When we start getting down to explaining all of the different facets of social media to a potential client, we make sure all of the bases are covered. After all, there is a lot of opportunity in connecting with your customers through social media channels so having a full understanding of the “big picture” can be instrumental in providing you the tools needed to connect with your community. But perhaps one of the most confusing tools is the use of RSS feeds. For most people that are unfamiliar with social media outlets, RSS feeds can be a somewhat difficult concept to grasp. Ironically enough, RSS stands for “Real Simple Syndication” so the opposite should be true. But once you get a handle on what they are and how to use them, these feeds can help you gain a vast amount of knowledge quickly and timely keeping you ahead of the game in your industry.
So what exactly is it? An RSS feed is essentially a gathering of all information on a website or blog. This information can be in the form of recent posts, news, pictures and videos. All of this information can then be forwarded on to an RSS reader for easy consumption. For example, let’s say that you check five of your favorite websites every morning for the latest information. You generally type in each address individually, visit a website for the most recent posts, then move on to the next one. By using RSS feeds and a feed reader, all of the latest posts would automatically appear in your inbox from all five sites to easily be read and consumed as fast as an email.
Feed readers also let you organize your feeds by type for easy reference. For instance, let’s say you follow five sports blogs and five cooking blogs. You could place all five sports feeds into a “sports” category and all five cooking feeds into a “cooking” or “kitchen” category. This allows you to find information about particular subjects quickly and also keep feeds organized should you want to add more cooking or kitchen-related blogs to your reader in the future.
But how can RSS feeds benefit me? The easiest way to start reaping the benefits of RSS feeds is to start subscribing to industry blogs and websites. If you are a Honda dealer, subscribe to as many Honda blogs as possible to stay up-to-date on the latest news and model information. You can then pass that information on to your social networks to keep your community informed and to build brand loyalty. It is also a good idea to follow your competitors’ blogs and any pertinent information on their website to stay up-to-date on what they are providing their customers.
In short, RSS feeds can help you stay in-the-know on timely information that you can then use to filter into your social media strategy. By utilizing an organized feed reader like Google reader or Bloglines, you are empowering yourself with information. And always remember: knowledge is power.
