RSS for Small Business

Perhaps one of the most frustrating things about leaving social medias like Instagram or Facebook is missing out on small updates from local businesses. For example, my family is planning on visiting our favorite new bookstore, but we don’t know if they’re open due to Memorial Day. Now here’s the breakdown of their online presence:

• Website/Email - Hosted on Wordpress and has an email newsletter/posts page with all the emails they send. In theory this could work for small updates like the example above, but it could result in quite a bit of spam going to someone’s inbox.

• Instagram/Facebook - This is where the owner puts the majority of their updates, anything from special hours or new deals. The format makes it easier for them to post a lot without overwhelming someone’s inbox.

I don’t fault them for this approach at all. In the world of small businesses it makes sense; the hustle is real and you gotta meet people where they’re at. With that said, my hope is that more businesses might switch to a simpler and more open format like RSS. Even a platform like sourcefeed could be an option right now. The only downside for the owner is yet another platform to keep track of.

There is a tough balance between trying to meet small businesses where they’re at, while also encouraging small businesses to meet customers where they’re at. With that said, my wife and I have a pretty good relationship with the owner and I might bring it up to see what they think. It does make me wonder if there is still a need for a dedicated app for small business owners to make this a reality.