Building a deeper connection with your fans and customers is a must-have. As it gets harder to truly engage with fans on social media, the place to cultivate a more profound relationship - and drive tangible business results - is in an online community. So how do you get the most out of a community? Follow these best practices.

These tips work for brands in any vertical, whether a business, music artist, record label, sports team, podcast, content creator or group with a shared passion. They're also useful for any platform, but particularly for communities built in Discord - a place specifically designed for conversation, making it an unmissable opportunity for your brand.

We asked our leading community architects to share their expertise and experience, gathering these tips for your brand to take advantage of. The key features and advice they emphasise for running a successful Discord server in 2024 are:

Onboarding and role Selection

• A good onboarding process is crucial. Guiding new members through their first moments helps everyone understand the server's purpose and how to engage effectively.
• Role selection during onboarding ensures members can easily find content and communities that interest them.

Effective moderation

• To manage spam, scams and inappropriate content, the use of automated moderation tools (also known as AutoMod) is essential.
• A reliable, trustworthy, and active moderation team is vital. They should be well-trained and capable of handling issues consistently.
• Some experts recommend specific bots like Wick for additional security against raiding and nuking.

Unique Identity and Purpose

• Having a clear purpose or mission for the server sets it apart from others and gives members a reason to stay engaged.
• Creating a unique environment or community identity helps attract and retain members.

Security and anti-raid measures

• Server security is critical, so adopt safeguarding strategies that protect your community, members and brand.
• Opinions are divided on the necessity of anti-raid bots, but minimising the number of bots and carefully managing permissions can prevent potential issues.

Minimalist and organised design

• A simple, well-organised server layout with minimal channels and bots is recommended to avoid overwhelming members.
• Clear channel organisation and a minimalist approach to design can enhance user experience, helping members find what they need when they need it.

Community engagement and events

• Regular, original events and a consistent focus on community engagement are important to keep the server active and members involved.
• Feedback loops between members and staff ensure that the server remains responsive to its community's needs. Forum channels are a good way to listen to what members need and want (or don't want).

Inclusivity and equality

• Ensuring all members feel welcome and recognised is important for fostering a positive community atmosphere. There are various ways to include members, such as by offering roles for pronouns.
• Avoid creating exclusive roles that might alienate members.

Build your Discord community

At Levellr we work with clients from music artists like Fall Out Boy to global brands like Starbucks, driving real marketing and monetisation results. Our community management expertise and simple but powerful tools add an extra layer to Discord so you can measure and monetise these private spaces much more effectively than social media.

Read more about the specific tips and strategies that will supercharge your community, and follow our YouTube tutorials to see how easy these tools are to use.

Contact Levellr today to find out how you can build a community which works for your brand.