Posted by First of all, we should briefly explain what an RSS Feed is. Also known as really simple syndication, and RSS Feed is a way to keep up with commonly updated websites like blogs and news sites. So, instead of having to check many different websites several times a day, you can check RSS feeds at your leisure and get only the information and updates you’re looking for. The best part is, so can your customers.
Reading RSS feeds is simple; you just download an RSS reader and subscribe for the feeds you want. You can then program it to send you updates to your email in live time or only once a day or once a week.
There is no doubt that RSS feeds are an extremely useful tool for staying updated without all the work; however, they can also be used in other ways to help you in your everyday business life. Here’s just 3 ideas:
1. Save Time
As a small business owner, a big part of your job is research. You need to know the latest news, technologies, ideas, and what your competitors are doing. Normally, this can take up a big chunk of your day, but RSS feeds can help cut down that time significantly. And we all know that time is money.
Not only can you catch up on work research faster, you can also catch up on your guilty pleasures faster. Instead of scanning all your favorite time-wasting websites, you can get it all delivered to you in one place without all the searching. That way you can indulge yourself and get back to work faster.
2. Keeping your customers up to date
If you happen to be running an online business, you’ll be aware that it’s easy to lose customers just because they don’t know about your latest products, services, or developments. RSS feeds are a great way to keep your customers up to date. You need to make sure you offer your customers the posibility of subscribing to your RSS Feed.
Many businesses use email to communicate with their customers. Whilst email is a fantastic way to reach your customers and keep them informed about your business, RSS feeds have many more advantages:
* No spam filters. Even if you’re not sending out spam, there’s always a chance that your email gets caught by a spam filter. Many people also accidentally send regular email to the junk filter without realizing. RSS feeds have virtually no junk filters (and virtually no spam) so you don’t have to worry about whether or not your customers can get your updates.
* Customers aren’t bombarded. Depending on the software you use, when you read an RSS feed, you get all your updates at once.
* You can send exactly what they’re looking for. The beauty of RSS feeds is not only that users can receive whatever feeds they want, but you can also customize what you send. You can produce several customized feeds with different updates depending on what the customer is interested in.
3. Keep your sites up to date
Another use for RSS Feeds is to keep your website updated with fresh content. You can set up your RSS Feed to automatically update your web content; this not only saves time, but ensures that your customers are getting the latest information you have available.
There’s no doubt about it, you need to be using RSS feeds in your business as they are a great tool for keeping you and your customers in the know.