SPEAKERS
Share your knowledge & experiences
Speakers from all over the world have presented at the Government Social Media Conference. Now that the 2021 event will be virtual, we're once again looking to the government social media community to share your stories, lessons learned and valuable advice for other agencies.
How to be a virtual presenter at GSMCON
- Propose a session by clicking on the button.
- Submit a great entry by reading all the details on this page first.
- Get an email if your session is chosen (those not selected will also be notified.)
- Accept our speaker terms & start preparing your session!
Call for Speakers Timeline
Proposal Deadline: Monday, January 25, 2021 at 11:59pm PT.
Speaker Notification: We'll let you know if your session was selected by Monday, February 1, 2021.
List of Sessions
Here are some of the breakout sessions and demonstrations that are already approved in the GSMCON2021 virtual lineup.
- Creating a Social Media Policy that Protects, Educates and Empowers (Kaitlin Keeler, Oakland County, Michigan)
- Demo: Adobe Rush vs Premiere for Social Media Videos (Jessica Bautista & Elizabeth Rohe, City of Gilbert, AZ)
- Demo: An Immersive Experience with 360 Video (Taylor Main, South Carolina Dept of Natural Resources)
- Demo: Creating Video & GIF Animations (Brian Turner, Maricopa County Clerk of the Superior Court)
- Demo: Podcasting for Beginners: Tell Your Agency's Story (Katie Grant, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)
- Embracing Cultural Diversity: A Better Way than Auto Translation (Abraham Morales, City of Aurora, CO)
- Gaining Advocates & Losing Negativity Through Social Customer Care (Alicia Trost, Bay Area Rapid Transit)
- How to Create a Public Safety Social Media Team (Shawna Washington & Terrell McCombs, City of Columbia PD)
- How to Fight Disinformation on Social Media (Helena Liikanen-Renger & Satu Järveläinen, Embassy of Finland, Washington DC)
Speaker FAQs
We highly recommend reviewing all of the speaker terms before proposing a session, as many other details are explained. Please reach out to us if you have any other questions via the contact info in the footer.
Approved speakers will receive complimentary registration at the All Access ticket level, recognition on our website and in event promotion. If you’ve already registered and are approved to host a breakout session, your registration fee will be refunded.
Many breakout session speakers respond to our "Call for Speakers" and are selected based on their qualifications, the suitability of the topic and where it fits in with the rest of the program. We typically reach out to experts and accomplished professionals to lead keynotes and panels, and we also personally invite a number of our breakout session speakers who we know have a great perspective to share. Some of our 2021 speakers were originally slated to present in the canceled 2020 event and have updated their topics.
All breakout and demo sessions are semi-live with a pre-recorded lesson portion and live Q&A at the end. Presenters will work with the conference team to record their session via Zoom Webinar — or record on their own with approval from the conference team — and will be required to be available during the event for the last 15 minutes of the scheduled session for the live Q&A. The pre-recorded portion is 30 minutes and the live portion is 15, for a total time slot during the event of 45 minutes.
What Would You Do? scenarios, PowerTalks and Live Reviews are all 100% live.
Yes, with approval. Our wonderful community is made up of some of the most talented video producers and on-camera talent we know! Because the first 30-mins of breakout sessions are pre-recorded, some of our speakers may have the resources to get their communication teams involved in producing a high-quality session.
Advance approval by GSM is required, and speakers who record on their own must submit their final 30-min video by March 5, 2021.
Besides regular breakouts this year, we're adding on additional session types for GSMCON2021! When you submit your proposal, you can choose what session type you think would be best for your topic: Breakout, Demonstration, Live Review, What Would You Do? scenario or PowerTalk.
Semi-live sessions
These sessions are 30-minute, pre-recorded lessons with a 15-minute live Q&A.
- Breakout: Traditional-style session with the speaker & slides.
- Demo: Walk-through of a website, tool, feature or other technology.
Live, All Access Only sessions
These sessions are completely live, 45-minute sessions, and only available to All Access ticket holders.
- Live Review: Evaluate pre-submitted sites or social media to share wins & opportunities.
- What Would You Do? scenario: Facilitate a scenario with other attendees.
- PowerTalks: Facilitate a virtual table discussion on your topic.
You'll need high speed internet, a webcam and a microphone with high quality audio. We'll provide a slide deck template for you to use.
Before you record your session with us, our conference team will provide you with helpful tips and advice for presenting virtually. We'll also assist in testing your video and audio quality prior to starting your recording session.
As we air your pre-recorded session, participants can interact with other viewers via the live chat feature. We require that you include at least one poll question and highly encourage you to prompt questions they can respond to in the chat. When your pre-recording is over and we switch over to you live, you'll highlight your key points and answer questions live that came in via chat.
More details on how to engage best with participants will be available to speakers.
Participants will also be able to access any resources you provide, including; slides, worksheets, samples and more.
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