Over the last few months Facebook has been rising in popularity with businesses due to recent changes and developments on this platform. More recently, the introduction of Facebook Instant Articles has caught the attention of the business world – and for good reason. Facebook Instant Articles are set to benefit businesses – including those in the cosmetic and aesthetic industries – for a number of reasons which we’ll explore here.
This new addition to the popular social media platform allows users to instantly share content without the need to ever leave Facebook. Content is shared by using the same technology that is used to display photos and videos within the app. The feature creates a more immersive and responsive user experience, with articles loading up to ten times quicker than they would on the standard mobile web.
With over one billion users, Facebook remains one of the biggest social media sites on the web. By using Instant Articles, businesses can reach out to a wider audience in a more convenient way. Instead of directing users to a website which may then require further information before it can be accessed (think of the sites which require sign-ups before entering), content is displayed there and then within the app. The idea is that this will make users feel more engaged with the content and increase the possibility of them following that article with a visit to the business’s website or even subscribing to their updates.
For users, the greatest benefit of Instant Articles is that they are just that – instant. They don’t have to wait for them to load or deal with advertising which can often cause loading times to decline drastically. Facebook is a busy place and with so many updates it can be easy for users to get distracted and forget about a link you shared to an article on your website. The immediacy of Instant Articles will help you hold that attention and encourage users to check out your content as they don’t have to leave their newsfeed.
Facebook Instant Articles allows businesses to get a more advanced look at user behaviour with access to analytics, giving them a proper breakdown of their content so they can see what works and what doesn’t.
Since they launched, Instant Articles tend to receive three times the amount of shares than articles that just link back to a website. This of course means there is greater potential for your content to be shared quicker to a much wider audience.