What Is RSS?
You have probably seen it a few hundred times yet might not have the slightest idea to what it does or what it means. Introducing the RSS!
According to Wikipedia.com RSS is
“RSS (most commonly expanded as “Really Simple Syndication”) is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format”
Basically, it is a way for the viewers of your website to receive updated content from your website without you having to tell them directly!
If you are starting to think that “this could save me some time” then you and I are on the same frequency here! You’ve got that absolutely correct and that’s what I’m here to help you understand even more.
An RSS feed is a text-based headline with a link, and usually a short summary of your posts. If you’re interested in reading the whole article, all you would have to do is click on the RSS feed link, and you will be directed to the full article, simply and efficiently. Think of an RSS feed as being pulled and delivered to you, as opposed to you reaching out to find it.
RSS can be a useful addition to a marketing arsenal in several ways:
- Drive traffic to your content. Be sure to promote your top stories on the relevant pages to encourage further reading, as visitors haven’t entered your site through the home page.
- Increase e-commerce. Target product information feeds to meet customer needs and interests. As with email marketing, where a product is pushed to customers, ensure presentation, promotions, and timing are relevant. Leverage existing offerings on your site, and you may not need additional creative development. A regular content schedule is important. To keep RSS users and attract new ones, develop special RSS-only promotions.
- Extend advertising and branding. Readers perusing your headlines on a regular basis helps keep your brand top of mind. Further, branding can be incorporated in the way feeds are written. From an ad perspective, you can wrap branding into an RSS reader or buy advertising on RSS feeds using a service such as Pheedo. If your advertising, whether video, audio, or static, is engaging, consider using links to encourage users to view and interact with it.
- Distribute corporate communications, press releases, and investor relations content.
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