Your company website certainly isn’t dead. It is just becoming a part of a much larger network of potential exposure for your brand. There are so many social media platforms helping brands develop whole new areas of content distribution. The website is now just part of a bigger game. And then there’s Facebook. Facebook kind of sets the pace.
It has always been ahead of the curve. It probably has the world’s best marketing and the best tools for a brand to use in its own marketing. There’s also a sense of constant innovation pulsing through its blue veins. Now it has decided to roll out a new function that may well mean the website publishing model is, if not defunct, very much an ‘add-on’.
But does this mean that publishing on your website is a bad idea? Instant Articles are now being made available to everyone on the planet (and their dog). It looks like the game has just blown up. To understand whether or not publishing on Facebook makes more sense than publishing on your website we will need to look at what Instant Articles have to offer.
One thing is for sure. People are getting mighty excited about getting their hands on them.
So what’s the deal with Instant Articles?
The idea surfaced last year. Facebook allowed a select band of publishers (we’re talking major publishers like The Guardian newspaper) to publish and no one else. This kind of exclusivity made the headlines. It showed that Facebook still knew how to make marketing magic. If you weren’t in the club, you were nothing, basically.
The Instant Articles idea was attractive to this unique group simply because it ensured exclusivity. But other aspects suddenly became clear. If a publisher sold an ad itself through Instant Articles then they would gain 100% revenue. If they used the Facebook network to sell an ad they would still only pay 30% commission to Facebook. It was good news for any publisher that used ads for monetization. The nine publishers that were approached in this first round were all media giants (and Buzzfeed). It all looked like a win-win situation.
The quality of the content was also a major part of the Instant Articles experience. We’re talking amazing visuals and a loading time that rivalled much of what is out there. Articles could be read quickly and they were all presented in the most glorious visual style. Sure, Facebook has showcased video before, but Instant Articles are on a whole new level.
What is the quality like?
Incredible. We’re not making this up. The visuals are truly breathtaking if a publisher gets to grips quickly and pulls off a high spec video. You can have auto-play video that loads quickly and works well with any text you have. The photos are incredibly vivid and don’t lose any quality (and we mean even if you zoom in). The whole thing is quick and seamless. You can even use cinemagraphs that transform the visuals taking them to a whole new level. They work perfectly too.
The control of the content is a major feature. It made publishers excited and even more frustrated if they weren’t invited. You had complete control over the content. You could create what you wanted. You could design it and present it without any interference from Facebook.
This is a major thing. Newsgroups and publishers have slowly started to realise that news gathering and dissemination was, quite obviously, changing. It all became even more urgent that they embraced online platforms fully.
You just can’t ignore the biggest social media platform in the world starting to offer unedited publishing freedom.
And about those loading times?
According to Facebook you’re looking at loading times that are up to 10x faster than on other platforms. That meant that publishers involved could get attention quicker. This makes absolute publishing sense in a world where the average attention span only just beats that of a goldfish.
They’re living, breathing articles, basically. Just what publishers need. But are they any use to brands?
What’s coming up
On April 12th, Facebook will allow anyone to create an Instant article experience if they have a Facebook page. That means the exclusivity that was there for essentially a year has now faded away. Brands can join in and use Instant Articles as a way to build engagement.
Facebook feels opening up Instant Articles will allow any publisher to ‘tell great stories’. There are plenty of other aspects that make Instant Articles a truly useful marketing platform. The key element (alongside the aesthetics) is that opportunity to get stuff published in more places with better reach.
No matter how great-looking a brand’s website is Facebook will always have that huge impact. If your content is good it will most likely bring you a new audience. It’s the old-fashioned model whereby someone publishes an authority piece on LinkedIn and then gets more reach and impact simply because LinkedIn has a squillion times more eyeballs than a brand’s site.
On Facebook you can make that a squillion squillion. Add the fact that the platform is now allowing companies to use email sign-up spots at the bottom of the Instant Articles content and you have what is effectively a huge lead-capture engine. The new email feature is sure to make brands sit up and take notice.
The reach of Facebook means a massive new start to the sales funnel.
The good stuff about Instant Articles
Instant Articles simply allow for that massive push across the web. There is nothing like Facebook right now for reach. That is one reason why the biggest brands in the world are still using Instant Articles. They appreciate the impact.
You also get that beautiful content and the ability to get some pretty decent ad revenues if you sell ads yourself. It all makes for a great option if you are aiming to get your content in front of more people.
We’ll keep an eye on the reach and performance of Instant Articles as they become available. Will Instant Articles reach more people than traditional page posts? Will they get more clicks than link format posts? Will people spend longer time on Instant Articles than they spend reading articles on a website? All of these will help you make a more informed decision.
The bad stuff
Okay, it’s not that bad. The payoff in impact still makes for a pretty good outcome with Instant Articles. Promoting Instant Articles can mean that you end up suffering in regards to traffic to your core website.
To drag that thing back a little, you can try the email signup model that some companies are going for, but you’re still looking at a method that may well do little for your hub. Some companies have seen a spike in traffic to their website but many have not. If anything it can lead to more traffic to a Facebook page the company has.
Up until now there have been some technical issues around the publishing. Some companies found that their content didn’t quite translate that easily into the Instant Articles format. This format issue is being dealt with. Facebook has also promised a WordPress plugin that allows for easy conversion into the right style.
Our site or Instant Articles?
The distribution model is becoming increasingly popular. Brands are finding that creating exclusive content for platforms outside of their site simply means that reach is bigger and better. So Facebook and its Instant Articles model works in that regard. It’s advertising in its purest form, but you’re advertising in a bigger playground.
Consider it a very effective billboard and you’ve got the picture. It’s a no-brainer if you have the ability to create high quality content that matches the platform. Bear in mind that some brands will do very well. It could pay off if you commit to publish the very best quality of content.
Stay tuned for our studies on the performance of Instant Articles soon.
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