Instant Articles Allow 360-degree Videos and Photos

A new feature is coming on Facebook’s Instant Articles. Officials have recently announced that the platform allows 360-degree videos and photos. The board’s decision comes after observing the potential of content creators with the 360-degrees technique. Officials hope that Instant Articles will help them develop further and spread the news about their passion and art.

By adding the new feature, 360-degree content is supposed to load easier and quicker than before. So users don’t have to wait long before seeing the post when using their mobile phones. The update is addressing mainly storytellers, publishers and content creators out there who use Facebook’s Instant Articles platform.

360-degree photos and videos are an exciting experience for both creators and viewers. They can enjoy the new content and a different perspective if compared with the static images that we are already used to.

The new feature from the Facebook platform is also meant to make Instant Articles more appealing to users. There are other platforms which compete with it, such as Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) from Google or Apple News.

Facebook first announced the release of Instant Articles in February 2016. The platform was officially launched a couple of months later. Its purpose is to provide users with instant access to posts, even when using their mobile phones.  Before being released to the public, more than one thousand publishers had already tested its efficiency.

Josh Roberts is one of the Facebook officials in charged of the Instant Articles platform. He and his team know that the introduction of the platform and its subsequent updates are necessary for the modern society. It is a practical way for publishers to keep in touch with their followers. At the same time, the platform helps the spreading of news and keeps users updated about the recent posts.

As a Product Manager at Facebook, Josh Roberts stated the following regarding the new 360-degree feature of the platform:

“We’ve been amazed by all the creative and engaging content that publishers, video creators, and storytellers have shared on Facebook in this immersive new format.”

Developers explain that there are several advantages about Facebook’s Instant Articles. The stories published via the platform have twenty percent chances of being opened by users who received them in their news feed on their mobile phones. If compared to other websites, the articles powered by Facebook have thirty percent more shares and are seventy percent more likely to be read throughout.

Are you a publisher? Do you use Facebook’s Instant Article?

Image courtesy of: Flickr