Posted by Terence Thomas
Interactive Marketing Manager, ActiveAccess

For the past year or so, I have found RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to be a really simple and helpful way for me to stay on top of news and information that takes place throughout the day.

I thought a few of my clients, who are Marketing professionals and Web Developers from a forward thinking university, would be familiar with this technology as me (it’s been around for 2-3 years)…but I was wrong. As I started to explain the RSS technology to them, I was instantly met with blank faces and stares until finally someone had the courage to ask me: “What’s RSS?” I was shocked by not only the fact that I had assumed they would know what I was talking about, but that I had to start at Square #1 and explain what RSS stood for!

I wish I read the recent BtoB Magazine article entitled “Success metrics evolve with RSS” for if I did, I would have known that there are many other people in business who have still yet to embrace the RSS phenomena like I have.

Here are 3 ways that I am encouraging my ActiveAccess clients to embrace RSS technology:

Encourage them to USE RSS technology

What better way to learn about something than to just do it? ActiveAccess clients and users have access to the RSS Reader in their desktop application.I’ve already pre-populated their readers with their own company’s and blog site RSS feeds. By asking them to use their RSS Reader for a week or two, they will get more familiar with how it works they are with the technology, the more willing they’ll

RSS Is Better Than Email Announcements and Drives Traffic to Websites

RSS will never supplant e-mail as the quintessential online communication tool, however, RSS can ease the amount of e-mail is sent by converting their communications to RSS.

I try to get clients to imagine using RSS to communicate to their audience, instead of using e-newsletters. RSS will cut through the inbox clutter while driving more traffic to the websites where the full RSS Stories reside. More traffic means more eyeballs. More eyeballs means more advertising dollars.

Promote their company’s RSS Feed to their Audience

This is probably one of the most difficult tasks for ActiveAccess clients to execute, particularly the clients who have had the application for a while. Almost all ActiveAccess clients have RSS feeds on their websites, or they have blogs that use RSS technology. But these clients say it’s difficult to find the time to to highlight the benefits of RSS and then help shepherd their audience through the transition. Our newer clients do not have this trouble because as they roll out the ActiveAccess technology to their audience they highlight the RSS features and encourage users to explore.

This post serves a simple reminder that we have started adding the new features to your desktop application. You and your users will be able to download and access these features by Friday morning

You remember the new features right? RSS Reader, YouTube Videos, Interactive National Weather Map, new ad sizes, etc.? If you don’t remember, click HERE to refresh your memory. Here a few more things you should know about the Features Rollout:

1. We added your RSS Feeds for you
To make the process easier for you and your users, if your website had RSS feeds, we’ve pre-populated them into the RSS Reader for you. When your users open the RSS Reader for the first time, they will see a list of your RSS feeds and will have the opportunity to subscribe to any of them.

We did our best to list all of your RSS Feeds, but if you want to add other feeds, just e-mail your feeds to me, Terence Thomas at tthomas@bia.com.

2. Look for the Get Latest Version in Bold Text
We’ve made getting these new features easy. Simply follow this process:
1. Click the Menu button on their application.

2. Click the bolded Get Latest Version link.

3. The lastest version will begin to download.

4. Once finished, the old version will be uninstalled and the new version installed.

5. That’s it! The latest version is 2.0 Build 032. Click the Menu button, then About to view.

3. Click the Red Button to see the New National Weather Map
You can find this red button on the lower left corner of your desktop application. See….

4. TELL YOUR USERS about the new features and how they can access them
You need to inform your users about these new features. There are manye way to spread the word to your users. I recommend using all of your communication channels, such as:

1. Sending crawls and alerts via your desktop application.

2. Sending an e-mail to all of your users.

3. Adding a banner to your homepage that links to a webpage that explains the features in detail.

4. Highlighting the new features in the promotions of your desktop application.