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More Best of From Marketers on RSS

by: Rok Hrastnik

Copyright 2005 Rok Hrastnik

What is the top advice savvy marketers can give you on RSS? We continue with “the best of” on RSS marketing from US marketing leaders.

1. WHY SHOULD MARKETERS AND PUBLISHERS START CONSIDERING USING RSS ANYWAY? Answered by Bill Flitter, Pheedo

I'll give you 7 reasons:

1. Sender ID 2. CAN SPAM ACT 3. Blacklists 4. Known Sender 5. Email Filters 6. Bonded Sender Program 7. Cost of Sending Email

These seven items are a result of SPAM. The items represent an effort being put forth to stop SPAM but it is still a huge problem. I do believe RSS will be around no matter if SPAM was eradicated. RSS has some distinct advantages over email marketing, which include:

1. 100% opt-in – no worries of legal threats by consumers.

2. One-click unsubscribe – RSS raises the bar. Marketers will need to think about what their sending before they hit the enter button. I think this is a good thing. There is no free ride with RSS. Consumers are demanding control (do-not-call list, CAN SPAM Act, Privacy Bills etc.) and RSS delivers that control.

3. 100% deliver rate – If I publish a feed or advertise in a feed, it reaches the intended recipient. This is minus any technological hiccups. Point being I don't have to worry about SPAM filters, Blacklists, Sender ID, etc. My biggest worry now is whether or not I am publishing relevant content when my customers want it.

2. WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE THE BEST WAYS COMPANIES CAN USE RSS TODAY? Answered by Bill Flitter, Pheedo

1. External Communication: Create an RSS feed on your site. If you publish a newsletter already, creating a feed from that information is easy. It takes little effort. I strongly encourage this practice if you are in the tech sector.

2. Internal Communication: Using RSS (with a blog) to collaborate on a project within the enterprise is more efficient then email. The blog archives the project while RSS keeps everyone informed.

3. Advertising: If the problem of SPAM doesn't get solved soon, marketers will turn to RSS as a means to reach new customers. RSS has two distinct absolutes over email – one-click unsubscribe and 100% opt-in. Email cannot emphatically say that. RSS puts the control in the hands of the publisher and consumer. It will become a more effective marketing channel because the market will demand that publishers be more conscience of the amount and relevance of the ads in feeds. Consumers will act as the filter. If the noise-to-value ration is out of whack, the consumer will simply vote with their mice.

3. HOW CAN RSS BE USED BY MARKETERS PROVIDING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS? Answered by Shawn Collins, Shawn Collins Consulting

My vision for the usefulness of RSS is to be a one-way form of communication – sharing updates, news, and tools with affiliates in an uncensored environment, since email has become too difficult with all of the Spam and other assorted hassles.

4. ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD START ASKING OURSELVES IS HOW TO FULLY INTEGRATE RSS IN TO OUR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONAL MIX. HOW DO YOU SEE RSS IN RELATION TO OTHER COMMUNICATIONAL TOOLS AND APPROACHES? Answered by Jim Gray, Quikonnex

You've hit the nail on the head with this question. It is ALL about integrating new technologies into the marketing mix.

RSS/Blogs/Email/Instant Messaging are all just tools to those businesses can use to communicate with their customer base. People on the Internet jump on new technologies abandoning older system ... this is wrong.

If you've noticed, you may have recently receive postcards and information packages from some well know online marketers such as Armand Morin and Corey Rudl. They look at traditional 'snail mail' as a part of their marketing mix. RSS should be viewed the same.

Right now, blogs and RSS feeds are hot with the search engines, so a website owner should have one... period. However, to use it exclusively would be a mistake. The perfect mix is to use an RSS feed for the one to many communications and to use email for one on one customer correspondence.

About the author:
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