The importance of Social Media in today’s business world has never been more evident. With a properly developed strategy, social media provides endless opportunities to build relationships, reinforce branding and messaging, and maximize your company’s online presence, reaching an unlimited number of targeted new contacts.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Gelie Akhenblit, Founder and CEO of NetworkingPhoenix.com, one of the Valley’s most dynamic networking and social media sites. NetworkingPhoenix.com started out as a central clearinghouse for events held by existing networking groups in the Valley, and through the effectiveness of networking and the site’s social media capabilities, has grown into a hugely popular local online business resource that is changing the landscape of small business and entrepreneurship.
In addition to maintaining the NetworkingPhoenix.com site, Gelie shares her expertise through training professionals on “how to network strategically, create a personal following, and effectively and deliberately employ the latest social media tools.” Here’s what she shared with me:
Q: What got you started developing NetworkingPhoenix.com?
A: My second job out of college was in the corporate world and about 1.5 years into it I decided that this is not the path I want to pursue. I didn’t like the restraints and knew there was something else I could do. I enjoyed networking and finding out what was going on in the marketplace. While networking, I found out there was no set place to find information about all the networking groups in the Valley, so I started thinking about developing a calendar to bring everything together and to connect people. That’s how NetworkingPhoenix.com all started- that was back in January 2008. Originally it was launched as Gelie.net and in October of 2008, we rebranded and re-launched the website.
Q: Did you go full steam into this project?
A: Yes and no. I was definitely on my journey of becoming an entrepreneur, but right when I launched, I started contracting for several companies (that was the business model for gelie.net) and worked with them for months all the while the calendar just ‘lived’ on gelie.net. I
Q: How did you get the word out about NetworkingPhoenix.com when you did the re-launch?
A: I networked like crazy and began using social media and asking my contacts to spread the word about the calendar. I asked everyone that I had already built relationships with to promote the calendar and the website through email, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and anything else that made sense at the time!
The social media promotions really took off and people started spreading the word through the various tools as well as direct email campaigns. This multiplied the free profile sign-ups on NetworkingPhoenix.com by massive amounts. The site went from 400 members in Oct. ’08 to nearly 6,100 to date. As a local site, that’s not a publication, NetworkingPhoenix.com is the most visited site in
Q: Did you do other things to get website and brand noticed?
A: Yes, I developed NetworkingPhoenix.com quarterly Signature Events. The first one was held in January of 2009. I reserved the space for 150 people and approximately 600 showed up. And this event was held on the same night as the Phoenix Open – so I thought no one would show up! In March we held our second event, where 750 networkers showed up, and in August we had over 1,000 in attendance!
Q: What goes on at the events?
A: The event itself is a big Mix & Mingle. It’s really all about networking, creating new connections and giving people a chance to get together in a friendly professional environment. The testimonials that come out from this event are pretty incredible. People are always telling me about the great business connections that they made and some of these are pretty high dollar deals!
Q: Who is the event for?
A: It’s for the entrepreneur, small business owner, sales professional, person in a career transition and anyone else in between that wants to network!
Q: Do you plan on having more events?
A: Our last one of the year is being held on Thursday, November 19th, 2009, 5:00pm - 9:00pm at the Scottsdale Hilton.
Q: Why do you think this event has become so successful?
A: Probably a few different reasons. I know people like free events and they like being around like-minded individuals. You put those two things together and the ‘buzz’ around the event will spread by word of mouth. It seems the word spreads fast and people seem to create the buzz themselves. They say things like “Are you going to the Networking Phoenix event?” “Have you heard about Networking Phoenix and their networking events?” It spreads like wildfire and I am thankful for the support and plugs.
Q: Have you had any stories that show the whole social media platform in action?
A: I did a “Vote for the new Gelie headshot” campaign using social media and there was a great response. Lucky for me, everyone chose the headshot I liked best. But what was really amazing was that people who didn’t even vote would come up and say “Hey Gelie, I like the new headshot you chose”! It blew me away.
The other story comes from just sitting having lunch at Paradise Bakery and overhearing someone talking about me. I didn’t know who they were! I asked, “Are you talking about Gelie and Networking Phoenix?” They said, “Yes” and I said “That’s me!” It was wild.
Q: There’s talk that there are different skills to using social media for business. Do you agree?
A: Oh definitely. You always need to be thinking about your brand and how it is portrayed. You also want people to engage in the conversation.
Q: So what are you working on now that is part of your social media campaigns?
A: In just a bit I will be launching “Networking Phoenix TV” where sponsoring businesses will be interviewed by me about their company. It’s a 3 minute ‘newslike’ segment that will be featured in our emails as well as live on our website and be promoted through our social media channels. The business owner gets to keep the video as well for their marketing campaigns.
Q: Anything else?
A: There is always something! We are also working on providing members with “Member Deals” to give members discounts and sources of great businesses in the Valley.
