Small businesses that blog generate 126% more leads than SMB's that don't blog. I'm hoping that alone will convince you to start a blog for your small business.

Companies that blog also have 97% more websites linking to them as well. More links = more traffic, social shares, leads and as a result: more revenue.

SMB Blogging: Did You Know?

• Over 60% of consumers have made a purchase based on a blog post that they read

• Approximately 70% of consumers learn about a company through their blog rather than through paid advertising

• 60% of consumers have a positive feeling about a company after reading their blog

Those are some serious stats! It's fairly well documented that if you're a small business and participate in content marketing, you're going to do well.

Just take a look at how many people are searching on Google for content marketing:

As you can clearly see, content marketing is growing every day. More and more people want to learn how content marketing will improve their business and replace part of their more traditional advertising spend.

One of the best ways for a small business to improve content marketing is to start a blog. You've got a few options when it comes to picking a platform to blog:

• Installing WordPress

• Signing up for a free Blogger account

• Publishing content through NearSay, a local content platform. Learn more about this by contacting us.

Still asking yourself if you should create a blog for your small business?

• 82% of consumers enjoy reading content from company blogs

• Over 30% of consumers consider a blog to be the second most influential factor when it comes to making a purchase

• Businesses that commit to blogging and publish over 51 posts receive a 77% lift in monthly leads.

Content Syndication & Multichannel Marketing

If you want to push your local content marketing to the next level, it comes down to content syndication and marketing through additional channels.

Syndication
You need other people talking about your content. Bloggers republishing your posts, guest blogging in other networks, being found on a top local content publisher like NearSay. These are things that will significantly improve your content marketing plan.

Multichannel Marketing
Content is what powers the value of your channels. Your email list, Facebook updates, tweets, LinkedIn updates and Instagram photos have much more value if they're supported by great content. You need to be telling your stories through multiple channels to reach your customer. Without great content marketing and syndication, this is a difficult task.

What Does It All Mean?

By publishing content online frequently (1-2x per week), you will see significant and measurable results. Without a blog, your small business is not firing on all cylinders.

Have you recently started a small business blog? What kind of results are you seeing?

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