Another ‘carrot’ for publishers on Facebook – Instant Articles
Facebook has beta launched Instant Articles across Asia. As more people get their news on mobile devices, Facebook looks to offer a faster and richer experience. Currently, the average news story takes an average of eight seconds to load, by far the slowest single content type on Facebook. Instant Articles makes the reading experience as much as 10 times faster than standard mobile web articles.
“Expanding Instant Articles to Asia is a significant milestone for the product and for each of our early launch partners. Instant Articles has been designed with extensive feedback from publishers, and we’re excited to bring this collaboration to our publishing partners in Asia to help them distribute fast, interactive articles to their readers in the Facebook app,” said Andy Mitchell, Director of Global Media Partnerships, Facebook.
Instant Article is highlighted by use of a lightning bolt in the News Feed. Instant Articles also introduce a suite of interactive features that allow publishers to bring their stories to life in newer ways. Zoom in and explore high-resolution photos by tilting your phone. Watch auto-play videos come alive as you scroll through stories. Explore interactive maps, listen to audio captions, and even like and comment on individual parts of an article in-line.
Instant Articles aim to give publishers control over their stories, brand experience and, according to Facebook, also monetisation opportunities. Publishers in Asia are able to sell ads in their articles and keep the revenue, or they can choose to use Facebook’s Audience Network to monetise unsold inventory. Publishers will also have the ability to track data and traffic through their current analytics tools.
“We worked closely with our early media partners in Asia to begin rolling out Instant Articles across the region. Internationally, publishers are already sharing thousands of Instant Articles on Facebook each day, and looking ahead we’re excited to partner with more publishers in Asia to bring the Instant Articles experience to more people,” said Ken Cheung, Head of Media Partnerships, APAC, Facebook.
At present, Asia publishers included are as follows:
• India: Aajtak, Hindustan Times, India Today, The Indian Express, The Quint
• Indonesia: Kompas.com, Merdeka.com
• Korea: SBS News
• Malaysia: Sin Chew Daily
• Philippines: ABS-CBN News, GMA Network, GMA News, INQUIRER.net, Rappler,
• Singapore: The Straits Times
• Taiwan: Apple Daily Taiwan, Chinatimes.com
• Thailand: Kom Chad Luek
• Vietnam: WebTretho, VnExpress
The partners who have signed onto the program and will begin publishing soon, include:
• Hong Kong: Apple Daily, Ming Pao Daily News, Oriental Daily Hong Kong, The South China Morning Post
• Indonesia: detikcom, Liputan6.com, Tribunnews
• Malaysia: Astro AWANI, Berita Harian, China Press, Harian Metro, Malaysiakini, New Straits Times, Oriental Daily Malaysia, The Star Online
• Taiwan: Ettoday, Next Magazine Taiwan, Sanlih E-Television News, United Daily News Group, Vogue Taiwan
• Thailand: Dailynews, Kapook.com, Khao Sod, Nation TV, Prachachat, Matichon, MGR Online, Thairath
• Vietnam: Thanh Niên, Tuoitre, Zing.vn
The post Another ‘carrot’ for publishers on Facebook – Instant Articles appeared first on Digital Market Asia.
