Facebook Instant Articles: Transforming Publishing & Public Relations

Facebook’s recent decision to open its Instant Articles to all publishers will almost certainly transform both publishing and public relations. The social media network will open the program to any Facebook user who owns a page, including individual bloggers on April 12 the date of its F8 conference, Facebook announced.

In Instant Articles, now only open to a few hundred publishers, Facebook hosts entire articles from media outlets directly on the Facebook network and accessible in users’ timelines.

When Facebook first opened Instant Articles to a handful of publishers last May, some media commentators fretted about the network’s growing power. They called the plan Facebook’s bid for world domination and another blow to publishers. However, some publishers saw the advantages of increasing their revenues by accessing Facebook’s huge audience. Publishers can either sell ads themselves and keep 100% of the revenue or sell ads through Facebook’s ad network and split proceeds with the company.

Fear of Facebook

New York Times columnist David Carr summarized the feelings of many when he compared Facebook to a large dog galloping toward you. “More often than not, it’s hard to tell whether he wants to play with you or eat you,” he wrote.

Benjamin Mullin, managing editor of Poynter.org, called the announcement “a watershed development” in the trend to distributed content. In that distribution model, news organizations will publish articles on a range of different platforms without expecting readers to refer back to their own websites. Publishers will be able to access larger audiences but will have less control over how readers find their articles and how their content is presented.

Some digital publishers warn that publishing content exclusively on another company’s platform amounts to digital sharecropping. Publishers lose control and can suffer from fickle whims of powerful social media networks.

Facebook says Instant Articles will give publishers full control over appearance of their stories, as well as data and ads. “We’ve made it easy for publishers to join by building a system based on the tools they already use,” stated Facebook Product Manager Josh Roberts in the company’s announcement.

Public Relations Ramifications

PR experts speculate that Instant Articles will transform how PR pros evaluate coverage, develop media relationships and engage with consumers.

Based on Facebook’s announcement, the PR departments of companies with a Facebook page can publish news and blog posts directly on Facebook’s Instant Articles starting in mid-April. Corporate news will have an outlet that potentially can reach billions of Facebook users, though in practice the reach will undoubtedly be far, far smaller.

It is still unclear how Facebook will apply its algorithms to distribute news articles of publishers and corporations into timelines of users. Nonetheless, publishing corporate news releases, blog posts and other content on Facebook will likely become as common as submitting a press release to Business Wire or other news distribution services.

PR may also put greater emphasis on placements in publications that publish Facebook Instant Articles in order to gain the Facebook reach of that publisher.

“It’s clear this new offering from Facebook and its media partners will change the way we approach PR substantially. But that’s the value we bring to our clients and teams — navigating these changes swiftly to continue to find the opportunity for our clients,” wrote Andrew Grossman is a public relations account manager at Grady Britton, in PRNewser.

Publishers may alter responsibilities of staff members or hire new people who are knowledgeable of the nuances of Facebook. That would require PR pros to track staff changes and develop new relationships at key publications.

News and reporting styles may evolve to fit the behaviors and preferences of Facebook users. Although some publishers may simply upload long-form text articles, more publishers may increasingly emphasize videos, photos, maps and other visual elements. PR pros might have to change how they deliver information to editors and reporters. Including photos and/or embedded videos in press releases and media kits may become even more important. In fact, they may become mandatory. PR pros with multimedia skills will gain a greater advantage.

The publishing model raises media monitoring questions. How will PR track and compare media coverage of different media outlets. Will articles on Facebook be rated differently than articles on the news organization’s own website? Is there a difference in the value of readers who search out and read/view an article on a website as opposed to a reader where the article is automatically placed in front of the reader? Will a Facebook placement count as a news or a social media mention? What metrics will services use to measure Facebook news placements? PR and the media monitoring and measurement services must now address such questions and issues.

Bottom Line: Facebook’s decision to open Instant Articles to all publishers could substantially alter both publishing and public relations. Savvy PR pros will be watching the changes closely and preparing to adjust to the quickly evolving digital landscape.