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Summary
Managers and team leaders often rely on their employees being up-to-date on industry news and future trends. And in job interviews, applicants are regularly asked whether they keep themselves informed about current events.
But how does your company support this approach?
Many companies use SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and other collaboration apps to share company news and blog posts. Your company is also likely active on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. These social media feeds can also be displayed on websites, apps, and digital screens.
However, these examples typically only cover internal communication and company news.
Furthermore, to ensure your employees can easily follow current industry news and trends, you need an app: a news aggregator.
What is a news aggregator?
A news aggregator is an app that lets you gather news feeds from various sources in one place. Potential sources include popular websites, blogs, podcasts, and news feeds from social media platforms.
If you search online for a tool for such a news ticker, you will usually come across an incredibly long list of news aggregators .
I've compiled a list of apps that your team members can use themselves. These are tools that will help you and your team create a news aggregator for your company .
Here are the top 5 news aggregators your marketing team should know :
1. Google News
There's simply no getting around Google News . The app makes it easy for users to follow current news and events that interest them. Google News automatically displays a news feed based on your browsing behavior and search history. You can further personalize this feed by providing feedback via thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons.
But what makes Google News truly interesting for your business is that users can define their own sources, topics, and even local interests to follow. Google News can be accessed via a browser as well as a mobile app on iOS and Android. This allows access to curated lists of industry news and topic feeds from anywhere.
Here's how to get started with Google News:
- Set which topics, sources, and local news you want to follow.
- Compile a list of interesting news sites, blogs, and topics worth following. This will also make it easier for new team members to get started.
2. Feedly
While Google News relies on automation and a curated list of sources, Feedly lets you create a completely customized mix of sources and also add your preferred RSS feeds.
Feedly is an excellent option for anyone who enjoys a diverse news feed and wants to make it easy for their teammates to follow topics and share insights. Furthermore, the Enterprise version integrates with tools like Zapier and IFTTT , allowing your teammates to automatically share curated articles with third-party services like Flockler.
Here's how to get started with Feedly:
- Set up a feed that your team should monitor.
- Create a comprehensive list of all the topics your team should follow.
- Curate the best content weekly and send it out as a newsletter.
3. Flockler
If you want to go a step further and create a news ticker for your team on a website, a social media aggregator like Flockler is extremely valuable.
With Flockler, you can tap into news sources and combine them with social media feeds. You can also categorize your feeds using keywords and tags. For example, you can compile a list of RSS feeds and publish them bundled with the best Twitter handles and hashtag feeds. Once you've set up your feeds, Flockler automatically updates the content. Furthermore, the social media aggregator tool offers moderation tools that allow you to hide unwanted posts.
You can then integrate your newly created news ticker into websites, apps, and digital displays. Based on the categorization, you can also create filtered views and present topic feeds in the appropriate context.
Here's how to get started with Flockler:
- Create a list of relevant sources and display RSS feeds on websites, apps, and digital screens .
- Add Twitter handles and accounts from other social media platforms you trust. You can also filter posts by hashtag or keyword.
- Optionally, you can select a hashtag for your team and allow each team member to send curated posts to the news aggregator.
Does your company already present news and social media content in one place? Sign up now for the free trial of Flockler and create a social news ticker for your company today!
4. Reddit
Especially if you work for a B2C company, your team ca n't ignore Reddit . Reddit helps you find new trends and market insights.
I admit that the service can seem a bit overwhelming at first. But it's worth following topics and communities that are relevant to your business: Reddit posts can be commented on, voted on, and shared online. This makes the service a true social news aggregator. Reddit helps your business observe trends and identify new ones. And it makes it easy for your business to participate in discussions and receive authentic feedback.
Here's how to get started with Reddit:
- Keep a list of curated topics and communities you want to follow.
- Add your Reddit feeds to a news aggregator like Flockler. This allows you to curate the best content and publish it on websites, apps, and digital screens. However, I strongly recommend moderating the posts.
5. Pocket
Pocket is a useful service for reading content later. Pocket offers a good alternative to Feedly and Google News. The app helps your employees save content (for example, when they don't have time right away) and share interesting articles with others.
Furthermore, your teammates can create a personal archive of key posts, highlight and tag content, and make all content fully searchable. This makes the app a practical companion when your teammates need access to a personalized online library of internal and external knowledge documents or shared marketing materials.
For personal use and news consumption, Pocket offers the great feature of audio playback, which allows you to have your desired articles read aloud to you on the go.
Here's how to get started with Pocket:
- If your employees benefit from a personalized content library, you should treat your company to the premium version.
- Create a guide on how to save posts to Pocket via browser, iOS and Android.
Are you considering setting up a news aggregator for your business? Sign up for Flockler's free trial to collect RSS feeds and posts from various social media sources in one place and offer these feeds bundled across websites, apps, and digital screens.
