Discord is primarily known for being the #1 communication platform for gamers, developers, and streamers. However, several businesses have recently switched to Discord from Slack and Microsoft Teams and created Discord servers for their business. Why would a business team start using a platform made for gamers? This article will explore why business teams should consider using Discord and the four top ways that you can use Discord for business.
Why Should You Use Discord for Business?
Discord’s main draw is that its base product is 100% free, even for enterprises. You can create a Discord account, build a server, and add others to it with a Discord invite link for no cost. Text, voice, and video chat, along with screen sharing, are likewise entirely free. Discord’s paid service–Discord Nitro–is only necessary if you want to boost your server’s video and live stream capacities and upload limit. Even then, Discord Nitro only costs $9.99/month or $99.99/year. Overall, Discord is a great communication platform for teams that work from home or need to contact each other outside of normal business hours.
Another great feature of Discord is its high server limits. Servers can support up to 250,000 members and 25,000 simultaneous online members–more than enough for most business teams. Servers can also support up to 500 separate channels, so you can keep conversations organized under hundreds of different topics.
Is Discord secure for business? Yes! You’re covered with Discord 2FA and a client-server architecture that keeps your IP securely locked down. Any login attempts into your account from a different IP than what you normally use must be verified over email. Finally, other users can only join your server if they have received an invite link that you generate and send out. To invite someone to a Discord server, simply click on the dropdown menu next to your server’s name and click “invite people” to generate an invite code.
If you want to directly compare Discord with other popular team communication platforms, check out our articles comparing Slack vs Discord and Discord vs Microsoft Teams. Otherwise, continue reading to learn more about how to best use Discord for business teams.
How to Make a Discord Account
You can create a Discord account from the login screen. Click on “register” below the login information. You will be asked to input your email, username, password, and date of birth. Then, click “continue” and confirm that you are not a robot. Once your account is confirmed, you can begin creating and joining servers.
How to Use Discord for Business
1. Organize Channels
Like Slack, Discord servers are divided into channels. Discord specifically has both text and voice channels so you can jump into a call with someone while still messaging others. From voice channels, you can also video call or share your screen (more on that below). Channels can be grouped into categories, as shown above.
Organizing your Discord business server into categories and channels helps keep the conversation in a given channel on-topic and can be used to organize your team’s workflow. For example, you could create a category called “Marketing” in your Discord server for the marketing team in your business and then create different voice and text channels under this category for different projects. This way, your marketing team can still communicate with other team members while having their own space instead of creating a separate Discord marketing server. This also makes Discord great for project management.
Channels can be made private so that only certain members are allowed in, so higher-ups in your work team can have private conversations about sensitive topics before informing everyone else. You can also make each channel on your Discord server private to ensure that each team can access their information and no one else’s.
2. Screen Share with Business Teams
Screen sharing on Discord lets you share important information on your computer screen with the rest of your team. To screen share, first enter a voice channel, then click on the screen share button as shown in the video. From there, you choose which tab to share.
Others can view your live stream by joining the voice channel and then clicking on your name. While in a live stream, everyone on the voice channel can still speak with one another. Up to 25 people can view your live stream, making Discord screen share a perfect way to share your ideas with your team or even conduct a meeting or webinar.
3. Use Discord Bots
Discord bots are a great way to moderate your server or add some fun into the workday. Bots can be used to moderate content on your server so that conversations stay on track and workers refrain from sharing outside links or spam. Other bots let you share music and videos with co-workers, conduct polls, or even play games. Take a break from your work by playing a quick Discord game such as Mafia or The Hunger Games as a group bonding activity! Check out the best Discord bots for business so you can bring your Discord office to the next level.
To add a bot, first find a Discord bot list. We recommend either top.gg or Bots on Discord as the most thorough and informational lists online. You can look through different categories on these websites and reviews by other users to pick the best bot for your needs. Then, adding your chosen bot to Discord is as simple as sending an invite and authorizing access. Keep in mind that only admins or moderators can add a bot to their server!
4. Use Discord Integrations to Connect with Other Apps
Although Discord has few native integrations, there are a few that prove useful to businesses. Integrations help you raise your Discord productivity level by connecting Discord to the apps you already use, thus streamlining processes. Droplr is a screenshot and screen recording app that saves all of your images and videos to your own secure space on the Cloud. Droplr’s integration with Discord lets you share and view screenshots and GIFs from Droplr directly on your Discord server. Recordings can be accessed by clicking on the associated cloud sharing link pasted into your server.
Discord also integrates with Zapier, which automatically connects the platform with thousands of other work productivity apps. Zapier lets your Discord account integrate with apps like Trello, Google Drive, Zoom, and Stripe. For detailed information on each Discord Zapier bot integration, visit Zapier’s Discord page.
More on How to Use Discord
Discord is truly a multi-functional platform as it is used by a variety of businesses, interest groups, and fan communities to communicate, collaborate, and build relationships with one another. Discord is perfect for commercial use as it lets you connect and work with co-workers for free. For more information on Discord, you can check out our app review. For more advice on using Discord for work, read our article How to Use Discord Like a Pro.