If you have yet to hear of Discord, it’s time to get up to speed. This increasingly popular chat and community app has evolved from a niche gamer’s paradise into an ultra-flexible communication platform all groups and communities use.
As a marketer, Discord offers exciting opportunities to engage with your audience in new ways. Whether you want to provide top-notch customer service, build a brand community, host events, or drive word-of-mouth marketing, Discord can help.
Let’s break down the basics so you can decide if Discord should be part of your marketing mix.
Discord is a free voice, video, and text chat app on desktops, mobiles, and your browser. The Discord platform revolves around the idea of servers – these are like private chat rooms you can organize however you see fit.
Public and private text channels, voice channels for chatting in real-time, threaded conversations, member roles, notifications, direct messaging and more make Discord an incredibly robust community platform.
Originally built for gamers (the name comes from gaming “discords”), the app now hosts all types of interest-based communities covering topics like:
Over 150 million people use Discord every month, with typical daily users spending 4+ hours per day interacting on the platform.
The average Discord user is young – around 80% are under 34. So if your target demographic skews young, Discord could be a marketing goldmine waiting to be tapped.
The Discord interface looks similar to Slack, with servers and channels on the left sidebar and chat windows on the right.
Servers operate like private chat rooms around specific topics and communities. Anyone can create a Discord server for free.
Within these servers, channels allow members to break into separate topic-based conversations. For example, a gaming server may have channels for general chat, gameplay strategies, finding teammates and tech support.
Discord servers can have unlimited public, private, and thread-based conversations attached to existing messages.
Server admins can also create member roles to manage permissions, send notifications to certain groups, assign colours and more. It keeps large communities organized.
Users can chat via text, voice chat or video streaming in real time. The app also supports screen sharing and allows file uploads up to 100MB in size (or 50GB for “Nitro” subscribers).
Now that you know the basics of Discord, let’s talk about some of the key reasons it could be a game-changing community platform for marketers:
Discord provides direct access to the right audiences thanks to its focus on interests and communities. Find servers related to your niche and start engaging.
80 million people use it daily to discuss shared hobbies and passions – what better place to connect with engaged prospects and customers?
Managing brand communities on platforms like Facebook and Reddit can be chaotic. Discord makes it easy with member roles, private channels and more.
Give VIP members access to exclusive channels, let influencers manage their own subgroups, and appoint moderators and superfans – Discord gives you the tools.
Discord’s voice and video chat features allow you to host private conference calls, webinars, AMAs, classes and more for your community members.
Go live or schedule upcoming event channels to drive hype. Discord Events helps you promote interactive happenings to a wider audience.
Discord communities foster passionate engagement. Tap into this by involving your audience in research, product development discussions, early access programs and more.
The ability to create specific channels for certain members or initiatives helps you target feedback opportunities to the right people.
People spend hours each day chatting on Discord. That presents ample opportunities for driving word-of-mouth and viral interest in your brand.
Offer exclusive roles, discounts or content to well-connected superfans, and they’ll happily chat up your products or services all day long to friends and followers.
Have you faced bans or restrictions on marketing on other platforms? Discord offers a fresh alternative where you make the rules.
When you build your own Discord server, control your branding, messaging and community standards from the ground up.
Ready to dive into Discord but not sure where to begin? Follow these best practices as you build out your server to maximize results:
Get very clear on who you want to reach on Discord. Browse categories and top servers to learn Discord audiences and identify where your brand fits in.
Align your messaging, engagement tactics and influencer partnerships to your ideal customer avatar.
People come to Discord to be entertained and connect over shared interests. Make sure your community offers an experience that engages your audience.
Create fun chat channels, run contests and giveaways, share insider info – and provide real value beyond just pushing products.
Once your Discord server is ready to launch, promote it across all your marketing channels through links and invite codes.
Leverage influencers and brand advocates to help get the word out to their engaged followings as well.
The more niche communities you can tap into that are relevant to your brand, the faster your Discord audience will grow.
Based on the search results, here is a comparison of Discord and other popular chat apps:
Discord’s core features are 100% free including server creation, messaging, voice and video chat. Optional “Nitro” subscriptions with file storage, video quality etc. start at $2.99/month but are not required.
Focus on driving conversations vs. blatant self-promotion. Share insider info, run AMAs with special guests, post memes/gifs, ask engaging questions and more. Offer true value to build relationships.
Discord provides server insights showing member locations, account age, online status as well as channel analytics for message volume, user reach etc. Review this data regularly.
Discord offers some exciting opportunities for marketers looking to step outside the box and engage audiences in new ways.
If you want to build a home community for your brand, tighten customer relationships, drive viral marketing or just have a little fun – Discord can help make it happen.
What are you waiting for? Sign up and start brainstorming how you could use Discord to boost your marketing results today!
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Disclaimer
*The information this blog provides is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as financial or professional advice. The information may not reflect current developments and may be changed or updated without notice. Any opinions expressed on this blog are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s employer or any other organization. You should not act or rely on any information contained in this blog without first seeking the advice of a professional. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this blog. The author and affiliated parties assume no liability for any errors or omissions.