Facebook has recently introduced a new feature that will be of particular interest to information publishers titled Instant Articles.
Loading up to ten times faster than standard mobile web articles, Facebook’s Instant Articles was designed to give “publishers more control over their stories, brand experiences and monetisation opportunities”. Within their Instant Articles publishers are able to sell ads or are able to leverage Facebook’s Audience Network to monetise unsold inventory all the while tracking various data points and traffic through other analytic tools. Plus, there are a variety of interactive features that will accompany Instant Articles including the ability to zoom-in on pictures as well as the ability to explore interactive maps, comment on articles line by line as well as listen to audio captions.
During the initial rollout of the feature Facebook will be working with nine launch partners including The New York Times, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, NBC and BBC News.
“It is great to see Facebook trialing new ways for quality journalism to flourish on mobile,” said Tony Danker, international director, Guardian News & Media. “The Guardian is keen to test how the new platform can provide an even more engaging experience for our readers. It is then vital that, over time, Instant Articles delivers recurring benefit for publishers, whose continued investment in original content underpins its success.”