The number of large US companies using online news feeds looks set to double by the end of the year, according to a report by Jupiter Research.
At present just 29% of companies in the $50-million-plus annual-revenue bracket publish content using Really Simple Syndication (RSS). By the end of December 2006, this could rise to 63%.
Almost half of current RSS publishers are also ploughing a quarter of a million dollars into RSS. But spending the cash is not enough. Greg Dowling, senior analyst at Jupiter Research, stressed that an in-depth understanding of the medium is crucial: ‘In order to maximise their investment in RSS, site operators should leverage emerging tools and technologies specifically tailored to RSS.’
Options include sticking to traditional RSS feeds, or creating bespoke feeds, tailored to individual subscribers and known as individualised RSS (IRSS). The advantage of IRSS is that campaigns can be specifically targeted, reaping the same benefits as focused email marketing.
So far, RSS as a marketing tool has had a lukewarm reception, although last month’s report by PQ Media (Insight) showed that RSS advertising generated $650,000 in 2005.
‘The primary challenge to greater adoption is a lack of experience with RSS and resources to deploy it,’ said David Schatsky, president of Jupiter Kagan. But if investment and education in the area increases, this could all change.
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