Facebook just announced that the open sign-up for publishers on Instant Articles will be available in Malaysia, particularly on April 12th during the social networking giant’s F8 conference. Apparently this new feature allows publishers of any size, anywhere in the world (like us), to share articles and stories with audiences at a “faster and smarter way”. Facebook to date has already been working with a few hundred publishers to build this. While continuously getting feedback on Instant Articles from publishers, Facebook is also in parallel, building tools to open up Instant Articles.
Facebook said it built Instant Articles to solve slow loading times on the mobile web due to slow connection and the like, causing a bad experience to readers, and this impacts publishers of all sizes. Facebook Instant Articles’ key feature is the ability to load very fast, including other perks like advertising, analytics, and formatting. Facebook also promised no special treatment of Instant Articles in News Feed, meaning these types of articles won’t be treated any differently from regular News Feed entries. However, because of how fast Instant Articles load, it may be more preferred than regular links.
Publishers are said to have full control over the look of their articles, as well as analytics and advertisements. Facebook said publishers can “bring their own direct-sold advertisements” and “keep 100% of the revenue”, not to mention the ability to track data analytics of the ads served through existing ad measurement systems. Additionally, publishers can also monetize their contents through Facebook Audience Network. Besides ad analytics, publishers could also monitor traffic with their existing third-party providers or use the web-based versions.
Naturally, Facebook encourages publishers to join, saying that Instant Articles uses languages of the web and is compatible with existing content management systems. Interested publishers are encouraged to read up on the documentation before its impending availability in April 2016, which can be found here. Additional technical information and requirements can be found here.
As of February 19th, the Malaysian publishers who have signed up include Astro AWANI, Sin Chew Daily, Berita Harian, China Press, Harian Metro, New Straits Times, Oriental Daily News Malaysia, and The Star Online. Malaysiakini has also signed up for this Instant Articles program and is said to be publishing soon.
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