Social media was the most popular digital marketing channel according to Statista’s 2022 survey of business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketers from the United States and around the globe.
While these marketers successfully leverage well-known platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Linkedin, a handful are taking advantage of lesser-known platforms, like Discord.
Discord started as a social platform for gamers but has since grown into a communication and social app where you can connect and build communities of people interested in a range of topics.
Let’s look at the benefits of using Discord to amplify your social media marketing strategy and how you can start marketing on this platform.
How Discord Can Enhance Your Social Media Marketing
The majority of your customers will have a profile on at least one of the more obvious social media platforms mentioned above, so connecting with them there is a must.
But there’s no denying how crowded these platforms are and how challenging it can be to connect with customers and grow a following.
Although it’s grown to nearly 154 million active users per month, Discord is still the new kid on the block and not as saturated as the more prominent social media platforms. It’s also one of the easiest platforms to intimately connect with your audience and deepen relationships.
Keep reading to understand the advantages of Discord when it comes to your social media marketing strategy.
Build a Community
One of Discord’s best features is the ability to create servers. Servers are essentially virtual communities or groups that are created around different interests, topics, or activities.
These servers facilitate community-building, bringing together like-minded people from all over the world and allowing them to talk, text, video chat, and collaborate. Creating a server for your business fosters a sense of belonging among your customers and helps them develop an emotional connection with your business that results in brand loyalty.
When you create a server for your business, you can also create various text and voice channels that cater to specific topics or activities related to your brand.
For example, let’s say your business sells software. You can have a channel for how to use the software, one for troubleshooting, and another for customers to share how they use your software.
You can connect with your customers generally with your server and further build your community with channels that cater to the unique needs of your audience.
Engage With Customers in Real-Time
Many people compare Discord to messaging apps like Slack because it offers a similar real-time communication experience.
Users can message, voice, or video chat with each other in a community chatroom and also have the opportunity to directly communicate. You can use these capabilities to engage with your customers in real-time.
For example, a customer could come to your Discord and send a message about an issue that’s preventing them from fully using your product. Discord will notify you of the message, and you can immediately respond to the customer and walk them through how to resolve their issue.
You could establish a channel for customer feedback and keep in touch with the customers who leave that feedback. Keep them updated on how you’re implementing their suggestions, and your relationships will grow stronger.
These actions also help them feel special and intimately connected with your business — fortifying customer relationships and your brand’s presence.
Boost Brand Awareness
Typically, social media marketing strategies aim to boost brand awareness, and Discord is uniquely qualified to achieve this goal, specifically through cross-promotion.
Your digital marketing strategy probably includes a website, email marketing, and other digital channels in addition to social media. You can use Discord to strategically drive traffic to your other digital marketing channels to give people more ways to get to know your brand, boosting your brand awareness initiatives.
For example, you can introduce a topic to your community on Discord and drop a link to one of your blog posts that gives more information on it to drive traffic to your business website. Or, you could create a channel specifically meant for sharing info on what’s happening on your other marketing channels.
Your efforts on Discord will build brand awareness by themselves. But you can further your brand awareness with cross-promotion on the platform.
Tips for Getting Started With Discord
The first thing you’ll need to do to get started with Discord is download it on your Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, or Android device. Go through the setup process and then create a server for your business.
Whether you’re marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Discord, you need to create a real strategy for what you’ll do on the platform to ensure you achieve your social media marketing goals.
An effective campaign on Discord or any platform for that matter requires you to do the following:
- Determine your overall goals and any that are specific to individual campaigns;
- Research your target audience and what they’ll respond to on the platform;
- Make sure your brand presence is strong and consistent;
- Try different kinds of content and communication styles until you find what works for your audience on the particular platform;
- Engage with your audience regularly to build genuine relationships;
- Measure your performance on the platform and make data-driven adjustments to your strategy;
- Stay on top of trends and algorithm updates to stay relevant on the platform.
Once you’ve created a tangible Discord marketing strategy, start executing it and stay consistent to see results.
Conclusion
Discord is a powerful tool for businesses to enhance their social media marketing when used with intention. Get started on the platform with the tips above to build a loyal community, engage with customers in real time, and take your brand awareness to the next level.
By Indiana Lee, BOSS contributor
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