On May 12, Facebook launched Instant Articles, a new tool that allows publishers to create interactive, multimedia articles for the Facebook mobile app, while allowing them to retain control of their content, brand, revenue and publishing schedule. Publishers can sell ads in their articles or use the site’s audience network to monetize unsold inventory. They can also track data and traffic in real time through comScore and other analytics.According to Facebook’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, Instant Articles gives publishers the ability to provide a better experience for their readers on Facebook, because the content is mobile-friendly, loads as much as 10 times faster, and is easily sharable. Also, while the articles appear directly on the Facebook app, publishers gets comScore credit as if readers were going directly to the publisher site.”It is great to see Facebook trialing news ways for quality journalism to flourish on mobile,” said Tony Danker, International Director of 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.”
While participation in the program is optional, Facebook is testing the program with select publishers including The New York Times, National Geographic, BuzzFeed, NBC News, The Guardian, The Atlantic, BBC News, and others. Two days after the launch, DigiDay analyzed how some of these publishers are using Instant Articles, and the results were as varied as the content.Publishers like The New York Times and The Atlantic, for example, posted multi-media rich, longform stories, while others like BuzzFeed did what Buzzfeed does best – listcicles – with “13 Steps to Instantly Improve Your Day,” illustrated with a cat pic, of course!Insider Take:Facebook is on the cutting edge of innovation, giving publishers new opportunities to share their content without having to share their revenue. The publishers are in control – for now – and it seems like there is no downside to publishers taking advantage of the invitation to participate. But will Facebook’s benevolence last? Is Facebook dangling a mouse in front of the proverbial cat until the publishers are captive and beholden to it?Even if Facebook remains unselfish with this venture, there are other pitfalls. One problem is that Instant Articles is only available on the iPhone Facebook app. This isn’t a deal breaker, but this may segment a publisher’s audience.In addition, publishers have to figure out what type of content its readers most want to see on Facebook. Buzzfeed style content, yes. Longform journalism, probably not. People are reading this content on small mobile screens, so while the multi-media rich features will play wall, reading lots of tiny print will not.Another potential challenge is setting goals for content, readership, conversion, and revenue. Is a publisher looking simply for eyeballs, or does it want to convert those eyeballs into paying customers? What type of a conversion rate is needed to make this venture worthwhile for a publisher?There are a lot of questions to be answered by publishers who want to try this model, and it will likely require a lot of trial-and-error before the ideal content and revenue mix are found. Regardless, we love the opportunities it presents for subscription companies, and we will eagerly watch how publishers utilize Instant Articles to grow their businesses.
