Kickstarting RSS: How to Make the Right Decisions to Reach Your Target Market
How Often Should You Update Your Feed Content?
While RSS feeds were at one time primarily associated with blogs, today’s feeds have become a key component of mainstream media publishing because of their efficient delivery method and because they do not rely on the subscriber to proactively seek fresh content. Based on surveys of our vast subscriber base, we at FeedBurner have learned that the majority of users subscribe to between 20 and 50 feeds and that this number is increasing along with the prevalence of RSS feeds.
We have found that the most popular feeds, whether published by popular commercial media publishers or by blogs, post content updates frequently, often with multiple updates each day. As a result, subscribers have an expectation that they will receive new content on a regular basis. Although not every feed publisher can deliver several new posts per day, stale content can result in audience attrition. Marketers finding that they have too many feeds to update them all on a regular basis may want to consider consolidating them so that they can deliver fresh content more often.
Make Sure Your Website Visitors Find Your Feeds
Marketers have come to understand that their websites must be designed to be highly navigable and intuitive to provide the best customer experience. Design decisions include the orientation of primary and secondary navigation links and the location of search boxes and contact information. As website development has matured, these design elements have become more standardized.
We are often asked what the right location is for entry to an RSS feed — usually an orange button commonly called a “chicklet” labeled “RSS” or “XML.” Bloggers typically locate their feed link(s) above the fold, with a combination of text and an orange button, while many media publishers have relegated RSS feeds to the bottom rail. Based on FeedBurner’s experience with thousands of RSS feeds delivered to millions of subscribers, we have identified that feeds with the best subscriber growth use an orange button for a visual queue in a location that’s squarely above the fold.
Feed Management Services are Essential Tools for Collecting and Analyzing Marketing Statistics
Effective marketers use analytics to help them evaluate the effectiveness of their various marketing communications. Feed management services are an essential tool for marketers to gain insight into the performance of their feeds and the demographics of their subscribers. Feeds offer marketers tremendous flexibility to change content and delivery in response to analytics.
For example, if a marketer identifies attrition in the subscriber base, content can be refreshed more frequently. Different headlines for feed posts can be tested and evaluated for effectiveness by measuring clickthrough rates. In addition, analytics can be an important tool for marketers to evaluate return on investment and dollars saved by utilizing feeds vs. more traditional marketing methods such as direct mail and email campaigns.
Reader Comments.
No comments yet
Leave a Comment
Pages: « previous page 1 2
No TagsArticle Sponsor
More Features
-
Loading ...
Latest News
- Covario Issues Annual Client Awards for SEO/SEM Success February 10th 2012 ADOTAS - Search engine marketing/SEO services provider Covario issued the [...] more »
- BlueKai Report Explains DMPs to Publishers February 10th 2012 ADOTAS - BlueKai released a report this week on the [...] more »
- Funding in Brief: $10M for Spongecell, $8M for Prolexic February 9th 2012 ADOTAS – Rich media ad company Spongecell has raised $10 million [...] more »
- Google AdMob Axes Minimum Bids, Targeting Fees February 9th 2012 ADOTAS - As of Feb. 15, Google will change its [...] more »
- Infographic: HootSuite Analyses Social Media Impact of Super Bowl Ads February 7th 2012 ADOTAS - So, it’s the Tuesday after the Super Bowl, [...] more »
- Facebook to Serve Mobile Ads in Coming Weeks February 6th 2012 ADOTAS – According to a Financial Times report, Facebook will [...] more »
- Survey: 39 Percent of Mobile Users Responded to Super Bowl Ads Via Mobile February 6th 2012 ADOTAS - During the Super Bowl yesterday, mobile ad network [...] more »
Features
- Infographic: The Online Ad Industry Is Like the Stock Market February 10th 2012
- Mobile Search: More Intent, More SMB Opportunity February 10th 2012
- BlueKai Report Explains DMPs to Publishers February 10th 2012
- Attribution Online: Introducers and Influencers and Closers… Oh My! February 9th 2012
- With gTLDs, Global Branding Starts with a Name February 9th 2012
Spotlight
Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for MobileADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech firm Sponsormob has remained relevant in an industry characterized by [...] more...
Reader Favorites
Classifieds
- PS Technical Writer - SEO Data Analyst
- Interactive Project Manager
- Media Buyer
- PHP Software Engineer (Facebook Platform/Social AP
- SEO/Marketing Internship at Green Education Startu
Recent Comments
- HootSuite Social Media Management » More Apps, Open API, and the Solution Partner Program ~ News Roundup: [...] mentioned in our HootSuite’s Super Bowl XLVI Social Media Recap, adotas and MediaPost analyzed our
- News about Google Adwords issue #412: [...] ads for AdWords to adCenter and align with industry standards, adCenter has chang
- VB: What exactly makes an ad "high quality"?
- Survey: 39 Percent of Mobile Users Responded to Super Bowl Ads Via Mobile - ADOTAS | Mobile2 | Scoop.it: [...] background-position: 50% 0px; background-color:#222222; background-repeat : no-repeat; }
