• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, September 13, 2019

Email is the best way to drive content for small businesses — 77% see it as effective, according to Email-Driven Content Marketing, a study by SharpSpring, conducted by Ascend2. SharpSpring is the provider of a content delivery platform.

In contrast, 53% say the same about social media, and 52% say this about websites/blogs. Only 22% rate SEO/organic search as effective in promulgating content, and 21% apiece feel that way about display ads and PPC/paid search and 20% about content syndication.

What’s more, most small businesses are thinking about content in strategic terms.

Of the companies surveyed, 36% have an email-based content strategy and 32% are working on one. Another 25% are talking about it, and 8% couldn’t be bothered. 

Those that have these strategies are doing pretty well: 50% rate themselves as very successful, 45% as somewhat so. Only 6% say they are bombing out.

What’s more, 87% say their effectiveness is improving and 27% say it is improving significantly, while only 13% feel it’s decreasing and 3% say it is declining significantly.

As for how they achieve these results, the survey found that 62% use a mix of outside and in-house resources, 24% outsource it to a specialist, and 14% keep it in-house.

Why would SMBS bother sending content? Their priorities are: 

• Increasing conversion rates — 54%
• Improving quality of leads — 53%
• Increasing leads/subscribers  —49% 
• Increasing Engagement time — 38% 
• Improving brand preference — 33% 

But none of it is easy. SMBs are being held back by these challenges:

• Improving quality of leads — 47% 
• Increasing conversion rates — 44% 
• Increasing leads/subscribers — 41%
• Increasing engagement time — 36% 
• Improving brand preference — 32% 
• Integrating across channels — 38% 
• Reducing cycle time — 27%

Of course, email has to deliver or serve as a conduit for many types of content formats: 

• Webinars/events — 43%
• Videos/motion graphics — 41%
• Interactive content — 40% 
• Newsletters/blog posts — 40%
• Case studies/articles — 38% 
• Research/eBooks — 32%
• Infographics — 28%

SharpSpring and Ascend2 surveyed 145 marketing influencers at companies with 500 or fewer employees.