Behind the Envelope: What is the GovDelivery Network?

Welcome to Behind the Envelope, a new series of posts exploring ways to get the most from Granicus. To kick off the series, Mike Bjorkman will cover one of the things we’re most proud about, the GovDelivery Network. Mike’s been with Granicus since 2011 as a member of both the implementation and Client Success teams.

The GovDelivery Network: What is it and why you should care.

You may have heard about the Network when your agency was first considering Granicus and one of our account executives was extolling its virtues. Maybe you heard about it when our implementation staff covered it during the process of your agency coming on board. Heck, maybe all of that happened a long time ago at your agency and you just happen to be brand new to the platform.

We’re here to help you understand it. The GovDelivery Network is our ability to cross-promote information government agencies offer for subscription – and it’s one of the best things about being a GovDelivery client.

Think of the Network like buying something on Amazon. After you make a purchase, Amazon recommends similar products that other people have purchased. The GovDelivery Network works in a similar fashion. It‘s the page a citizen sees after they’ve finished subscribing to your topics. The page offers the subscriber additional agencies and topics they may be interested in. If you’ve ever taken yourself through your agency’s subscription process (you have done that, haven’t you?) you saw the GovDelivery Network page. Here’s a sample of a network page from a client in the State of Minnesota:

Sounds nice, but what’s in it for me?

Why is the Network beneficial to your agency? It will help increase your subscriber count with very little effort needed from you. We know after citizens have finished subscribing to the topics you offer, they’re likely to subscribe to additional topics from other agencies. It’s the same reason Amazon suggests those additional products: they know people are in the mood to buy and might be likely to purchase an additional item.

The cross-promotion effect of the Network is a two-way street. Citizens will begin subscribing to topics on another agencies’ website and then see the information you offer on a network page.

Have I already benefitted from the network?

The short answer: Probably! And you can see exactly how much. Want to see how many subscribers the Network is driving to your account? It’s simple. When you’re logged in to the GovDelivery admin platform, start by clicking the Reports button on the left navigation and then clicking on the Network Report* link.

Once there you’ll see a monthly summary of your subscribers by source and a comparison over the past 12 months.

Both reports break down subscriber numbers by direct, network and local network. Direct subscribers are people who subscribed from a link or form on your website. Network subscribers came to your account via the network page, meaning they started by subscribing to another agency’s information and then saw your information on the network page. Local network subscribers are a sub-set of network subscribers, meaning GovDelivery suggested your information for subscription based on their location.

For a more detailed explanation of subscriber types, check our support page.

Take better advantage of the Network.

One great thing about the Network is that you have control over the topics people will see when your agency appears on a network page. Notice in the example below how the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has their Minnesota Grown newsletter listed as one of the available topics?

The ability to list specific topics on the network page is called Featured Content. Many agencies choose to highlight their most popular topics like newsletters or press releases, but those that end up getting the most from this option actually rotate their featured topics. Think of a health agency featuring their influenza topic in the fall when we’re all hearing about getting our annual flu shot, or a cold weather city featuring their snow emergency topic during the winter months. Thinking it makes sense to rotate the topics that get featured? Great. Here’s how you can do that.

The network is unique to GovDelivery and one of the things we’re most proud of. The network will help increase your subscriber numbers and ultimately increase your ability to positively affect the people you serve.

Have additional questions about the network? Check out our support documentation or watch this short video.