Earlier this week, Facebook officially introduced its Instant Articles-concept. Much has been said, written and speculated as it relates to this newest of Facebook endeavours. Some focus on the apparent visual gorgeousness of the prototypes that were part of Wednesday’s introduction. Others consider Instant Articles to be a titanic step towards the abolition of traditional media outlets, because if somebody like The New York Times strikes a commercial partnership with conglomerate Facebook, then how in the world will journalistic integrity and independence ever prevail?!
That’s a fascinating question. Really is. However, in this post we are going to focus on something entirely different: What do we know about the link between Instant Articles and native advertising?
Actually, at this point, we know only very little. But, we do know that there is a link between the two. And that, in itself, is quite interesting.
Earlier this week, Re/code reported that Instant Articles is compatible with sponsored posts, which was one of the reasons why BuzzFeed entered the partnership.
Facebook really understood what would be important to us,” said BuzzFeed president Greg Coleman. “So instead of acting like someone who would dictate, they came to us and asked us what would be great for BuzzFeed.” For example, Coleman said, Facebook will allow BuzzFeed to upload its “sponsored posts” — BuzzFeed stories it creates on behalf of advertisers — into its “Instant Articles” format, and treat it just like any other story from any other publisher.
Another bylaw of the partnership is that Facebook will allow publishers to keep 100 percent of the revenue they sell for Instant Articles. It seems like a given that an Instant Article will reach a much larger audience than the original article would from the publisher’s own website. In other words: Publishers should gain an advantage from Instant Articles, when trying to convince brands to consider the use of sponsored posts. And yet, the publishers get to keep all the revenue. Obviously, we are still in the earliest stages of Instant Article, but it sounds like a pretty good deal from a publisher’s standpoint.
The post Facebook’s Instant Article will employ sponsored posts appeared first on Native Advertising Institute.