When some people think of NFTs, all that comes to mind is a unique profile picture. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to these digital collectibles, from NFT projects with utility to the thriving communities behind them.

So, what is the NFT community, and what makes it such a powerful piece of the puzzle? While it’s fair to call the community backing a project a “fan base” to a certain extent, it’s far deeper than that.

NFT communities are essentially the heartbeat keeping a project alive, and the guiding light that pushes it forward. NFT collectors, enthusiasts, and even other creators all come together to form a community and contribute to its evolution. 

Whether you’re interested in uncovering the coolest NFT projects with a community or you want to learn how to create your own NFT community, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll cover all this and more below. 

After all, our community is everything to us here at Pudgy Penguins, as one of the leading projects in the industry. With 46,000+ members on Discord and 1.6 million followers on Instagram, it’s safe to say we know a thing or two about community building!

What is the NFT Community?

Now, let’s take a deeper look - what is the NFT community all about? This is essentially a network of individuals supporting a project. 

It can be made up of artists, collectors, developers, and enthusiasts who are passionate about digital assets in general, but more importantly, the unique values and utility of a specific project.

We have a community here at Pudgy Penguins, as we just mentioned, but so do most other thriving NFT projects - like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), CryptoPunks, etc. The culture, goals, style of interaction, and more will all vary from brand to brand.

For example, we here at Pudgy Penguins seek to keep things fun and light, spreading good vibes and playfulness in everything we do. Our community follows suit. 

On the other hand, BAYC is a bit of an edgier brand and it shows in their tone of voice, and the interactions among community members. 

But community isn’t just about communicating with other members. It’s a means of shaping a project’s direction. Community members can offer feedback and participate in project discussions.

Sometimes, the community transcends the virtual world and takes things into the physical realm with in-person meetups. This is one of the most exciting parts of NFT projects, where you get to physically interact with like-minded individuals. 

The Importance of Community for NFT Projects

We don’t say this lightly - the strength of the community can often make or break an NFT project. An engaged and supportive community helps build trust, creates demand, and often drives the popularity of a project. 

We’d go as far as to say being a part of one of these communities is one of the most compelling benefits of NFTs! We talk about this in our guide on why people buy NFTs. From the brand’s perspective, it’s one of the most lucrative NFT use cases.

As hard as a brand may try to market their project and push engagement, really, it’s the people within the community who help spread the word and bring new members in. This is word of mouth at play. 

Think about it like this - if one of your best friends is raving about the new community they’re proud to call home, you’ll probably want to get in on the fun too! Then, you might tell other friends about it as well. This creates a snowball effect where the project slowly but surely grows over time. 

Plus, it’s the community that rallies behind new features or upgrades to an NFT project and spreads the word, creating as much hype as possible to propel the brand forward.

Community-driven projects, such as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) within NFTs, also empower members to directly influence the direction of the project, creating a deeper sense of ownership and loyalty.

All things considered, you need to make community a priority if you’re building NFTs and trying to create a brand. So, let’s talk about all the different places an NFT community can form.

Different Places NFT Communities Congregate

As you start looking into building out your own community, you might ask - what is the NFT community going to exist on? We mentioned that we here at Pudgy Penguins have amassed a massive following on Instagram and Discord, but there are plenty of other options as well.

Discord

Discord has become the go-to platform for NFT projects and their communities. Creators can build dedicated servers for members to engage in topic-specific channels, access exclusive content, and get real-time updates from project developers. 

Many NFT projects set up multiple chat rooms within their Discord servers for various purposes, such as general discussions, exclusive announcements, and collaboration opportunities. Members can also use voice chats and live events for a deeper sense of community connection.

Because someone has to be invited to a Discord server to gain access, this is a perfect pick for your community. It creates a sense of exclusivity, which is really one of the core tenets of NFTs in general!

Twitter

Twitter is another major NFT community hub, but on a broader level. It's a space where artists, collectors, and creators can share their latest projects, participate in general industry conversations, and connect with their audience. 

NFT-related hashtags like #NFTs, #NFTCommunity, and specific project-related hashtags help users find and join relevant conversations. In fact, we wrote about Twitter being one of our top recommendations on how to find upcoming NFT projects for this very reason.

Twitter Spaces has changed the game for NFT communities, too. This is the platform's live audio feature that allows NFT creators and enthusiasts to host discussions and Q&A sessions.

Reddit

Reddit provides a forum-like structure where NFT enthusiasts can dive deep into discussions about specific projects, share artwork, and provide feedback. Subreddits like r/NFT and r/CryptoArt are gathering points for large, diverse NFT audiences. 

The platform’s upvote and downvote system helps surface the most relevant and valuable content, making it easy for newcomers to quickly get a sense of which projects and topics are trending. Again, this is a great way to choose among the different types of NFTs.

Instagram

No NFT project should overlook the role of Instagram in growing its brand. Just take a look at Pudgy Penguins' presence and see for yourself how massive this opportunity is.

This is especially appealing for art-based NFTs given that Instagram is a visual-first platform. What better way to show off the latest NFT character in your lineup or market available NFTs than by posting pictures of them?

Beyond selling NFTs, you can use Instagram to grow your following and remain engaged with existing community members. It may not foster the same level of discussion, but it’s important in its own right.

Telegram, Clubhouse, and More

There are countless places you can build your community beyond the options above. For example, Telegram is quite similar to Discord. It just focuses on smaller, more immediate chat groups. 

On the other hand, Clubhouse is an audio-only social networking app that presents an opportunity to host discussions, AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions, and live events where community members can listen, participate, and share their thoughts.

Some projects have even taken things as far as creating their own community hub, known as metaverses. These virtual worlds become popular gathering spaces for NFT community members, and Decentraland is an excellent example of this.

Here at Pudgy Penguins, we’re in the midst of working on our own metaverse known as Pudgy World. Here, NFT owners can interact with other community members in a way like never before. You can play games, unlock special traits, and more. Stay tuned!

How to Create Your NFT Community

It’s clear that community plays a critical role in shaping your project’s success. So if you’re wondering how to make NFTs, you need to make sure you’re placing an emphasis on community building. We’ll offer a few tips to set you up for success below.

Define Your Project’s Values and Mission

First and foremost you need to define the purpose of your NFT project. What’s your vision, and what sets your NFTs apart? Whether it’s digital art, access to exclusive events, or unique utilities, your community needs a reason to rally around the project.

Being transparent about your goals helps you attract like-minded individuals who are genuinely interested in what you’re building. It will dictate the type of people who make up your community, and it will influence the way you interact with your community. Don’t overlook its significance!

Choose the Right Platforms for Engagement

Figure out where your community will live next. There are no right or wrong answers here, and the truth is, you need to have a presence on a variety of platforms. We’ve covered a few options already, including:

• Discord: Great for real-time conversations, events, and updates. You can create multiple channels for different topics and community roles.
• Twitter: Ideal for announcements, viral marketing, and tapping into the larger crypto conversation.
• Instagram: Best for sharing visuals and promoting NFT drops.
• Telegram: Popular for crypto communities who want real-time group chats and updates.

Create Exclusive Perks for Members

It’s essential to make being part of your community exciting. So, what’s in it for the members? This could entail anything from exclusive content to early access to drops, membership benefits (like events or meetups), and more.

Again, this is where you can get creative and think about your project’s specific value. Whatever you decide on, the NFTs you sell will unlock these perks.

Encourage Engagement

There's nothing worse than being invited to a party, eagerly anticipating your arrival, walking in, and realizing the place is dead. The same is true of NFT communities! This is why you have to work on encouraging engagement. 

This goes beyond marketing. You need to get in the trenches yourself as a creator and interact with the community through events like AMAs (Ask Me Anything sessions), polls, or feedback loops. Ask for their input on future projects or updates to show you care about their opinions.

Even something like holding contests or giveaways to reward active members is a great way to keep engagement up, and it can even incentivize new participants.

Build a Team of Moderators and Ambassadors

At first, you might be able to manage your community yourself. But hopefully, your brand grows to a point where you need to offload the responsibility to someone else so you can shape the direction of your project and focus on minting new NFTs. 

You’ll need to assign trusted community members as moderators or ambassadors to help maintain positive interactions and keep the conversation flowing, especially when you can’t be present.

Bringing Our Beginner’s Guide on NFT Communities to a Close

So, what is the NFT community? In closing, this is the heart of any successful NFT project. Communities are spaces for collaboration, creativity, and connection.

Whether you're joining for the exclusive perks, events, or simply the vibe, these groups make digital collecting feel like a shared adventure. If you’re creating your own NFT project, make sure community building is a priority. It’s what will push your project forward.

You can learn more about how to get into NFTs in our blog. We have resources on why NFTs are so expensive, NFT transfer, how to buy NFT on OpenSea, when did NFTs start, where are NFTs stored, cost to create an NFT, are NFTs scams, where to sell NFT art, NFT gas fees, how NFTs will change the world, what is an NFT, and more.

Still wondering what NFTs to buy? Look no further than Pudgy Penguins. We’re a prime example of NFTs after minting 8,888 unique penguin characters back in July of 2021. Since then, our community has pushed us to become a leading presence in the digital realm.

With millions of followers across social and tons of community features, it’s been an exciting journey - but we’re just getting started. Our team is passionate about the possibilities with Pudgy Penguins and eager to take us to the promised land. We hope you’ll join the movement!

We also have a penguins store with physical penguin toys like our popular penguin plushies. You can explore the best NFT marketplaces and see what Penguin characters are currently available for adoption. We can’t wait to see you inside Pudgy World!