You might be surprised to know that over 150 million people use Discord every month, making it a potential goldmine for businesses looking to connect with their audience. Originally designed for gamers, Discord has evolved into a powerful community-building platform that can transform your customer engagement strategy.
Businesses across various industries are now adopting Discord as their community hub to connect with audiences in real-time. By creating a Discord community, you can build stronger relationships with your customers and drive conversions. As noted in a recent article on using Discord for business, companies like Newegg have successfully used Discord to connect with their customers through official communities.
With its ad-free environment and customizable server structure, Discord offers a unique advantage over traditional social media platforms. By leveraging Discord as a business tool, you can create a more personalized and engaging experience for your customers.
Key Takeaways
- Discover how to transform your customer engagement strategy using Discord.
- Learn why businesses are adopting Discord as their community hub.
- Understand the unique advantages of using Discord for business purposes.
- Explore how creating a Discord community can drive conversions.
- Get an overview of what makes Discord different from traditional social media platforms.
What is Discord and Why Businesses Are Adopting It
With its robust features and user-friendly interface, Discord is becoming the go-to platform for businesses aiming to build strong community hubs. Initially known for its gaming community features, Discord has evolved significantly since its launch in 2015.
From Gaming Platform to Business Tool
Discord started as a voice and text chat app for gamers, but it has grown beyond its origins. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it began attracting a broader audience, changing its tagline from “Chat for Gamers” to “Chat for Communities and Friends.” This shift marked the beginning of its adoption by businesses looking for versatile communication tools.
Key Features That Make Discord Valuable for Businesses
Discord’s features make it an invaluable tool for businesses. You can create dedicated servers with multiple text and voice channels organized by topic. Key features include real-time voice chat, video conferencing, screen sharing, and file sharing capabilities. These features enable businesses to communicate effectively and build strong communities.
Discord’s server-based structure provides advantages over traditional social media platforms for creating focused business communities. With over 150 million monthly active users in 2022, and 70% of users saying they now use Discord for more than gaming, it represents a significant opportunity for businesses looking to reach new audiences.
Benefits of Discord for Businesses
As you explore ways to enhance your business communication, Discord emerges as a versatile platform that offers numerous benefits. With its robust feature set, Discord is becoming an essential tool for businesses looking to improve team collaboration and customer engagement.
Cost-Effective Communication Solution
One of the primary advantages of using Discord for your business is its cost-effectiveness. Discord is essentially free, with the full version available at no cost, unlike other platforms that restrict features for non-paying customers. This makes it an attractive alternative to premium business communication platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams.
Real-Time Engagement Capabilities
Discord’s persistent audio feature allows teams to leave audio channels on while working, facilitating seamless communication and collaboration. Additionally, Discord offers high-quality video calls and screen sharing, making it suitable for virtual meetings, webinars, and customer support interactions.
Community Building Potential
The server structure on Discord enables businesses to create dedicated spaces where customers can interact with each other, fostering a sense of community. This community-building potential is a significant advantage for businesses looking to establish a loyal customer base.
Integration with Business Tools
Discord can be integrated with other business tools through bots and Zapier connections, enhancing workflow efficiency. This integration capability allows businesses to streamline their operations and improve productivity.
Setting Up Your Business Discord Server
Creating a Discord server tailored to your business needs is a crucial step in leveraging the platform’s full potential. To get started, you’ll need to download the Discord app and follow a few simple steps.
Creating and Customizing Your Server
To create a Discord server, tap “Add a Server,” select a template or build from scratch, give your server a name and icon, and click “Create.” This initial setup is just the beginning. You can further customize your server by adding a description, setting up server regions, and configuring other basic settings to suit your business needs.
Designing an Effective Channel Structure
Discord servers are divided into channels that can be organized into categories. You can create text-only or audio/video chat channels, depending on your business requirements. For instance, you might have channels for announcements, customer support, or team discussions. Organizing these channels into categories helps keep conversations clear and accessible. Consider creating categories for different departments or topics to keep your server structured.
Setting Up Roles and Permissions
Roles are crucial for managing user permissions within your Discord server. You can create roles for different levels of access, such as administrators, moderators, or regular members. By assigning appropriate permissions to each role, you can control who can access different parts of your server and what actions they can perform. This helps maintain a secure and organized community.
Getting Your Server Verified
To verify your Discord server, you must be the owner and an official representative of the business. You’ll need to authenticate your brand’s other social media accounts and use an official business email address. Verification offers several benefits, including Server Discovery and Server Insights, which can help you grow and manage your community more effectively.
As stated by Discord,
“Verification is a way to establish trust with your community and show that you’re a legitimate business or organization.”
By following these steps, you can create a professional and engaging Discord server that supports your business goals.
Building a Community That Converts
To create a thriving Discord community that converts, you need to focus on engagement and value. Building a community on Discord isn’t just about gathering users; it’s about creating a space where your audience feels connected and valued.
Attracting Your Target Audience
Attracting the right audience to your Discord server is crucial. You can do this by cross-promoting your server on other social platforms, using email marketing, and offering exclusive incentives. For example, you can share a link to your Discord server on your Twitter or Instagram profiles, or send out an email newsletter with a call-to-action to join your community.
Consider the success story of Jack in the Box, which created a “Jack’s Late Night Discord” server for a Comic-Con afterparty. They managed to attract over 7,500 users and generated 27,000 messages across a weekend, creating a buzz around their brand. You can achieve similar results by understanding what draws your target audience to your community.
Creating Valuable Content and Interactions
Once you have attracted members to your server, it’s essential to keep them engaged with valuable content and interactive discussions. This can include exclusive announcements, behind-the-scenes content, and Q&A sessions. By providing value, you encourage active participation and foster a loyal community.
For more insights on creating a community-driven commerce pipeline, you can explore resources like The Community-to-Commerce Pipeline, which offers valuable strategies for leveraging your community for business growth.
Implementing Engagement Strategies
To keep your community engaged, you need to implement effective engagement strategies. This can include hosting regular events, conducting Q&A sessions, creating polls, and running community challenges. These activities encourage members to participate actively and feel invested in your community.
Measuring Community Growth and Engagement
To understand how your community is performing, you need to measure its growth and engagement. Discord’s Server Insights provides valuable data on growth, activation, engagement, and audience demographics. By analyzing these metrics, you can refine your strategies and make data-driven decisions to improve your community’s performance.
Effective Business Use Cases for Discord
As a business hub, Discord offers a multitude of use cases that can transform the way you interact with your team and customers. By leveraging Discord’s robust features, you can streamline your operations, enhance engagement, and drive growth.
Internal Team Communication
Many businesses use Discord for internal team communication, creating dedicated channels for different departments, projects, and casual conversations. This approach helps keep your team organized and facilitates seamless collaboration. For instance, the Champion Leadership Group uses Discord’s text and voice capabilities for project management, making it easier to coordinate tasks and share information.
Customer Support and Service
Companies like Newegg have implemented Discord as a customer support channel, offering real-time assistance and building a community around product troubleshooting. By using Discord for customer support, you can provide timely help to your customers and foster a sense of community around your brand.
Product Launches and Announcements
Discord can be an effective platform for creating excitement around product launches and announcements. You can use the platform to offer exclusive previews and host interactive Q&A sessions, generating buzz and encouraging engagement among your target audience.
Hosting Virtual Events and Webinars
Businesses are increasingly using Discord to host virtual events and webinars, ranging from workshops to large-scale conferences and social gatherings. Chipotle’s successful career fair on Discord is a great example, where they received almost 24,000 new applications in just one week. By hosting virtual events on Discord, you can reach a wider audience and create memorable experiences.
Creating Exclusive Membership Communities
You can also use Discord to create exclusive membership communities that offer premium content and experiences to paying subscribers or loyal customers. This approach helps you build a loyal community around your brand and generate revenue through membership fees.
By exploring these effective business use cases for Discord, you can unlock new opportunities for growth, engagement, and customer satisfaction. Whether you’re looking to improve internal communication, enhance customer support, or create exclusive communities, Discord offers a versatile platform that can help you achieve your business goals.
Advanced Discord Strategies for Business Growth
As you continue to build your business community on Discord, it’s essential to explore advanced strategies that can help you scale and succeed. By leveraging the platform’s more sophisticated features, you can enhance user engagement, streamline operations, and drive growth.
Leveraging Server Insights for Business Intelligence
Discord’s Server Insights provide valuable data about your community’s behavior, preferences, and engagement patterns. By analyzing these insights, you can make informed decisions to improve your community’s experience and drive business growth. For example, you can identify your most active channels, understand how users interact with your content, and adjust your strategies accordingly.
Using Discord Bots to Automate Business Processes
Discord bots can automate routine tasks, moderate content, welcome new members, and create interactive experiences. By integrating bots into your server, you can enhance user engagement and reduce the workload for your moderation team. For instance, you can use bots to:
- Welcome new members and provide them with essential information about your community.
- Moderate content and ensure that your community guidelines are followed.
- Host interactive experiences, such as Q&A sessions or contests.
Creating Monetization Opportunities
You can generate revenue from your Discord community by creating premium channels, subscription models, or offering exclusive content. By providing value to your members, you can encourage them to support your business through these monetization strategies. For example, you can offer exclusive content or services to members who subscribe to a premium tier.
Cross-Promotion with Other Social Platforms
To grow your Discord server, it’s crucial to cross-promote it through your existing social media channels and email lists. By doing so, you can attract new members and drive engagement across multiple platforms. Consider sharing your Discord server link on your social media profiles or including it in your email newsletters to encourage your followers to join.
By implementing these advanced strategies, you can take your Discord server to the next level and drive business growth. Whether you’re looking to enhance user engagement, streamline operations, or generate revenue, Discord offers a range of tools and features to support your goals.
Overcoming Discord’s Limitations for Business Use
To get the most out of Discord for your company, you’ll need to address its limitations head-on. While Discord offers a robust platform for community building and communication, it has some constraints that can impact its effectiveness for business use.
One of the primary limitations is file size restrictions. Discord has a file size limit of 10 MB for free versions and up to 50 or 500 MB for paid versions. This can be a challenge when sharing larger files or high-quality media.
Managing File Size Restrictions
To manage file size restrictions, consider using external file hosting services like Google Drive or Dropbox. You can share links to larger files in your Discord channel, making it easier to share content without hitting the file size limits. Optimizing your media files by compressing images or using lower resolution videos can also help.
Addressing Privacy and Security Concerns
Privacy and security are crucial when using Discord for business. Since direct messages are Discord-wide and not per-server, it’s essential to establish clear guidelines for personal and professional communication. You should also be aware of Discord’s data retention policies and ensure that your company’s data is handled in compliance with relevant regulations.
Dealing with Conversation Management Challenges
Discord’s linear chat format can make it difficult to manage conversations, especially in busy channels. To address this, you can implement a structured communication protocol, such as using specific prefixes for different types of messages or creating separate channels for different topics. This can help keep your conversations organized and on track.
Balancing Casual and Professional Communication
Discord’s roots in gaming culture mean it can sometimes feel too casual for professional communication. To balance this, you can establish clear community guidelines and encourage a professional tone in your server. Using roles and permissions effectively can also help maintain a productive environment.
By understanding and addressing these limitations, you can create a more effective and professional Discord environment for your business. This involves being proactive about file sharing, privacy, conversation management, and maintaining a professional tone.
Conclusion: Transforming Your Business with Discord
By adopting Discord as a business community hub, you can unlock new ways to engage with your audience and drive growth. As we’ve explored throughout this article, Discord offers a unique combination of cost-effectiveness, real-time engagement capabilities, and community-building potential that can help you create meaningful connections with your audience.
The versatility of Discord makes it an ideal platform for various business needs, from internal communication to customer support and community building. To get started, we encourage you to start small and experiment with different strategies to find what works best for your specific audience and goals.
Remember, successful Discord communities require consistent attention, valuable content, and genuine engagement to thrive and convert. As you move forward, consider creating a server strategy and setting measurable community goals to ensure the long-term success of your Discord community.
As the digital business landscape continues to evolve, Discord is poised to play an increasingly important role in comprehensive business communication strategies. By embracing Discord as a business tool, forward-thinking companies can connect with their audiences in new and meaningful ways, driving growth and success in the process.
