But now that we are being told that we should stay at home and be social through digital tools, suddenly we feel the urge of going out and meeting people. Perhaps it has to do with the weather, but I believe it is just in our natural behavior to make our own decisions. We don’t want others to tell us what to do. We already learnt that when we were babies, we would cry as soon as our parents took away our pacifiers.
Just to make it clear, we are talking about physically being social with each other, where you can hug, kiss and touch the other person.
So, the question is how to make it attractive for Millennials to stay at home and be socially engaged without physically going outside. According to a Global Web Index report, 62% of the Millennial generation is listening to music online, followed by watching movies/shows (52%) and watching funny videos (44%). Meaning that if we were able to combine those figures in one service, we would be able to reach at least 75% of them. And we would be able to get some Key Opinion Leaders on board, that could possibly lead to an even bigger engagement. Besides parents being happy that their children are voluntarily staying at home, this will also help the community in having less people that can spread the virus.
The question that comes to mind now is how are we going to attract such a large group of individuals? The answer could be “virtual clubbing”. This is already happening in China. According to White Caviar (a Commercial Information Consultancy Co. based in Shanghai) there have been “cloud raves” on TikTok and one of the prominent clubs of Shanghai has their DJs performing online.
So how does this work? Doesn’t a Houseparty application that can assist in organizing this exist already? When looking at the Houseparty application, it mainly focuses on chatting with friends and playing lots of games. If you are an avid dancer and clubber that enjoys music, this may not be the app for you.
Therefore, it would be great if your favorite club would adopt the initiative and be present online as well. DJs from that club could play music live from the booth in that specific club while other people are live streaming it. You can join the “virtual dance floor” where you can live stream your dance moves in front of all the ‘viewers’ that would be watching that evening, or you could just chill and chat with your friends in one of the private rooms. KOLs can give live appearances to boost the popularity of the club and you may be the lucky one to end up being invited to their private chat room or “dance” with them.
Perhaps you will find someone attractive in the dance crowd whom you can contact for a private online chat. This will be great for shy individuals; it will take away the barrier learning a “move” and help avoid the unnecessary embarrassment that one could be exposed to in a real-life situation or worse, in front of their friends. Drinks or other “rewards” can be given to the DJs or any person that you fancy spending money on and there can be a voting of the next song to be played.
Appearance online is very important, especially for this age group. So before going to the virtual club, you will want to do your make up, hair and spend at least half an hour deciding what to wear. Although the club can provide you with standard backgrounds, similar to Zoom, there may be people that will want to be creative and arrange for their own backdrop.
If you are an avid singer, you may want to join the singing contest. Just get yourself one of those fancy, wireless G2 Little Dome microphones that have a functionality of recording your singing skills and competing with other singers online through a special app.
Besides being safe there are more advantages to virtual clubbing. You do not have to spend time and money on the road, drinks will be cheaper, smoking is allowed, there is zero chance of getting into a dangerous situation and you don’t have to worry about missing the curfew that your parents set. As for drinks, makemeacocktail.com can help you match the ingredients that you have at home and based on that suggest several cocktail flavours. Besides not having to go outside, it can also help you clean up those slow-moving items in your kitchen cupboard.
This initiative will also help the clubs to keep the relationship with their market and potentially attract new business. In order to still generate revenue, they can look at several ways:
– Selling their signature cocktails > One company in China has worked together with an award-winning mixologist and created “bar in a bottle’ concept. Currently they have pre-mixed 22 beverages in 125ml glass bottles. All you need to do is add ice in a glass, shake the bottle, pour the drink in the glass and add the garnish that is being delivered with the six pack.
– Selling their signature aroma > Smell has a direct influence on the overall behavior of people. This can make people feel more attracted to the brand.
– Workshops by influencers > Signature classes can be given by KOLs on makeup tips, how to dress up and even how to dance. This can be done in cooperation with a third party on beauty products, clothing and dance studio where revenue is shared.
– Selling their signature snacks > Online food ordering has already been a growing trend In China, and it has seen an even bigger increase recently. People did not want to leave their safe home and therefore preferred ordering meals online. All meals being delivered have a note with details of the person that has prepared the food and with the measured temperatures.
Meaning that this can become a win-win initiative. Perhaps this can even lead to the biggest dance off in the world where people from all continents join together at the same time. “One World; Together at Home” has shown that it can attract a large crowd. Isn’t that a safe thought?