If there’s one small change you should make to your organization’s website in 2014 that will make the biggest impact on your communications, it’s the addition of an overlay. An overlay is a method that allows you to capture contact information from your website visitors, so you can connect with them later and encourage them to visit a park, inform them of a policy, download a report, or register for an event. 
And you’ve already seen them everywhere. If you head over to your favorite retail website (mine are Banana Republic and Art.com), you’ll likely be prompted to sign up for future information. That’s because the private sector knows how critical it is to convert website visitors into subscribers of ongoing updates. And the results are astonishing.
So why can’t the public sector piggyback on this wildly successful audience growth tactic? Well now, they can!
Public sector overlays built by GovDelivery are secure, 508-compliant and completely mobile responsive, so there’s no reason why government organizations can’t harness their power. After all, they are the fastest and most effective method of growing your digital audience. And when we say effective, we’re talking 200-500% increases in the number of people signed up to hear from you. That means more Web traffic, more video views, increased usage of online services, and more. 
And overlays are spreading like wildfire. Organizations at the Federal, State, Local, and International level are already jumping on board. The U.S. Department of Interior’s (DOI) website overlay contributed to massive growth in stakeholder connections. In the first eight months of implementing the overlay, the DOI more than doubled its unique subscribers and more than tripled subscriptions to its topics. The combination of the GovDelivery Network and a website overlay grew the number of people the DOI reaches from 5,000 to more than 147,000 people in just three years—an increase of more than 2840%.
The newest organization to implement an overlay, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, went live in June and the organization is already seeing the benefits. “Initial results are looking great! We’d been averaging about 40 direct subscriptions per day. It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet, and we have 507 newcomers,” says Scott Ball, Internal Communications Director. That’s an increase of 1167% in audience growth. No other action you take on your website will have as much impact in such a short amount of time.
And there are so many more examples of overlays doing amazing things for public sector organizations. Check out USDA’s ChooseMyPlate.gov, Minnesota Department of Revenue, FEMA’s Ready.gov, and Nottinghamshire County Council in the UK (just to name a few).
The best part? They’re simple to create, customizable, and free to GovDelivery clients. Simply insert the single line of code we provide you on your website and you’re done. You can implement the code on your home page and on top viewed Web pages. That’s it (yes IT and Web admins, it’s that easy!).
Don’t miss out! Just click here, log in using your GovDelivery Communications Cloud credentials, and submit a request to GovDelivery Customer Support. Your overlay will be ready in a few days; then sit back and watch your numbers grow. Remember, GovDelivery’s overlays are 508-compliant and built with a “mobile first” philosophy so accessibility is never an issue. If you’re not a current GovDelivery client, contact us for more information at info@govdelivery.com.
With any government program, project, or initiative, you can’t just rely on an “if you build it, they will come” strategy. If nobody knows about your initiatives or projects, they can’t make a difference. To be truly successful, you have to capture people while they are engaged on your website in order to promote your ongoing programs. An overlay will be your key to success.