When Facebook recently launched “Facebook Instant Articles,” there was a buzz in the online and publishing community.
What is Facebook Instant Articles?
Facebook Instant Articles is a service that allows publishers to publish their articles directly on Facebook, displaying their own advertisements. This enables them to attract more visitors and attention from the Facebook community. From the users’ side, Facebook Instant Articles provides a faster and more interactive experience than traditional mobile sites.
What does this mean for marketers and publishers?
Many major publishers get 60% of their traffic from Facebook. But this doesn’t mean Facebook is killing websites. Referral traffic is a small source of overall site traffic. In fact, 64% of traffic comes from search engines. Referral and social traffic only make up 17% of traffic. Therefore, Facebook Instant Articles can provide better engagement for publishers, but it may come at the expense of search traffic.
What does this mean for marketers?
When using Facebook Instant Articles, you lose control. And when you lose control, you lose the ability to predict growth and revenue reliably. This is exactly what marketers aim to do. Through their website, blog, and other marketing assets, marketers work to increase conversions and properly educate potential customers. By using Facebook Instant Articles, not only do marketers lose control of their distribution on Facebook, but they also lose control over their audience.
What does this mean for publishers?
In the case of Facebook Instant Articles, the publisher becomes less important. There is a greater focus on the individual article rather than the publication containing that article. Does the potential increase in distribution from Facebook Instant Articles compensate for the dilution of publishers’ branding?
Should marketers use Facebook Instant Articles?
Marketers should not use Facebook Instant Articles. Marketers should maintain control over their content and optimize it for search engines rather than optimizing it for Facebook Instant Articles. Keeping control over your content is key to achieving sustainable business growth.
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