According to a market research company, Business of Apps, Discord garnered around 10 million monthly active users (MAUs) in 2017, which grew to 140 million MAUs in 2021.

When the app was first launched, it appealed to many people because of the feature that allowed users to create unmoderated private servers. The servers were then dedicated to game-related topics; however, users quickly started communities around other interests.

Over time, Discord added verification and bot-moderation tools to neutralize servers focused on offensive and dangerous topics quickly.

Here are some reasons its appeal extended from gamers to people with varying interests and from all walks of life:

Integration With Useful Tools

Discord has a few apps in its native integration line-up, but most of them—like Twitch and YouTube—are geared toward making streaming easier and faster for gamers. However, Zapier allows for more integration and added functionality.

Zapier is a tool that allows users to connect the apps they use. With it, you can integrate thousands of apps, including those used for business. Some examples are Trello, Google Sheets, Asana, Shopify, and Jira.

Community-Made Bots

Discord has a plethora of community-made bots available for a wide range of functions. For instance, the Hydra bot allows users to play high-quality music in a voice chat, while the Lo-Fi radio bot plays many Lo-Fi tunes continuously on a channel.

These AI programs are free to use; however, the downside is they do not come with any official support.

Some examples of bots that are particularly popular among businesses, professionals, and entrepreneurs are StatBot, which allows them to track server stats, Apollo, which makes it easy to schedule meetings within Discord. Meanwhile, Helper.gg, a ticketing bot, is used by businesses that offer customer service through Discord.

Building Brands Through Discord

Ordinary users aren’t the only ones to take full advantage of Discord’s innovative servers. Companies have also begun using the app to build communities and engage with their audience intimately while scaling large communities. Here are some ways Discord helps brands.

Build Moderated Communities

Other than for internal communications and collaboration, Discord servers can be used as a moderated social discussion platform. Brands can create multiple channels within their server that could tackle different topics.

For instance, one channel can promote the products and services of the brand, while another channel can serve as a platform for discussions within the community or an update channel for announcements.

Since Discord has a voice and video chat feature, brands can make live announcements or launch their services directly to their target audience. It’s a great way to encourage engagement, boost your business’s visibility, and humanize your brand.

Improved Customer Service

A phone call, an email, or a message are the typical ways customers reach companies about complaints or inquiries. However, managing phone calls requires many resources, and emails and messages can get lost due to spam filters or too many unread messages in the inbox. Additionally, resolving a concern through email or messaging can take time due to a lot of back-and-forths, resulting in a poor customer experience.

Discord is the ideal way to handle complaints and questions, since it is a chat app after all. Customers love fast service, and since direct messaging through the app is in real-time, you can get back to them immediately.

Also, as previously mentioned, Zapier can be used to connect to other apps. These include customer service apps like Zendesk. You may also consider using ticketing bots to streamline the delivery of service and prevent long waiting times.

Build and Maintain Your Discord Community with the Help of Synapse Research

A Discord community is a new platform for social engagement that poses many advantages to businesses. However, without proper management, you might not be able to use it to its full potential. Synapse Research Ltd. offers community management services that will help your server grow in the direction that is most meaningful and effective for your brand.

We can help manage communities to prevent spammers and weed out comments that go against your rules, all while ensuring your server aligns with your branding goals. Visit our Discord Community Management and Group Moderation pages to learn more about our Discord services. You can also contact us for questions or to schedule a consultation.