Success Story
How Silverthorne, CO builds connections in its community with govDelivery
A self-described “young, determined mountain town with a modern vision,” Silverthorne, CO is a community located in the Rocky Mountains, about 70 miles west of Denver. Situated in the mountains and surrounded by wilderness areas and plentiful places to ski, Silverthorne has become a popular destination for visitors. The town’s marketing team has made it a priority to communicate with every segment of the community — permanent residents, visitors, and businesses — with targeted messages and has found success using govDelivery to accomplish this.
SITUATION
During the pandemic, Silverthorne’s marketing plan shifted to focus more on messaging and how the town was speaking to the community. The marketing team’s top priority was to create a transparent, authentic community through communication. To create this authenticity, it became critical to manage messages to visitors while balancing the needs of residents and business owners.
Prior to implementing govDelivery, the Silverthorne marketing team used a third-party email marketing software to create and distribute one quarterly newsletter to 1,000-2,000 people. The program’s templates were limiting; Silverthorne sought a more flexible solution which would allow staff to send targeted newsletters to different audiences more frequently.
SOLUTION
When Silverthorne’s marketing team was evaluating technology platforms to help them fulfill their marketing plan, they sought a solution that would help them deliver timely, consistent messaging to the community. Silverthorne implemented govDelivery and since the team was already using govAccess, the Granicus website and CMS solution for government, the town attained compatibility and alignment across the platforms.
Enhancing its communication strategy and growing its newsletter distribution were high priorities for the town. With govDelivery, Silverthorne’s marketing team was able to create additional newsletters for different audiences. After implementation, Silverthorne went from distributing one quarterly newsletter to creating and issuing several more, including newsletters about Silverthorne’s recreation center, community events, and Town Council recaps. The town also developed newsletters targeting its visitors and registered businesses and translated all its newsletters into Spanish for specific Spanish-language subscriber lists.
RESULTS
Silverthorne has made great strides in creating an authentic, transparent communications strategy with govDelivery and newsletter recipients are connecting with the messages. Monthly newsletters have seen high open rates anywhere between 45% and 52%, well above the average 21% email open rate. Silverthorne’s newsletters also have an engagement rate of 72%, which measures the number of recipients who click on a link within a newsletter.
Anecdotally, Silverthorne’s marketing team notes that community engagement has grown since the introduction of govDelivery. Survey results, gathered through links in newsletters, have been strong and there is greater awareness of events and programs in the community.
