RSS, also known as really simple syndication, is a way to keep up with commonly updated websites like blogs and news outlets. 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.
While RSS feeds are a great way for staying updated without all the work, they can also be used to your advantage. Here are three ways that you can use them to help jump-start your business.
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.
Keeping your customers up to date
If you’re running an online business, 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.
Many people keep their customers up to date using email. While this is a good way to reach your customers, RSS feeds have a lot of advantages over email:
* No spam filters. Even if you’re not sending out spam, there’s always a chance that your email are getting 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.
Keep your sites up to date
RSS feeds can not only be used for people to get updated on what’s going on across the web – you can also use them to automatically update you web pages for you. This not only saves time, but ensures that your customers are getting the latest information and know that you always have it first.
No matter how you use them, RSS feeds are a great tool to keep yourself and your customers in the know.
