Source Content Using Feeds and Keywords

Imagine having relevant online content available for Group members to consume and share as soon as it's published. No more scouring the internet, no more paying attention to various channels, no more wasting time. Automated Sources provide relevant content for Group members to consume and share as soon as the content is available. You don’t have to continually visit the sites and keep your attention spread over various channels. Instead, set up an Automated Source and let the content come to you.

In this article, we'll review how to create an Automated Source to source Group content using RSS feeds and keywords. Let’s get started!

🔹 This is available on the Teams, Enterprise, and Unlimited plans.

🔸 This is accessible to Admin and Group Moderators.

🔸 Admin may disable this feature. Please check with your program Admin if this is unavailable. 

Source types

There are two content types that can be used to automatically source Group content: RSS feeds and keywords.

RSS feeds

RSS feeds or 'Really Simple Syndication' feeds are files hosted online that display website content in chronological order. These files are designed to show the most recent items first and are ideal for pulling time-sensitive content like blog posts, events, and podcasts.

🔹 We cover everything to know about RSS feeds in this article. 

Below is an example EveryoneSocial post that was created automatically from an RSS feed. Posts created from an RSS feed are identifiable by a URL displayed on the top left. Since this post originated from an RSS feed, it shows the feed domain (or source) instead of the author's name.

Keywords

Automate content using a keyword like the company name or industry term. Be specific, though. Using a general keyword, such as “news,” will pull all content posted for that keyword and can overwhelm audiences. Instead, try using a news-specific keyword. For example, “cyber security news” would pull relevant content for a Group where most members are involved or interested in cyber security.

Below is an example of a post pulled from a keyword. These are identifiable by a URL displayed on the top left where the author's name normally appears. Keyword-based sources show a Google News URL.

Add a Group source

Add a Group source to Group Settings to automate content. The steps below use a published Group, but sources can be added while creating a Group.

1. Click Edit to access Group Settings.
2. Scroll to Sources.
3. Enter the source (e.g., a keyword or RSS hyperlink) in the Source field.
4. Check the box if posts should be Auto-approved.
   • Leaving this box unchecked will leave source content invisible to group members until approved by Admins or Group Moderator(s).
5. Click Add.
6. Activate the source using the toggle.
7. Click Done.

Content should begin appearing within five minutes. If you left the Auto-approved box unchecked, watch the "For Approval" tab in the Group or inside Post Management, as new content will arrive there. For more specific details, see the next section.

Information about content sources

How many items are imported upon adding a new source?

• The ten most recent items (e.g., blog posts, keyword matches, etc.) will be added to the Group upon adding a new source. Older items must be added as a user-created post.

How long does importing the first 10 items when I add a new source take?

• The first import of the ten most recent items usually takes less than 5 minutes, but in rare cases, it may take up to an hour.

Will more than 10 items be added in the future?

• Only the initial import is limited to 10 items. When the RSS feed is updated in the future, all new items will be imported.
• For keyword-based sources, new items are added frequently yet still stop at 10 items to prevent overwhelming Groups. For example, "financial news" could produce millions of potential source items a week without this limitation.

How quickly do source updates arrive inside EveryoneSocial?

• New RSS feed items begin importing automatically (usually within seconds) once the RSS hyperlink file is updated, pulling in new items in batches of 50.
• If there are 50 or fewer RSS items, all new items should appear within the hour—often much faster. Additional items will take longer, depending on the size and number of incoming items.
• Keyword sources are updated four times a day. Depending on the specificity of the keywords, this may result in upwards of 40 new Posts, or only a few.

The content was deleted from the RSS feed or website, so why is the Post still inside EveryoneSocial?

• Like most RSS-based tools, EveryoneSocial only looks for new items. Deletions are not processed or monitored.
• If a Post should be removed, an Administrator or Group Moderator should remove or delete it.

The website title, link, image, etc., was updated. Why isn't it updating in EveryoneSocial?

• Similar to the context above, EveryoneSocial only looks for new items, not for updates or changes to existing items. Updates and changes will not be processed.
• If a Post is incorrect due to updated information, an Administrator or Group Moderator should edit the Post, remove it, or delete it.

Inactivate or delete a Group source

Sources can be inactivated or deleted by a Group Moderator or Admins, but not edited. If you'd like to change the source, delete (or inactivate) the existing source and add the new source.

1. Click Edit to go to Group Settings.
2. Scroll down to Sources.
3. * Toggle OFF to inactivate a source.
4. * Click X , then Delete to delete a source.
5. Click Done to save.

Best Practices

🔹 Uncheck Auto-approve posts when creating a Source unless you’re confident the content can and should be shared. For example, auto-approving content from your company webpage is often a good idea—you trust the content source. That said, auto-approving content without any review can lead to many consequences, such as sharing unprofessional or unrelated content with your team. For example, an article about a celebrity's phone being hacked might not be the "cyber security news" you intended for your team to share. If you set the source to auto-approve, your team could share the content before Admins or Moderators could remove it.

🔸 Set up a cadence with Group Moderators and Admin to review the For Approval tab to ensure sourced content is added quickly so the team can share information as soon as it's published–helping establish your team as experts aware of what’s happening in the industry.