Instant Articles has been a game-changer for brands and businesses that use Facebook to connect with their respective audiences. Using the same technology powering the Facebook app, it allows articles and rich media to load instantly. And when users access content in less time, it promotes a more satisfying experience, which subsequently reflects positively upon your brand. But Facebook is going one step further by supporting the use of video ads in Instant Articles.
According to a report published by Wall Street Journal, Facebook is changing its policies so that publishers can place video ads in Instant Articles. The new video ads will consist of both autoplay and click-to-play, as well as “pre-roll” ads that play before the actual content is displayed.
Facebook has been emphasizing the importance of video in recent years, and for good reason: An infographic published by HubSpot suggests that roughly half of all mobile Internet traffic is video. This same infographic also claims that 78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% watch online videos every day. With video becoming such a popular and trending form of media, social media networks like Facebook and Twitter are adjusting their systems to support video.
This isn’t the only change coming to Facebook’s Instant Articles. The social media giant will also allow publishers to sell more units of ad space at the bottom of their content. Of course, this is a win-win for both parties, as Facebook and the publisher will benefit from the increased ad revenue. The WSJ cites a statement by Facebook, saying this change could increase impressions of ad units by as much as 20%.
“In our conversations with publishers, these changes popped up as the biggest steps we could take to make the biggest impact,” said Josh Roberts, Instant Articles product manager at Facebook. “We care about user experience first and foremost, but we know this doesn’t work if publishers can’t monetize their content successfully.”
If you are thinking of selling ad space on Instant Articles, however, it’s important to note that you’ll earn more money by selling against your own content, in which case you’ll keep 100% of generated revenue. If you choose to sell the ad space to Facebook, on the other hand, you’ll only keep 70% of generated revenue (Facebook takes a 30% cut).
Instant Articles will support video ads by all publishers beginning on April 12.
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