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Online Networking at Ecademy
Before I give you these tips can I just say that too many people take online and off line networking far to seriously. It is supposed to be fun. It should not be abused. It is not about pushing business cards about or ramming sales pitches down people throats. It is perfectly acceptable to sell, but one needs to do it with a little finesse ... and don’t get upset when people don’t react. Life is too short to get your blood pressure up!
So here we go then:-
Laugh and smile at least 99% of the time! 
Ecademy can be a little confusing until you get used to it. You can't do any damage … so have a good explore.
For many new members this is their first taste of online networking and it often appears a little overwhelming, but after a few messages this become much easier and eventually rewarding.
The first important thing to do is to COMPLETE your profile. As a new member you tend to get other people looking at your profile a lot more in the first few weeks. If you have put up nothing you cannot expect anything!
If you are not a seasoned Networker the first thing to grasp is that it is very important to give of yourself. Don't expect anything in return! Look for ways of connecting people you know to others. Always look for those opportunities to help other. Your reward will be tenfold! Of course, if you are looking for something you must ask, otherwise how do we know what we need to do!
Always try and answer incoming messages, this is the basis of online networking. When replying to a message like this, it is best to do so, using the top link in the message or from the Ecademy web site, and then your reply is recorded against your profile in Ecademy so that you always know what has been said.
Ecademy is a place for everyone to network and exchange details. Include things in your profile about you, your likes, dislikes, desires, dreams, passions, hobbies etc. and of course what you do and how you might be able to help those who connect with you. People tend to connect first because they find something of common interest. Evidence indicates that the more personal you are the greater number of good contacts you make. This is especially true when compiling your 50 words.
When compiling your profile it is always best to write in the first person, i.e. from you, rather than a third person which can lack sincerity. Include a photo of yourself if you can. Also include your town in the address so others know roughly where you are located. This all adds strength to your profile and for obvious reasons helps to build trust between two people. Your profile is critical to your success here on Ecademy.
It still amazes me that so many people join up then don't put up a profile or don't answer messages sent to them. The point of being here is to communicate; having a profile is where you start, answering messages is just as important. You never know what the other person is looking for …. It may just be you!
When answering messages it is good to have a look at the persons profile and see if there is any common ground. This also helps to start a dialogue between you. You need to do this because building trust is paramount. No trust and the other person will have no reason to introduce you to people they know. Personally I have over 15,000 contacts, all over the world and anyone of them could be looking for your skills today!
One of the huge advantages of being on Ecademy is that information from your profile, posts you make, front page blogs etc. are all indexed by Google. This means that you earn your way to the top of Google quickly.
If a member has provided you with excellent help or you rate them in some other way, go to their profile and RATE them GOOD (don’t click unless you want to rate me good!) by clicking the word NONE after 'You Rate Them'. To turn it off, click it again. You can also write them a testimonial if you feel it is justified.
Some members are only interested in getting volume of contacts. You can normally tell these because they have a large number of contacts and few ratings. A good rating ratio is 20% or above. Less than 10% is poor. (Divide Rating figure by Connection figure). I normally remove them from my contacts as they are of no value to me.
Recently Ecademy appears to be sending automatic welcome messages from Country leaders to all who join up. These appear in your Contacts List. It is easy just to accept all contact requests, but you can select or reject them and I recommend that you question every connection request.
To accept Connection requests, simple go to the CONTACT tab on your profile and the select CONTACT REQUESTS from the left had navigation. This will display all those who have requested to connect with you. Accept or Reject as you feel appropriate.
Recently some members have started giving testimonials to everyone. They are normally pretty standard and are not worth having. A testimonial should only be given if there is a real reason, such as from someone you helped or encouraged. I ALWAYS delete testimonials which are not meaningful.
To often people use false names, business names or a logo instead of a photo. Sometimes they use a photo of something other than themselves. This is pointless and people who do this are treated by the majority of serious networkers as trying to hide something. This does nothing to create trust and as the Ecademy rules state, should not be used.
Remember - The reason for connecting is to find people that you can work with, help, or can help you. We are here because we are in business and looking for new connections to further our business. That does not mean blatant spamming of members with your message. It means connecting and starting a two way communication and getting to know and trust each other.
You can get more help for Ecademy HERE - at any time.
I hope these tips are useful to you. If you need more help, just let me know!
I encourage all new members to signup as Power Networkers for at least one year, because experience has shown that it normally takes that long to build proper relationships with others.
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