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 go over 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 source Group content: RSS feeds and keywords.

RSS feeds

Really Simple Syndication feeds, aka RSS feeds, are files that display content from a website in chronological order. These files are designed to pull the most recent content first and are great for pulling time-sensitive content, such as blog posts and podcasts.

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

Below is an example of a post pulled from an RSS feed. These are identifiable by a URL displayed on the top left, with the post directly below the URL. Note the content does not have an author attributed on the top left.

Keywords

Automate content using a keyword, such as the company name or industry term. Be specific, 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 news Group with the majority of members involved in tech security.

Below is an example of a post pulled from a keyword. These are identifiable by a URL displayed on the top left, with the post directly below the URL. Note the content does not have an author attributed on the top left.

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 in the Source field.
4. *Check the box if sourced posts should be Auto-approved.
5. Click Add.
6. Activate the source using the toggle.
7. Click Done.

Most sourced content will start to curate within a few seconds, though some have taken longer, and will have been published within the last few days. If you do not see content, we recommend waiting a few minutes and reviewing the Group’s Timeline (if sources are auto-approved) or reviewing the For Approval tab (if sources require approval).

Click here to learn how to approve Group content in the For Approval state.

Inactivate or delete a Group source

Sources can be inactivated or deleted by a Group Moderator or Admins, but not edited. 

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. Auto-approving content, without any review, can lead to a myriad of consequences, such as sharing unprofessional or unrelated content with your team. For example, you may not want to share that a celebrity pivoted to a cyber security career, but a Source could have found it because of the keyword “cyber security.” If you set the source to auto-approve, then your team could see the content before it’s removed.

🔸 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.