Joining online communities on Guild is a great way to build your professional network and personal brand.
To help you make the most of Guild, here are some simple steps to help grow your professional network.
Before you start, make sure your Guild profile is complete and up to date - see this guide for help. Don’t worry about getting it perfect! You can update your profile as often as you like.
Join relevant communities and absorb their culture
We'd recommend finding three groups or more to join on Guild. You'll then see a broad range of communities and conversations while you find your way around.
You'll develop a good idea of how conversations in online communities differ to those in algorithmic social media feeds. As you settle in you'll find more communities you want to join.
Do explore open and discoverable groups that you can request to join on the Guild directory or from within the Guild app. Just click the "Explore Guild" banner at the top of the app. You'll see recommendations just for you, or you can search by keyword. Click "Request to join" when you find a relevant group.
You'll receive a notification once your membership is approved. Having a complete profile will help a host understand why you're asking to join.
Give some praise
Found something that someone has said in a community useful?
If so, you can applaud any individual post or message.
Click the "hands" under each message in a conversation to add your own applause. There are no rules about how to use this, but do be generous rather than cautious. Many people applaud interesting content, helpful links and opinions they agree with. Some applaud in respectful disagreement and say why they disagree in their reply.
When you applaud, the recipient will be notified. If a Guild member gets regular applause they'll have a Top Contributor badge (a star) on their profile.
Reply to conversations - or start one of your own
There's more guidance on being a good community contributor in the links below but in short, responding helpfully to posts is a good way to start building your visibility and reputation on Guild.
A brief "thank you", agreement, or adding a useful link to a resource are all useful.
If you can provide a thoughtful response to a question or conversation it will add even more value to the community. Just remember the Guild charter* whenever you post - and use the @ function to notify people you're replying to, or want to bring in to a conversation.
*all Guild members agree to the Guild Charter when they join.
The Guild Charter stipulates:
1. High professional standards - act with integrity, uphold your reputation and that of Guild
2. Privacy & confidentiality by default - nothing shared without permission
3. Mutual support - Guild is about helping each other. Unsolicited selling, for example, is not appropriate.
Something private to say? Send a Direct Message
You can DM anyone you are connected to or share a Guild community with.
For example, you may have something to say that would be better in a one-to-one conversation. Or you may want to ask a question of someone without taking a public conversation off track.
Just note the name of the person you'd like to connect with, go to your Direct Messages, click 'New Direct Message', and type in the beginning of the person's name.
You can also DM the host of any group you’re in with questions or suggestions, and you can DM Team Guild for support at any time. Many Guild members use Direct Messages to hold personal conversations with colleagues, customers and other connections, just as you would with any messaging app.
Make connections
Like LinkedIn, you can create a professional network of connections on Guild. Use this to add those people you talk to regularly and who you know personally or professionally. We recommend quality connections over quantity and absolutely no spamming - that's never professional!
Pull up their profile and click the “Connect” button under their name. If they accept, you’ll also be able to DM them even if one of you leaves your shared group(s).
Making connections allows you to message each other, even if you no longer share the same Guild groups or communities.
You can then DM each other when you've found something that might be helpful, or of interest to your connection or ask them a question if you think they could help you with something. Just like best practice community membership, if you give more than you take when networking, then your connections will alway be happy to help when asked.
Use the Guild member directory to find people and to share your Guild profile
Every Guild member can choose whether to have a private or public profile. To make yours public, simply click on your photo and use the “Make my profile discoverable” toggle.
Profiles that have been made discoverable will appear on the member directory in the Guild app. They will also appear on the Guild member directory on the Guild website.
This is indexed by Google and other search engines, so it’s a great way to make sure people can find you online and also a great way to manage your professional, personal brand online.
Search the member directory to view people who have made their profiles discoverable. If you spot someone you have something in common with just click the pink connect button on their profile.
Help others grow their network
Building a professional network is best done by being collaborative and connecting the dots.
If you know that someone in your network can help someone else, it's easy to connect people on Guild.
Just open one person's profile, click the "Introduce [Name] to..." link, select someone else to connect them to, and write a message introducing them to each other. They will then be able to DM each other in a private conversation.
You'll no longer be involved in that conversation - if you need to be, you can always start your own private community on Guild)
Making introductions is a great way to build your reputation, but it's also just a good thing to do for your contacts.
Bring in your existing professional connections
Bring your existing professional contacts into your Guild network. You can do this from social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, consumer messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram or via email - it's a great way to build your network.
When you’re logged in to Guild, click “My Network” and then the pink “Invite Contacts” button at the bottom of the screen.
You’ll see 3 options:
"Create Invite Link"
"Email Invite"
"Invite Via Address Book"
“Create Invite Link” creates a personal link that you can share by email, messaging apps or on social networks. It’s a direct link to connect with you on Guild so use it with care. You can always regenerate the link if you need to, which will cancel the previous version.
The "Email Invite" option will allow you to generate an email invitation from within Guild. Your contact will receive a personalised email from Guild that they can use to connect with you. They can join Guild for free if they aren’t already a member.
The "Invite Via Address Book" option allows you to invite your professional connections stored in your mobile/cell phone. They will be sent a text message link to connect with you. Again, they can join Guild for free if they aren’t already a member.
Finally, if you choose to make your Guild profile discoverable you can copy and paste your profile link in to your email signature, your social media profiles, your website or even your CV so that your existing connections can find you easily on Guild.
Photo by Zen Chung from Pexels
More about how (and why) to grow your professional network
How online networking can be good for your mental health
Why online communities make great sounding boards
Your guide to the perfect Guild profile
Find some relevant communities for your career
Be a great community member with our 10-step guide
How to use Guild for professional networking and personal brand building
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See for yourself how the Guild experience is different to WhatsApp, Slack, LinkedIn or Facebook Groups.
Guild is a safe space to connect, communicate and collaborate with others.
Join us on a platform that is purpose-built for creating groups, communities and networks on mobile.
- Just want to join some groups? Simply join Guild and then look through the discoverable groups and communities to find relevant ones to join
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