impact that? Sometimes positioning a new initiative as a trial or pilot is a great way to leave options open.

 

Get in touch!

 

Love them or hate them – what do you think about Harry and Meghan’s news and what learnings can your family business take away from their approach to sharing their story? Tell us what you think @mucklemedia

Relative PR, a new public relations and communications agency, is being launched today for family-owned enterprises looking to grow and future-proof their businesses.

 

Thought to be the world’s first specialist in family-owned brands, the new agency, headquartered in Edinburgh, has been set-up by the team behind the award-winning Muckle Media PR consultancy. It will focus on the specific requirements of family-owned businesses, which are the lifeblood of the UK economy. The agency will share offices with, and run alongside, Muckle Media, which delivers creative communications campaigns, and Muckle-owned agency Platform PR, which supports brands with community engagement.

 

In a competitive marketplace, family-owned businesses must be able to tell stories that highlight their roots and heritage, while positioning themselves as modern, innovative firms.

 

Relative PR will work closely with family-owned businesses across a range of sectors to develop and deliver effective communications. It will provide a combination of strategic communications advice to family boards and management teams, as well as practical and tactical support to help deliver effective PR programmes.

 

Relative PR understands the challenges and opportunities of operating within a family-owned business from work with multi-generational brands and will use its knowledge to help firms grow their sales through impactful and creative communications.

 

Nathalie Agnew, founder and managing director of Relative PR, and Muckle Media, said:

 

“We’re launching Relative PR to provide a whole range of communications advice and support to family owned businesses. These businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy, with two-thirds of firms in the UK family owned, generating more than a quarter of UK GDP.

 

“Many family owned firms that have passed through the generations are embracing change and understand the need to compete with emerging brands. We will work with family owned businesses to help successfully managing their public relations and wider communications to ultimately maximise their market share.

 

“We aim to help businesses write their story of the future, building upon the past and securing business growth for generations to come. In essence, we future proof their story.”

 

In October 2018, Muckle Media was named Outstanding PR Consultancy at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations PRide Awards.