The internet is not short of options when it comes to connecting with people and building communities online. But it’s exciting to see how someone’s desire to talk to their gamers friend turned out to be a giant online community.
If we look back, gamers didn’t have a dedicated platform to communicate a few years ago. So, they used apps like Skype and TeamSpeak to talk in-game. However, it was not an excellent chatting experience, and gamers were missing something.
As we know, the internet doesn’t take too long to solve emerging problems. So, we came across a chat app called Discord, a nearly perfect place for gamers to share their stories and go beyond gaming.
But, the interesting thing is. Discord is going mainstream and is quickly becoming popular among many rising creators, entrepreneurs, business owners, communities, and even parents.
Some parents are even getting street cred with their kids for being on the platform. And you know what else is interesting? Some kids are even giving their parents a masterclass on how to use the platform.
This blog will teach you everything you need to know about Discord, how to use the platform, and help you started building your community today.
What Is Discord?
Launched in 2015 by a couple of game enthusiasts, Discord has evolved from being a place for gamers to talk to a platform where influencers, entrepreneurs, and other diverse range of people can build communities.
Discord is an invite-only app where a user can use voice, video, and text to communicate in topic-based channels or rooms.
If you are looking for innovative alternatives to the more dominant social platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you should be learning more about Discord. As a business, Discord provides you with a unique way to engage with your audience.
Discord has seen incredible growth and popularity over the past few years as people need to find effective communication means online. It had over 300 million users in June 2020. The steep rise from 45 million users in 2017 to 300 million in 2020 was mainly due to the increasing need for hassle-free communication channels online.
People often compare Discord with Slack because of the similarity in their messaging system.
Discord, however, is focused more on community building. You can access Discord on any device from Windows to Android, iOS, and Linus. Jason Citron and Stan Vishnevskiy, the founder of Discord, just wanted to build a place where they can talk to other passionate gamers.
Today, we see students, hikers, art communities, hobbyists, and influencers using Discord to grow an audience or share their interests. If you’re ready to be a part of a rapidly growing social world, join Discord.
Some Interesting Facts About Discord
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After Microsoft failed to acquire TikTok and Pinterest, the tech giant now wants to buy Discord.
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Discord Nitro is a monthly subscription plan that offers some additional features for advanced users.
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You can go live on Discord.
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A Discord server can have up to 500 channels.
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A single user can have up to 500,000 members and join up to 100 servers. You might need to reach out to Discord support for additional server space if you get more than 25,000 online members simultaneously.
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Discord worth $7 in 2020, doubling its valuation in less than a year.
Apps that you can seamlessly integrate with Discord include, but not limited to:
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Facebook
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YouTube
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PayPal
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Twitch
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Reddit
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Spotify
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Xbox LIVE
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Twitter
Let’s take a look at the process to register on Discord!
How To Join Discord
The first step is to obviously download the Discord app on your favorite device. But you can use it straight in a browser without even downloading it.
Step 1:
Launch the app once you have downloaded it.
Go to the Android or iOS app store to find the app. This is how it looks like when I launched it on my Android device.
No matter what device you use to access the app, start with getting yourself registered. Don’t worry about the price: Discord is free for everyone unless you get their Nitro plan.
Step 2:
Provide your basic information. You can use either your email or phone number to proceed.
What should everyone call you?
Step 3:
Enter your desired username and password to complete the registration process.
You can change your username anytime after signing up.
Also, Discord lets you edit your nickname on each server you join. Just go to the server and click the downward arrow next to the server name on the top left.
There you have to select “Change Nickname” and create a unique display name.
How To Set Up Your Own Discord Server
Discord is all about servers. Not sure what a Discord server is?
Let me define it real quick!
Each community you create on the app is called a server. Each server can have several channels, categories, topics, and roles.
You can join an existing server or create your own. If you want to join a server, you need an invite link.
Creating your own server is like creating your own world on the platform. Let me tell in a few steps how you can create your own server:
Step 1:
On the left-hand side of the Discord home page, find and click the green button with a plus sign.
You can create your own server or start from a template. Discord offers server templates to gamers, school clubs, study groups, content creators, and friends.
Step 2:
The next step is to decide whether you want to create a server for your friends or a larger community.
Step 3:
The next step is to name your server and upload a profile picture or avatar.
Feel free to invite your friends to your community. Then share link you generate will expire in 1 day.
If you get an invite from someone, just click the link to join.
This is a really simple and quick process to join Discord and build your community. Isn’t it?
It only takes a minute or so to sign up, but you should spend some time customizing your presence. Discord enables you to customize your presence and adjust the way you interact with your audience.
For example, here is what our Discord server and its channels look like:
Be creative when creating your own Discord server
Discord enables you to customize your account in so many creative ways.
For example, we have created a fun environment by creating paywalls in our Discord server. It allows us to create profitable, subscription-based chat communities.
I have my own digital currency called $GARY COIN that we use to determine how a user may engage with us. You can see who holds the most $GARY COIN.
How a user collaborates with us or what perks they enjoy depends on how many coins they hold. There is a private chat for people who hold 10, 50, 100, 1,000, 10,000 $GARY COINS.
We have also customized our club photos and created special sections for VIP members and teams. We play music 24/7 a day in a room called ‘catch a vibe’ where you can hang out with us.
How To Use Discord?
Discord is a simple and easy-to-use group-chatting app. But there is a short learning curve.
Let me make things a bit easier for you by explaining some of Discord’s basics.
How To Use Voice And Text Channels
The key part of your Discord server is its channels where you share content with your community or where your members interact with each other.
For example, text channels can be used to share text, while voice channels enable members to hang out over voice and video.
Text Channels
When you create a server, it will have default categories and channels. Text channels help you keep your conversations organized.
For example, if you and your community have to discuss a range of different topics, you can create separate channels for all those topics.
Voice Channels
In voice channels, the participants don’t have to make calls to connect. When a user enters a voice channel, they can see who is in there and start talking to them right away.
When you create a new channel, first you have to select the type of the channel - voice or text.
And then name your channel to make it more meaningful. You can’t use spaces or capital letters when naming text channels.
Another method to create a channel is by cloning an existing channel and creating a similar channel with the same settings as the original one. This feature comes in handy when you have to create multiple channels with the same purpose.
There can be 50 categories in a server and the maximum number of channels you can create is 500.
Let’s see what else Discord allows you to do:
How To Find And Add Discord Friends
The Discord interface looks almost similar across devices. It allows you to find and add friends with ease.
If you are on a desktop, you will find a green “Add Friend” on top of the home page. But you need to know the “Discord Tag” or the username of the person you want to add.
You can also send friend requests to people on your chat list. Just right-click the name and select the “Add Friend” option.
You can also invite friends you added from one server to another, even though you or your friends don't need to share a server to talk directly.
How To Talk And Hang Out In Your Server
You can do plenty of cool stuff on your server, from group chat and calls to video conferencing and engaging members using your own digital currency.
If you want to talk to your audience, you can start a group call and maneuver your way during the call.
Freedom to have several text and voice channels helps you create tiered groups based on their needs and status. Customized emojis and music add fun to the overall Discord experience.
How To Use Discord Stages
What? Discord has stages?
Discord just launched a Clubhouse-like feature that lets people easily broadcast live audio conversations to a room of virtual listeners.
Voice chat has been Discord's feature for years so it makes perfect sense for them to adapt this feature.
Stage Channels are available on all platforms where Discord is available, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and the web.
How To Customize Your Profile Image
Discord allows you to customize your profile picture.
Here is what you need to do:
Open the app and go to the User Settings.
On desktop, you can find the gear icon at the bottom of your Discord home page.
Click the gear icon and it will take you to the “My Account” page where you can do plenty of things to customize your account.
To change the image, just click on the avatar or “Upload Avatar” button and upload a fresh image from your device.
Discord enables you to do some basic edits such as image resizing as you see fit.
How To Video Chat
Discord offers you and your community a video and screen-sharing experience.
Before you start a video chat, make sure to check the “Voice & Video” settings on the “User Settings” page.
Once you have checked everything and are ready to talk, start a call either in a DM or on a server. Press the video icon in the top header or just click on the phone icon to have a voice call.
What Is A Server Video?
How To Screen Share
Server video is a new way to hang out with your people together within a server space. You can hop into a voice channel and start chatting over video.
What else can you do while chatting over video?
You may choose to video chat only and screen share at the same time.
You can turn on or off the video during a call.
If you want to share your screen with others, press the “Share Your Screen” button. It’s up to you whether you want to share the entire screen or just an individual application window.
All you have to do is press the red screen-sharing icon during a conversation.
How To Listen To Music Together
While you are listening to your favorite music on Discord, you can invite your audience to listen in with you. Like we created a channel called #catchavibe where music goes on 24/7.
If you want to see the channel live in action for yourself, go to Gary.club, put in your email, and choose option one. Once you follow those steps you will be part of our live chat in Discord where you can join our #catchavibe channel.
One incredible feature of Discord is that it enables users to chat, game, listen, and party all at once.
To listen to music together, you have to connect Spotify to your Discord account and choose to display whatever you are listening to on your profile.
In case you don’t know how to connect to Spotify, click “Connections” in the menu on the left and then click Spotify.
Log in to Spotify and click Confirm.
Once you’ve connected Spotify to your Discord account, you can choose to display what you’re listening to in real-time on your profile.
How To Make Your Own Emojis
As long as you are a server owner, you have the freedom to add up to 50 custom emojis to your personal stash.
Go to the “Server Settings” and select the “Emoji” tab to upload a custom emoji on the server.
Be sure your emojis are under 256kb in size and are at least two characters long.
Sometimes, simple words are not enough to express your feelings. Animated custom emojis will help you send a clear message.
What Are Discord Bots?
Have you heard about Discord bots?
If you are an influencer or content creator, you should take advantage of these AI-powered bots that let you perform multiple actions.
For instance, bots help you welcome new community members and paraphrase your content.
As I mentioned earlier, Discord was primarily built for gamers, but professionals like marketers and influencers are finding ways to utilize this platform. Discord bots can make things easier for those looking to engage with their community in an entertaining way.
I understand how difficult it is to build a community. Bots automate so many things within the platform and make the overall experience more enjoyable for your members.
But it’s important to understand what Discord bots will be ideal for you to improve your server.
Here are some of the best bots that can help you achieve your Discord goals with ease:
- ProBot: It helps you send an automated welcome message to whoever joins your server. It can automatically kick people out who show bad behavior. The bot has over 99.99% uptime.
- Dank Memer: It comes with commands you can use to create a light-hearted community rich with fun.
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Community Hubs Beta: If you want to improve the way your community communicates across servers, use this bot. It connects a Discord channel with a Hub room.
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Musibeth: It plays YouTube content directly on Discord. Consider using this bot if you have a YouTube channel and you want to share videos with members to get more views.
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Quillbot: Want to paraphrase something? Use Quillbot because it takes written text and rewrites for you so you may use it in your content.
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GiveawayBot: As the name suggests, GiveawayBot helps you launch a giveaway, select a winner, and conclude a giveaway without requiring you to do any manual work.
🚀Want to see a bot live in action??
All you have to do is visit Gary.club. Put in your email address and choose option one.
When you choose option one you will then be able to see our Discord bots in action!
How To Use Discord As A Business
Gamers love to spend some quality time on Discord, talking, sharing, and listening to music.
But what can you do with Discord to promote your business? Popular brands like Newegg and Adobe have been using Discord to engage their audience and present their latest offers.
Whether you are a business owner, speaker, coach, or influencer, Discord has excellent potential to help you grow a community.
Now that you know the basic features of the app, here is how Discord is helping business owners and influencers achieve their business goals:
Boost Engagement
Your business growth largely depends on how you engage your customers online and foster loyalty over time.
Discord is one of those platforms that can be used to enhance the brand experience, grow the audience, and gain valuable customer insights.
Giant social media networks like Facebook and Instagram are great places to connect. No doubt about this.
However, Discord is where you talk to your prospects and customers directly through text, voice, or video. Just be creative and you will find opportunities to connect with your prospects in different channels.
Better Understand Your Audience
Do you think you know everything about your audience? If not, Discord server insights might help.
Study your audience geography, where your server members are coming from, and how they interact on other channels,
Aggregate your data and export it to a CSV file to learn more about your audience.
Build Communities
It is so much easier to build a community space on Discord.
If you go to server settings, you will find an option: “Enable Community” in the left sidebar. Press the “Get Started” button to set up your community server.
One thing is for sure: we still need to see how Discord will handle the needs of businesses to grow larger communities down the road.
Final Thoughts + Resources
It might take Discord some time to evolve and become a mainstream social media platform. But it's an ideal time for you to establish your presence and build a community on Discord.
Multiple communication methods, personalization, and promotion make Discord a place where you reach out to customers more effectively.
While many businesses and creators are using Discord, it may not be suitable for every brand. But if you need a virtual space to collaborate with your clients and customers, be sure to check out Discord.
With some creativity and knowledge, you could easily create engaging communication channels and take your business relationships to the next level.
