15 Digital Engagement Stats You Should Know

Every second, 110 people open a GovDelivery email. Of the billions of messages that are sent to over 120 million users each year, we have the intel on how people are engaging with content from government organizations.

Data can be helpful when developing an effective communications strategy, which is why we’ve gathered the top stats you should know as you continue to refine your approach. Here they are:

Open Rates:

• The median open rate for GovDelivery users is 21.47 percent
• Smaller emails, which tend to be more targeted, have the highest open and click rates – Informz, 2014
• Personalized promotional emails had 29% higher unique open rates and 41% more unique click-through rates in 2013. – Experian (Click to Tweet)

Subject Lines:

• 33 percent of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based on subject line alone – Source (Click to Tweet)

• The 5 best words for subject lines are 1. Alert 2. Bulletin 3. Daily or Weekly 4. News and 5. Personalized Name – GovDelivery (Click to Tweet)

• An average mobile device can fit 4-7 words across the screen but the best performing subject lines are 1-3 words. – Contact Monkey (Click to Tweet)

Click Rates:

• The median click rate for the public sector is 2.92 percent
• Automated email messages average 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click-through rates than “business as usual” marketing messages. – Epsilon Email Institute (Click to Tweet)

Mobile Use:

• For 97 percent of those with a smartphone, text messaging was the most widely-used feature – Pew Research Center (Click to Tweet)
• Forty percent of emails are opened on mobile first – Contact Monkey (Click to Tweet)
• GovDelivery helped government organizations send 295 million text messages last year – GovDelivery (Click to Tweet)

Visual Content:

• Researchers found that colored visuals increase people’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80%.  – Source (Click to Tweet)
• 65% of the population are visual learners – Enplug (Click to Tweet)

Social:

• Email subscribers are 3 times more likely to share your content via social media than visitors from other sources. – QuickSprout (Click to Tweet)
• 72% of people prefer to receive promotional content through email, compared to 17% who prefer social media. – MarketingSherpa (Click to Tweet)

Hopefully these digital engagement marketing statistics will help inform your communications strategies and tactics. Want even more? Download the latest Benchmark Report here for more digital engagement metrics specific to the public sector.