How to get the most out of your DesignMind membership

We want DesignMind to work for you! DesignMind is an online networking, collaborating and sharing tool for built industry professionals. Being a member allows you to:

- Stay on top of industry news and upcoming events (CPD included)
- Network with others in your industry, share insight and discuss issues and trends
- Create a presence online. You will be found in searches and can profile yourself and your trade.
- Blog about industry issues and read inside information and opinion submitted by other members
- Find jobs
- Search for employees
- Share your work and the work of others
- Discover the latest trends in South Africa
- Get free research reports
- Connect with customers

But the community will only work for you in these ways if you ensure that you use the community correctly and efficiently. We've noticed that some of our members are missing out - ensure that you are getting the most value out of being a DesignMind member by doing the following:

SIX QUICK IMPERATIVES TO A VALUABLE DESIGNMIND MEMBERSHIP

1. ENSURE YOUR PROFILE IS UPDATED AND RELEVANT
You should have a profile picture, correct information and a full profile. This increases your search engine optimization and ensures that clients and colleagues can find you. The words used in your profile are used to tag you in searches so make sure your profile is complete and informative.

2. JOIN A GROUP
Joining a group on DesignMind allows you to collaborate around niche industry interests and topics. By joining a group you become a member of a smaller community and alert the other members to what you are interested or involved in. Commenting in Groups not only shares with others your opinion- it also allows you to be easily found in searches. In Groups there are discussions happening around industry issues and topics- being involved or aware of these is imperative in staying on top of industry insight. Joining a Group is a networking, information sharing and discussion tool.

3. POST PICTURES - SHARE YOUR WORK
Posting pictures is popular on DesignMind. Your posted images will show up in Google searches. By posting photographs of your projects you allow the members to see your work and open doors for job opportunities and idea sharing.

Don't forget to label your images correctly. Images incorrectly named will not show up in searches and are of little use to the community and to yourself. Re-name your images on your computer before uploading them.

4. INTERACT
Becoming a member and never going online or interacting is relatively useless. The numerous studies done on the benefits of online networking sites for business report that these sites only work if you use them- like most things. If you take ten minutes a day, or an hour a week to interact on DesignMind and explore the community you will discover how useful the tools are and how easy it is to reap the benefits.

HOW DO I INTERACT?
For new members it may seem intimidating. But soon you will see how easy and useful it is to get involved in the community. The sharing of ideas and communicating between people has been a necessary step in the evolution of human thinking and evolution. With the birth and development of the Internet it's now easier, faster and more convenient. On DesignMind you can:

- Comment on Blogs
- Start discussions in Groups
- Reply to discussions in the MarketPlace
- Comment on other member's profiles
etc

5. USE THE MARKETPLACE
The DesignMind MarketPlace is a forum, the classifieds and a brainstorming room. If you are looking for a job, have a job offer or want to throw around a few ideas this is where you should go. Your DesignMind profile becomes an interactive CV where potential employees can see your work experience, photographs of projects you've done and communicate with you. You can also see the background of potential employees. Use the DesignMind MarketPlace to your advantage.

6. TALK TO US
The DesignMind team is constantly looking for new ideas and ways to better our community for our members. If you have any suggestions or comments e-mail us and let us know so that we can improve the site for you!
You can send any e-mails to:
nicoleh@virtualworks.co.za
natashac@virtualworks.co.za

We will personally get back to you!



If you're feeling lost in the site- read our Blog post here