Discord for Community Hosting: Top Reasons It's the Best Platform
Discord stands out as the go-to choice for hosting communities due to its versatility, many-to-many connections, and unique features like token gating.
While platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit are excellent for broadcasting content and attracting new users, Discord and Telegram focus on fostering deeper connections within the community and converting users into dedicated supporters. Discord offers a more diverse range of use cases compared to Telegram, making it suitable for projects with multiple dimensions.
Although Discord requires more initial setup, its customizable UI and integration capabilities make it a worthwhile investment. Token gating on Discord helps incentivize users to invest in your project and access premium content, further solidifying its position as a top choice for community building.
In an increasingly digital world, communities have become an essential part of project growth and user engagement. While there are various platforms available to host your community, Discord has emerged as the go-to choice for many creators and founders. In this article, we will explore the reasons behind this trend and why Discord should be your top choice for community building.
Alternative Platforms:
Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit are excellent broadcasting tools, primarily designed to showcase your project's good news, achievements, and updates. These platforms focus on reaching a broad audience, creating buzz, and attracting new users to your community. On Twitter and Instagram, visually appealing content and short, impactful messages can help you gain more followers and expand your reach. Meanwhile, Reddit requires high-quality, engaging content to capture the attention of its users and has the potential to make your project go viral if done right. These platforms play a crucial role in raising awareness and drawing new users to your community.
In contrast to the broadcasting nature of Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit, platforms like Telegram and Discord focus on fostering many-to-many connections within the community. These platforms allow for more direct and personal communication between community members, enabling them to collaborate, share ideas, and support each other. The main goal of these platforms is to convert users into dedicated supporters of your project, driving them to purchase and engage with your products. By facilitating meaningful connections and offering a space for open conversation, Telegram and Discord help you create a strong and committed community around your project.
For projects aiming to directly monetize their users, it's crucial to strike a balance between broadcasting and many-to-many platforms. By using at least one broadcasting platform (like Twitter, Instagram, or Reddit) and one many-to-many platform (like Telegram or Discord), you can address both growth and conversion issues. Web3 projects, for instance, understand this balance as they need to attract a large user base and then convert community members into buyers of their products. Similarly, creators seeking subscriptions for their content must first build a following and then focus on converting those followers into paying community members. By leveraging the strengths of both types of platforms, you can maximize your project's growth, user engagement, and revenue generation
The Key to Discord and Telegram: Conversion
On platforms like Discord and Telegram, the main goal is to convert users into true believers of your project. This will encourage them to buy and pay for your products. The primary KPI for these platforms revolves around conversion.
While both Discord and Telegram facilitate many-to-many connections, their use cases can differ significantly. Telegram is heavily focused on the crypto community, making it an ideal choice for projects within that niche. On the other hand, Discord caters to a more diverse range of interests, including gaming, NFTs, and creator communities. This versatility makes Discord an excellent platform for projects with multiple dimensions or those seeking to expand their reach beyond a specific niche.
When considering the setup process for your community platform, the simplicity of Telegram can be an attractive option. If your project has a straightforward message and a clear use case for community engagement, Telegram allows you to quickly and easily set up a group without any technical skills. This ease of use makes it a great choice for those looking to ramp up their community quickly.
However, if you're planning on hosting events, customizing messages, or integrating with other social media platforms, Discord is the way to go. Although there are some initial setup costs and a learning curve, the benefits of a cleaner and more customized user interface (UI) make the investment worthwhile. Discord allows you to create a more engaging and interactive experience for your community members, providing a solid foundation for growth and user retention.
To get started with Discord and learn more about setting up an effective UI, check out this helpful guide: Mastering Discord Series Part 1: How to Set Up the Frontend Discord Server.
One of the most significant advantages of Discord is the ability to implement token gating for your community. Token gating functions as the equivalent of the freemium model in Web 2.0, where you first focus on building a high-quality free community and then aim to convert these free users into paying customers for your premium products.
Token gating allows you to offer exclusive content, channels, or perks to those who hold a specific token or meet certain criteria, incentivizing users to invest in your project to gain access to these benefits. This feature is not available on Telegram, giving Discord a unique edge in driving user conversion and monetization.
Next week, we will talk about how to leverage unique features on discord to build a strong community.