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Facebook Instant Articles for Faster Content Delivery

Published on 07.01.2025 by Tracey Chizoba Fletcher

It is innate human nature to seek instant gratification. When we consider the digital world, people expect speed without any compromise on quality. This is particularly true for accessing content online.

Like any other user, you may find a slow-loading and sluggish page that takes considerable time to load, which is very frustrating. In general, slow-loading pages lead to higher bounce rates and low engagement for obvious reasons. 

So, what do you do if you run a blog or a site? How well your blog or website performs depends on the traffic you get. Facebook has just the solution for you—Facebook Instant Articles (IA). This is an innovative solution that ensures your content is delivered to users at impressively quick speed. This makes the reading experience on Facebook’s mobile app much smoother and enjoyable.

Are you wondering what this feature is and how it works? Well, here is your chance to find out! Follow along to learn what Facebook Instant Articles are, how they work for you as a publisher, and how you can leverage them to increase your content's reach and engagement. 

What Are Facebook Instant Articles?

Facebook Instant Articles are basically a mobile-optimized publishing format that Facebook developed to provide readers with a faster and more interactive experience. 

It all started in 2015 when Facebook joined hands with Automattic, the parent company of WordPress, with the intention of building a plugin for instant articles. The plugin was designed to help blog masters using WordPress to share their content on Facebook on the go easily.

When you click on an Instant Article, the content loads up to ten times faster than any regular mobile web article because Facebook hosts a more streamlined version of the article, which is devoid of any complex elements on its server. This helps reduce the load times by a significant margin. 

If you are a publisher or someone who wants to share content on social media, Instant Articles offer a great opportunity to optimize your user experience, particularly for the mobile audience. Facebook’s native content delivery system ensures that your article appears almost right away. This offers your reader a hassle-free reading experience with minimal load times. 

How Do Facebook Instant Articles Work?

Facebook Instant Articles work in a similar way to Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages, also referred to as AMP. It was a project that was aimed at making web content load faster on mobile devices. 

The basic idea behind Facebook Instant Articles is to make a lightweight version of your content by stripping out the elements that slow down page load times, such as large images, ads, or heavy scripts. The resulting optimized version is stored in Facebook’s Content Delivery Network and is ready to be delivered whenever a user clicks on it. 

The real attraction of Instant Articles lies in the smooth experience they provide you and your readers! When you share a link to an article on Facebook, the app checks whether an Instant Article version of that article is available. If yes, then Facebook serves this faster version to the users, thereby ensuring smooth reading even in case of a slow connection. However, as we mentioned earlier, the feature is available for the app only, and for desktops, the standard HTML version is delivered.

 

Why Are Instant Articles Helpful?

As a publisher, you may have experienced the frustration of slow-loading mobile pages quite often. A sluggish article can cost you, readers, especially on mobile devices where users expect quick and smooth reading experiences. 

But with Instant Articles, this dilemma can be resolved easily. They offer you a way to enhance your user engagement by delivering content faster. But there is more than just speed to consider in this case. Here are some more reasons why Instant Articles may be worth your attention:

Speed with Better User Experience

Reading experience is always a top priority with online content, and here, Instant Articles can prove to be a lifesaver. Pages can load almost instantly, which reduces the bounce rates and keeps your readers engaged. Research shows that users are more likely to continue reading and interacting if your content loads quickly. 

Rich Media Integration

Instant Articles support rich media, which includes interactive images, embedded videos, audios, and galleries. This means you can create more engaging and dynamic content that is not limited to text only. The integration of rich media features can help your articles stand out in an otherwise crowded newsfeed, where so much content is vying for the audience's attention.

Better Monetization Opportunities

Facebook offers publishers the ability to monetize Instant Articles through ads. You can earn 100% of revenue from ads that you sell directly or 70% from ads that are served through the Audience Network on Facebook. 

Facebook has shared that an advertisement shared on Instant Article has a 20% higher click-through rate than mobile web articles. This can open up new revenue streams for you, particularly if you are a content creator or a business. You are basically earning passive income without having to do any legwork.

Optimized for Mobile Devices

Instant Articles automatically adjust to fit various screen sizes, which helps ensure that your content looks great and is easy to read, be it a smartphone, desktop, or tablet. 

Detailed Analytics

With Instant Articles, you also get access to Facebook Insights, where you can track metrics like time spent on the article, user interactions, and click-through rates on ads. This data can help you improve your strategy, optimize your content, and ultimately increase reader engagement. 

How to Set Up Your Instant Articles Account

Now that you understand why Instant Articles are so beneficial, let's learn how you can start using them to increase your content's reach and engagement. It is, in fact, quite easy to set up an Instant Articles account, and you can do it in a few simple steps. Here is what you need to do:

Ensuring Eligibility

The first step is to ensure your eligibility. To use Instant Articles, you need an active Facebook page linked to our website or blog. Also, your website must be secure (HTTPS) and you will need to provide an RSS feed of your content. 

Facebook also requires your content to adhere to its guidelines with a focus on high-quality and original content. 

Creating your Instant Articles Account

Firstly, log into your Facebook account and go to your Facebook page. Now click on Publishing Tools from the top menu and select Instant Articles from the left sidebar. Follow the prompts to verify your website domain and configure your branding as well as styling preferences.

One of the coolest features of Instant Articles is the ability to customize the appearance of your articles. You can set fonts, colors, and other visual elements that match your brand’s identity. Facebook has a Style Editor that you can leverage to preview how your articles will look on mobile devices.

Adding your Content

You can either upload the articles manually or link your RSS feed. Just ensure that your content is formatted according to Instant Articles standards to ensure smooth integration. Facebook offers a preview feature that enables you to see how your articles will appear before they are published.

Monetization and Analytics

You can set up ads within your Instant Articles, either from direct sales or through the Facebook Audience Network, as mentioned earlier. Facebook also provides detailed insights into how your article is performing. This helps you refine your content strategy so you can get a better response next time. 

Making your First Facebook Instant Article

Are you wondering how to make an Instant Article? The good news is that it is easier than you might think! Here is what you need to do!

First, focus on the structure of your content. Make sure that your article is well-structured and has a clear heading and subheadings while the content is in the form of short paragraphs. Do keep in mind that mobile readers prefer content that is easy to scan and long paragraphs can be a pain to read on mobile screens. 

Once the structure is all taken care of, think about how you can add rich media. Improve the appeal of your content by embedding videos, images, and interactive elements. For instance, a travel blog could include an interactive map or a video that shows a destination. This helps keep your readers engaged and encourages them to spend more time on your page.

Another important concern when making your Instant Article is speed. Compress images to reduce the file size and ensure your media files are optimized for mobile devices. The faster your article loads; the better will be the user experience.

Before you publish, use Facebook's preview tool to check how your Instant Article looks on different mobile devices. Ensure that the content layout is clean, the images are loading properly, and the content is very easy to read. 

Now, all that is left to do is publish the article! Share it on your Facebook page and other social media platforms to garner more engagement. Also, do not forget to track the performance of the article using Facebook Insights and adjust your strategy as and when needed.

 

Best Practices for Publishing Instant Articles

To get the most out of Instant Articles, here are some best practices you may want to consider:

  • Focus on quality content. Speed is highly important but it may be worth nothing if your quality is not up to mark! Make sure your articles are informative, well-written, and relevant to your audience as well.
  • Use engaging visuals. Rich media, such as images, videos, or interactive elements, can greatly improve user experience and overall engagement. Also, ensure that the content is mobile-friendly from the onset.
  • Monetize your articles wisely. Balance your ads with content. Too many ads can detract from the reader experience, so place them strategically to avoid overwhelming your audience.

Final Thoughts

Facebook Instant Articles are a great solution for publishers and readers. If you are a publisher, they provide a much faster and engaging way to deliver content and increase monetization opportunities. Meanwhile, for the readers, they offer a smooth interactive, and enjoyable reading experience. 

So whether you are a blogger, a news outlet, or an up-and-coming brand, Instant Articles can help you reach out to a wider audience, keep them engaged for long, and improve your overall online experience. 

Take charge of your brand experience and stories and make Instant Articles a part of your social media marketing strategy. Give your audience a speedy and interactive experience that will make you a reader favorite.