I attended Government Executive Media Group's Market Preview on September 20 to see what was coming next from the GovCon media property.
I attend in part because the networking is always good. I tend to arrive early because I am driving from Columbia to Wolf Trap and I want to beat the traffic. This works in my favor as well, as I get one-on-one time with Tim Hartman, (CEO), Connie Sayers (President) and a few of the staff that I know.
Then, as people arrive, I see many of their clients and prospects, and several of my GovCon marketing friends.
It is always interesting to see the market from the perspective of a major media property. For Market Preview, they had five areas identified as trends.
Market Trends and New Offerings
As you can see, the five trends identified are flux, podcasts, social, lead gen and events. Citing Market Connections as well as their own research, they see a significant rise in these areas.
To address these areas, Government Executive Media Group is adding to their portfolio of services programs for podcasts, social, lead generation and events. Well, they already have events and they help their clients with lead gen activity. Which leaves two new areas where they feel they can add value to their client base.
The Ultimate Podcast Network
and Social/content/targeted delivery
I will preface this by saying I am a fan of the GovExec team and what they have done. It is great to see a former print publication morph in the ways it has, and become even more successful.
That being said, podcasts and leveraging social media have been with us for quite some time. About the time (2009) I started coaching people and companies on LinkedIn Matt Langan of L&R Communications was helping companies develop and deploy podcasts.
And as you may know, I have been on Federal News Radio for almost 12 years, and my shows (and all other WFED broadcasts) are and have been available for download - podcasts. They are also available on iTunes and PodcastOne.
(This photo is from my first big public presentation on LinkedIn, to the American Marketing Assn chapter in Virginia Beach. Note the date on the picture, that I only have one chin, and the lack of silver in my hair...)
On the "Social" side of this equation, I am happy to see the endorsement from a major media company that "social" has arrived. However, the arrival is long past- this baby has matured. As I announced earlier this year, there are more than 2 million Feds on LinkedIn. This was my third Fed census on LinkedIn, the first being in September, 2014 when I found 1.4 million Feds on LinkedIn.
Again, while podcasts and leveraging social media, especially LinkedIn, are not new to the market, GovExec's entry into these areas is interesting. They bring a powerful database to the broadcast side of the equation, but as a whole, Government Executive does not leverage LinkedIn particularly well for itself.
This is not meant to be a slam, simply my opinion predicated on over 14 years on LinkedIn and coaching trams and individuals for 10 of those 14 years. Most individuals and companies in our market don't use LinkedIn well.
All that being said, media companies look for pockets of profitability, and Government Executive Media Group has identified some fertile ground.
For me it also begs the question: if I were a GovCon media exec, what would I be offering my clients?
Will I attend Market Preview next year? If invited, most certainly
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