What are Facebook Instant Articles and How to Use Them?
Facebook initially introduced Instant Articles in 2015. It was created to satisfy the needs of publishers and news outlets. Instant Articles allows readers to read an article on Facebook while maintaining the look and feel of the content creator's website, giving them the best of both worlds.
Although Facebook Instant Articles did not take off right once, they are currently used by several significant corporations. According to Facebook, 37,000 pages use Instant Articles. They're not new, yet they're still around. Facebook Instant Articles can be very beneficial in an era where we're trying to squeeze every last drop of juice out of our organic social media. And, maybe more crucially, what value do they have?
What are Facebook Instant Articles?
An Instant Article is a Facebook-hosted HTML document that allows publishers to produce rich discourses in a branded and customizable article format that renders quickly on mobile.
Instant Articles is a Facebook-native way for publishers to distribute material they already create for their websites. Every article published as an Instant Article must also be posted on the news provider's website.
Publishers and readers link to articles just like they always have when uploading Instant Articles to Facebook. Because each Instant Article is connected to a URL, when a link is shared in the Feed, readers on Facebook will see the Instant Article version if one is available.
Instant Articles are suitable for all types of articles, from daily news to in-depth features. Readers with iPhones and Android devices can access Instant Articles.
How to Set UP Facebook Instant Articles and Boost Your Facebook Experience
We prepared a guideline to show the quickest approach to set up Instant Articles in Creator Studio, where you can create, monetize, share, and track the performance of your Facebook Instant Articles. Because of recent changes to the review process, the initial setup procedure requires a one-time review by Facebook, which might take several weeks.
Instant Articles Setup Process
First of all, you need to navigate to the Monetization tab in Creator Studio. You must meet Meta’s Instant Articles Policies and Partner Monetization Policies and have an established web presence for your site to be eligible for Instant Articles. You'll be able to select Set Up if your Page passes the qualifying criteria. After reviewing these two policies, you need to select “I Agree to the Terms”.
Then, to prepare your content for Facebook review, you will be required to complete four steps. Before submitting your publication-ready article set for approval, you'll have the ability to upload a group of test articles.
What are these 4 steps?
#1 You need to claim your domain
To register your domain, click “Claim”. Add the meta tag indicated in the black bar below the head element to your website's HTML code to connect it. For Instant Articles, you can register up to ten domains with Facebook. You'll need to register your site's URL and any development URLs you'll use to test your content with Facebook. Learn how to claim your website's URL and link it to Instant Articles.
#2 Define your article styles
Learn how to style your articles and how to create them. Article styles are visual templates that you can build and use in your writing. With article styles, you may change the look and feel of your articles. For example, using a different style for branded content might help readers recognize that it's sponsored.
You must first choose which of these three configuration approaches best suits your technical resources before you can set up Instant Articles.
Easy: The plugin for WordPress
Intermediate: The Instant Articles Builder
Advanced: Setting up a specialized RSS feed or using the Instant Articles API.
#3 Upload your ready articles
To submit 10 production articles ready for Facebook publication, click “Add”. At submission, these articles must be live on your website. Please refresh the page after you've added your articles to see them.
Please note that Facebook must approve new Instant Articles publishers before publishing can begin. Facebook will check your submitted material during this process to ensure that it complies with its Instant Articles and Partner Monetization regulations. Once your production pieces have been successfully imported, click “Confirm”.
#4 Monetization
To get started, click “Begin”. Then, to read the terms and conditions, click “Review Terms”. Then select “I Agree to the Terms”. To begin monetizing, click “Create Account”. If you're already monetizing on Creator Studio, you can choose an existing account. You can also open a new account by submitting your tax ID and other pertinent information and connecting your preferred bank account. The button will say “Completed” once you have correctly set up your account.
Go to “Settings” in the Instant Articles Monetization section to obtain your placement ID for your advertisements placements.
How to Share Instant Articles
You can start sharing your Instant Articles on Facebook once they've been approved:
- Create a new Facebook post.
- Include your Instant Article's link.
- Post your message.
- You've successfully shared an Instant Article if you see the “lightning bolt graphic” next to the headline.
Instant Articles are never automatically added to your Facebook Page. Each time you want to distribute your articles, you must publish a new post.
Advantages of Facebook Instant Articles
Instant Articles is fully geared for mobile, and 90 percent of Facebook's monthly active users reach the platform via mobile. Because the application has been successfully tried and tested with a local group of partners since May 2015, with promising results:
- Instant articles earned 30% more clicks than items on the mobile web.
- The article was more likely to be read by 70% of the readers.
- Gets 30% more shares than articles on the mobile web.
Source: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-facebook-instant-articles/164225/#close
#1 Instant Articles provides a faster loading speed
Facebook Instant Articles loads your content 10 times faster than mobile web articles. A quicker loading time results in a 70% reduced bounce rate and 20% more clicks.
But why, then, is there such a focus on speed nowadays? Because the typical online user's attention span is only eight seconds, a faster loading time is required to keep consumers engaged.
#2 Earning money with your articles
Making money from Facebook Instant articles is simple, and there are two methods to achieve it. One is by selling your own advertisements. You get to keep 100% of the revenue if you do it this way. The second method is to use Facebook's Audience Network. If you choose the second option, Facebook will get its pound of flesh in the form of a 30% drop in ad revenue.
Publishers, on the other hand, won't have to worry about ad blockers because Instant Articles (which are part of Facebook's native app) don't allow them.
Bloggers who use the WordPress plugin, on the other hand, will need developer assistance for bespoke ad placement.
#3 Full control over your publishments
Opening a Facebook account with Instant Articles does not imply that you will be obliged to post anything. On the contrary, you will have complete control over which articles from your Facebook Library you choose to share.
To access the Library, go to Publishing Tools at the top of your Facebook page, and pick Instant Articles from the left-hand drop-down menu.
In which countries Facebook Instant Articles are supported?
Facebook Instant Articles is presently available to publishers that are registered in the News Page Index or who have had 50,000 unique views to their Facebook page in the previous 28 days in selected countries.
You can look at the full list of countries where the Facebook Instant Articles feature is supported from here.
How many domains can we use to register for Facebook Instant Articles?
For Instant Articles, you can register up to 10 domains with Facebook. You'll need to register your site's URL, as well as any development URLs you'll use to test your content, with Facebook.
Learn how to claim your website's URL and link it to Instant Articles.
An Alternative to Publish Articles on Facebook: Circleboom Publish
Circleboom Publish as a comprehensive social media management tool provides users with amazing tools and features to publish articles on their multiple Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups.
With two options on Circleboom, you can share immediately or schedule fine articles for a later time and date. Additionally, you can set your time and your intervals and publish your articles automatically.
How to share articles on Facebook with Circleboom Publish
Circleboom Publish allows you to post articles to your multiple Facebook accounts with two methods.
Method #1 Connecting RSS Feeds
One of its amazing benefits is connecting multiple RSS Feeds to your multiple Facebook accounts. You can find and add RSS Feeds that are relevant to your interests to your Facebook account. You can adjust the time settings and define the scheduling program. You can link your Blogger to Facebook and post automatically from it. It is amazing, isn’t it?
Method#2 Discover articles all over the world
The “Discover Articles” feature on Circleboom Publish enables you to enter your interests and curate related articles from reputable magazines and journals all over the world and share them on your Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups. This is a great way to create content and boost your impressions and engagement on your multiple Facebook accounts.
How can I post articles to multiple Facebook Pages at once?
You should use Circleboom Publish to manage multiple Facebook Pages in one dashboard. You can share posts, articles, videos, and images to more than one Facebook page and Facebook group simultaneously.
Wrapping Up
‘Instant Articles’ is a feature of Facebook aiming to combine the atmospheres of a social media channel and a reading and writing platform into one. You can connect your blogs and your articles to your Facebook accounts, so you can reach a wider audience on social media and also monetize your efforts.
Circlebom Publish also offers methods to post articles on your Facebook accounts. Apart from simply sharing the links of the articles, RSS Feed connection and Article Curation tools allow you to publish related, quality articles with your Facebook audience.
Circleboom also supports Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google Business Profile. You can have these and many other amazing features at affordable prices.