To Behance Network Members:
Getting too many messages in your Behance inbox?
Frustrated by too many communications about people posting new projects?
The Good News: The Behance Network is serving as a valuable platform for creative professionals to showcase their work, exchange feedback, and build their careers. The feedback has been extraordinary, and many of the largest agencies and companies now use Behance as their primary recruiting source.
The Bad News: People are getting connection-finger (like trigger finger, but for network building) by joining too many inner circles. As a consequence, members start receiving too many messages…it can get overwhelming!
But communications is completely in your control. You decide who to connect to and how to communicate. Here are the common mistakes made by Behance Network members – and some possible solutions…
Mistake #1: You Made Your Inner Circle Too Big
New members to the Behance Network invite many people to join their inner circles. By doing this, you are signing yourself up to get messages from every member that you connect with. If you have 500 people in your inner circle, you will start getting LOTS of messages (and it will start to feel like spam!).
Solution: Keep your inner circle SMALL. Reduce it to JUST people you know or REALLY respect. People that you WANT to receive messages from. If you like someone’s work, just add them to your watchlist INSTEAD of inviting them to your inner circle.
Mistake #2: Sending A Message Every Time You Post A New Project
When you post a project, everyone that is in your inner circle (and those that are watching you) ALREADY SEE your new project. They are notified based on their notification preferences and their activity feed.
Solution: Don’t send messages about new projects. Use your communications wisely!
AND…If you start receiving too many messages from someone in your inner circle, just click “remove” at the bottom of the message. Just as you would on Twitter or elsewhere…
The Future of Communications in the Behance Network
We are developing new ways for users to manage communications. Stay tuned…
Needless to say, it is critical that the messaging features support the careers and productivity of members. We welcome your suggestions and feedback as we work to improve the Network.
Behance Team