“The largest, most engaged community for people who do digital marketing”
Meet David Markovich, founder of Online Geniuses.

You have a question about SEO, influencer marketing, and expert feedback on an on-going campaign. Where do you go for answers?

For the nearly 18,000 members of Online Geniuses, the first place they turn to is the online Slack community started in 2015 by founder, David Markovich. Featuring numerous channels devoted to different aspects of digital marketing, the community allows marketers to chat with one another in a spam-free environment about everything from Google AdWords to the inside track on who’s hiring.

The centerpiece of the Online Genius community is the library of Ask Me Anything (AMA) chats that David has organized featuring marketing rock stars like Gary Vaynerchuck alongside global marketing heads from traditional Fortune 500s, and everyone in between. It’s a star-studded roster.

Stephen Gorgey, vice-president of the AMA Los Angeles chapter board and owner of successful boutique digital marketing agency, Target Logic, sat down with David recently to find out more about the Online Geniuses community, how it benefits marketers across the country, and what’s next for David and OG.

SG: At Target Logic, I have clients who are interested in lots of new ways to market their products and services – from AI chat boxes and native ads to Messenger for instance. What drew you to choose Slack to build your community?

DM: I figured that people were already using the platform during work, so it wasn’t that much of an ask, you didn’t have to pick up a new platform. It ended up working out.

SG: How has OG evolved from your point of view?

DM: It evolved from a few people chatting on Skype to 18,000 people sending 2 million messages. It also spread from an extremely engaged online community to one that met offline too. In terms of the conversations, we’ve seen the breadth of topics grow because as people joined, they brought some very specific niche expertise and ended up starting conversations about AI or email , or blockchain or whatever. We’re still seeing that expansion.

SG: And what do you think members get out of it?

DM: Well, we’ve had people cofound businesses together, get hired, really up their education, even start dating. So, there’s a range of great benefits that come out of being part of a massive community.

SG: What about for you as the founder?

DM : I have met a lot of really interesting people and I have to be in the community every day, so I’m forced to learn! I’m constantly reading and learning about marketing so I can stay a step ahead. When it started, I didn’t imagine it would grow like this- but I like it.

SG: I just want to turn to the Ask Me Anythings (AMAs)– so many top-flight marketers with a lot to share – how did you get started doing those?

DM: Through the community, I got to meet these interesting people and I would just ask them tons of questions. Then I thought it would be great if everyone in the community had this opportunity. I think people naturally want to give, so a lot of great people took me up on it. From there it just grew. Some of our AMA guests referred other AMA guests, and I’ll ask people joining the community if they want to do an AMA.

SG: What’s next for OG?

DM: I’m not sure but I hope to continue growing and one day becomes the largest most engaged community for people who do digital marketing.

If you want to learn more about Online Geniuses, check out the website where you’ll also find the list of past and future AMA guests.

We’d love to hear about your experiences with OG, and also any nominations for AMA guests that you’d be interested to hear from. Let us know in the comments.