Practical RSS feed ideas which increase revenue and profitability
Recently I wrote an article about how Travelocity has embraced the use of custom RSS Feeds for their discount and specials system. This article generated a variety of discussions internally at Wiliam about how a company could use RSS technology to increase business, sales or even contribute to the lead generation process.
From our discussions, the team at Wiliam though it would be great to publish these ideas in order to get people thinking about adding RSS as part of their ongoing web strategy. Software developers such as Microsoft have really embraced RSS and as such has incorporated functionality in both Outlook 12 and Internet Explorer 7 which are slated for public release later this year.
Some of our ideas included;
Product specific RSS feeds
Create a product specific RSS Feed that offers a short description as well as a link to a detailed product page on your website. If you add new products all the time, then have the RSS feed publish new products. If you don’t have new products all the time, you could develop a product of the week or product of the day. A custom RSS feed could be created by users using a keyword or phrase, providing relevant content to users instantly.
RSS filtered positions available for recruitment firms
Recruitments firms often publish hundreds of new jobs available every day, so to optimise the process job seekers could nominate the criteria they are looking for i.e category, salary, keyword, location, job title etc. Then as new positions become available, the job seeker would receive a RSS feed that only provides filtered new jobs available. The job seeker can then easily access more information about the position and instantly apply for the position.
RSS feeds of used cars from car dealerships
Searching for a used car can be tedious process, however if dealers offered a customizable RSS feed for criteria such as make, model, age, colour etc the process would be much more pleasant and less frustrating. A used car RSS feed could provide a direct link to more information and photos of the used car and would allow purchases to swiftly review cars that fit their purchasing criteria, hence reducing the sales time for used cars.
Press Releases via RSS Feeds
Many corporations have a media or press release section on their website which allows them to publish press releases for journalist, shareholders and the general public. Often there is a time delay of 24 – 48 hours before the stories appear in newspapers, so by providing a RSS feeds of press releases, shareholders can keep abreast with the latest information pertaining to their investment.
Government tenders via RSS Feeds
Often government departments publish their list of tenders available in both major newspapers and on their websites. This current method requires companies to read through these extensive lists daily which can be very labour intensive. If government tenders could be delivered by RSS, then companies could receive only relevant tenders available, then apply to the relevant tender, reducing the time and cost of tendering.
If you are interested to finding out more about RSS or what RSS and XML features Wiliam can develop for your corporation please contact us.
