RSS usage is growing in leaps and bounds. According to the Avenue A | Razorfish Digital Consumer Behavior Study, 56 percent of online consumers now use RSS feeds, and so it was only a matter of time before someone figured out an effective way for publishers to monetize the content and also use RSS as an effective advertising vehicle.

A hybrid of online advertising, newsletter sponsorships, and content syndication, RSS advertising shows great promise of being a highly effective, targeted vehicle for driving traffic and leads from an audience that is influential, active online, responsive, and pre-disposed to relevant content. (According to Bloglines, RSS users return three times per day and consume feed content for 20 minutes per session.)

CDI has been having great success recently working with our media partner Pheedo, a pioneer in the RSS Advertising space and the premier provider of what they call “in-feed” advertising. Working with Pheedo, CDI is now able to:

• serve client ads within a network of RSS feeds, tailored by channels (ex: IT Professionals, Consumer Technology) or even specific feeds (ex: Wired, Dr. Dobbs) that are most relevant to the client’s target audience, offer, or product category (see ad at right)

• develop and place so-called “feed-powered” ads, either in-feed or on traditional Websites, in which the client’s ad is populated by dynamic content powered by the client’s own RSS feed (see ad below)

One of the reasons we were drawn to Pheedo’s content-driven model is that it aligns with CDI’s own philosophy of “sell the offer, not the product.” RSS subscribers are pre-disposed to relevant content, so information-driven ads are particularly effective in this medium. And RSS feeds are (at least today) a relatively uncluttered space compared to the typical commercial Website.

RSS advertising is a great option for technology and B2B marketers looking to:

• further leverage their own RSS feeds or other content
• drive additional RSS subscriptions
• utilize blogs and other dynamic content to drive qualified sales leads

For our client Cisco, we’ve been using Pheedo as part of a larger, integrated online campaign to drive Web traffic, newsletter sign-ups, and RSS subscriptions for News@Cisco, an information portal that serves as a destination site and repository for Cisco-related news as well as for Cisco blogs, podcasts, videos, and other corporate information.

Alas, I’m not at liberty to disclose specific results, but suffice it to say that this is a vehicle competing very well with other online media such as search/PPC and more traditional banner placements.

If you’re interested in more information about RSS Advertising and the potential for your company, contact CDI for a free consultation and proposal.