How To Maximize Your Public Sector Events: A Q & A With Kerry Rea Of GovEvents

Recently Katie Hanusik with SpeakerBox Communications interviewed GovEvents President, Kerry Rea. Here's the article we wanted to share:

I recently had a chance to catch up with Kerry Rea, President of GovEvents, who shared her thoughts on the changing government events landscape. In the following Q&A, she discusses how topics have changed over time, how event planners can ensure success for their public sector events, and how to avoid common event planning mistakes.

Q: Can you give us a quick overview of GovEvents?

GovEvents was created as a complimentary service to government and military personnel, contractors, vendors, and event organizers to provide one place on the web to find and post government-related events. Without GovEvents, government personnel looking for professional development and networking opportunities would have to search numerous sites and monitor dozens of email newsletters to get a look at options open to them. Industry had the same challenge in developing their event plans each year - determining which events to attend, exhibit, and sponsor.

The site provides in-depth information on hundreds of events, from major industry tradeshows and government conferences, to agency-sponsored roundtables, government job fairs, training events, webinars, and on-demand webcasts.

The site has grown to more than 80,000 members. On average, 90% of the events on GovEvents are posted by members.

Q: Just how many government events are there?

It really varies from month to month. April, May, September and October are the "hot" event months, but you can expect to find anywhere from 250 to 300 events per month.

Year to date, we've had 2,670 events posted on GovEvents, and there are another 234 events left in 2017.

Q: What were the most popular topics or trends for government events in 2017?

Cybersecurity has been hot for a number of years, and we continue to see a huge amount of events focused on making sure systems are secure. Over time, we have seen the tenor of these events change from "lock down your systems" to "provide access to users in the most secure way possible." There is an understanding among the government community that security is no longer a question of if you'll get breached, but when. Events now focus on mitigating that risk.

Other popular topics include Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data, and recently we've seen an upswing in events about artificial intelligence (AI).

Q: Do you anticipate any changes in topics or trends in 2018?

Digitization of government -- finding a way to provide better service to citizens online -- is still a huge priority across government. We expect to see more events that allow government agencies to openly share their successes and failures in making digital government a reality.

We're also seeing a trend toward smaller, more hands-on lab-type events. I also think we'll see an increase in machine learning and AI events in 2018.

Q: What are the top 3 things event planners can do to ensure that their event is well-attended?

1. Plan ahead and invest in promoting your event. I am surprised at how many last-minute events there are with little to no budget for promotion. With so many event options available, planning and promotion are a necessity for a well-attended event.
2. Do something different. With tight budgets and government workers' time at a premium, there are limits to how many events people can attend. Make yours stand out from the crowd with a different element. It could be a unique speaker, a different type of venue (movie premieres are popular), or a different format that breaks from lecture-style events.
3. Know your audience. Really look at who you want to attract to the event. Do some research into their work habits and lifestyle. Are breakfast events more convenient? Do most of your ideal attendees take public transportation? If so, make sure your venue is easily accessible. Is your audience on social media? If not, cut back your efforts there and put money and time into the channels they do use.

Q: What's the best way to measure event ROI?

Rather than directing all marketing to your main event web page, create landing pages that correlate to the audience you are targeting. For example, create a page that highlights all of the defense-related content at your event. This is the URL that should be delivered to DoD email addresses and used in your targeted social media efforts. When these users click the link they are immediately shown how the event applies to them. If you have a DoD landing page, a civilian landing page, and an industry landing page, you can compare the traffic each one gets, the length of time those visitors spend on the site, and the eventual conversion to registrant. Tracking these specific pages not only enables you to see the success of marketing campaigns, but better tailor content leading up to the event.

We also recommend using tracking URLs for each of your marketing components so you can easily identify what is and isn't working.

According to Market Connections Federal Events Study Overview, published in October 2017, government decision makers attend events to expand their knowledge and learn something new, but their ability to attend may be hampered by a lack of travel budget or travel restrictions. Be sure to pay attention to Kerry's tips to make your event the "must-attend" event of the crowded public sector event season.

- Katie