Some exciting stuff is happening in the world of Facebook these days – have you seen the headlines? A new article feature has been rolled out for the Facebook Android app, and it’s pretty cool. According to Mashable, “If you use Facebook on Android, look for a lightning bolt icon on articles. Tap on it and experience the revolution. Facebook announced that its quick-loading Instant Articles are rolling out on its Android app in a blog post Wednesday. It began testing the feature with a small number of Android users a few weeks ago, with a full launch beginning this week.”
It’s pretty incredible when you think about how far social media apps and programs have come over the years. If you think back to where social media platforms, like Facebook, were just a few years ago – to features like the recently announced Instant Articles feature – it’s mind boggling! Promising “load times 10-times faster than an external link. Facebook has partnered with 350 publications worldwide — including Mashable — to get their content directly on Facebook’s mobile apps.” What could be better?
Introducing Instant Articles, a new tool for publishers to create fast, interactive articles on Facebook.
Posted by Facebook Media on Tuesday, May 12, 2015
The new Instant Articles are “Interactive and Immersive.”
“Powerful new creative tools bring your stories to life. Instantly zoom into high-resolution photos and tilt to explore in detail. Watch autoplay video come alive as you scroll through the article. See where it all happened with interactive maps. Hear the author’s voice with embedded audio captions.” (via Facebook)
The cool new feature was first tested in May, on iOS devices and with a very limited group of publishers including NBC and the New York Times. In this more recent and wider Android rollout, more publishers (about 350 worldwide) have been announced including popular news sources like MTV, BuzzFeed, The Atlantic and more!
“Facebook claims Instant Articles are more widely shared than conventional links Facebook claims Instant Articles are more widely shared than conventional links, an attempt to assuage the fears of publishers who feel they are increasingly beholden to a third-party company for traffic, and thus, revenue. An August study revealed Facebook as the largest driver of traffic to news sites, with nearly 43% of traffic from the 400 outlets studied coming from Facebook.” (via Mashable)
So – what are you waiting for? Be sure to update your iOS or Android Facebook app and capitalize on this awesome new news feature. Have you checked out Instant Articles yet?
