Despite social media hype, SMBs still prefer resource centers and email newsletters as sources of business management advice

A recent study conducted by Bredin Business Information (BBI) concluded that small businesses  are still responsive to their vendors’ business advice. So that got me thinking. How many email newsletters do I receive that contain good business advice? Versus a lot of marketing and promotional material. And what is a good balance of advice that should be in your company’s newsletter.

We are talking about How-To-Articles here that convey market knowledge to your newsletter audience and customers. It really made me think about how many How To Articles are sent in our company emails. And I came up a bit blank because newsletters usually include company announcements and case studies but nothing that are actionable in terms of a “How To” type article. Definitely something to consider for 2010 newsletter content submissions. I better get started writing now.

The other key takeaway was the mention of industry news and how Small Businesses prefer to receive this information from their vendors. After all that is the industry and business we are in. So something to think about for future newsworthy topics. In fact 86% of the responses indicated industry related content was of utmost important when hearing from your suppliers. After all your customers expect you to have the pulse on your industry and the new trends.

Read more about the key results in the press release.

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HubSpot just released a new study confirming that if Small Businesses have their own blog. Then their marketing efforts achieve better results.

We have often discussed the benefits of online blogging to keep fresh content on your website and an engaged customer base. And this most recent study confirms yet again how important blogging can be to your bottom line.

Key findings of the study concluded the average company that blogs has:

• 55% more website visitors
• 97% more inbound links (links to your website)
• 434% more indexed pages (Indexed pages appear in search engines)

Read the full study results

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