Facebook Instant Articles are now available to all publishers -- but what does that mean for brands? Splash Media (www.splashmedia.com) discusses the benefits of Facebook Instant Articles in this special edition of Splash Points.

This week, Facebook hosted their annual developer conference, F8. While the keynote speech offered an onslaught of product news and development, we're most excited by the public rollout of Facebook Instant Articles. Instant Articles are a smart move by the platform, as they offer value to both brands and consumers.

Facebook Instant Articles display content natively in the platform. This content can be anything from a GIF to a video to an article, but because it lives on the platform, it will load 10x faster than a mobile webpage. This is a win-win for brands and consumers, as lengthy mobile load times increase bounce rates -- in fact, every second that it takes a mobile webpage to load, a user is 3x more likely to leave; after 3 seconds, that potential visitor is most likely gone.

Not only are Facebook Instant Articles a fast and easy way to consume content in the platform, keeping users on Facebook longer, but Instant Articles are also easy to create and publish. Facebook has integrated with existing workflow and publishing tools such as WordPress and RSS feeders to make publishing simple. Creatively, publishers and brands have control over the look and feel of their content, with the ability to match the branding of their website, add their logos, customize with photos, etc. Publishers have full control over what gets published in the article, on their brand page and in the news feed. Couldn't be easier!

Facebook Instant Articles are also a win monetarily, as Facebook offers multiple ad and revenue options for publishers. Publishers can choose to create their own ads that will be displayed on the page and keep 100% of the profits, or opt in to Facebook's Ad Network and sell unused inventory on their pages and receive a portion of the profits. Imagine the creative ways publishers can leverage this option: write and publish a piece on home services, while displaying a banner ad for their own home services on the side -- a great content marketing and digital advertising combination!

Initial reaction to Facebook Instant Articles has been positive, though some brands have expressed concern over lost website traffic. At the end of the day, brands need to realize it's not about them -- it's about the user. User experience is not a trend in digital marketing, it's the new normal. Brands should optimize content for each platform, and Instant Articles is the way to do that on Facebook. Users will appreciate the ease and speed of Instant Articles from their favorite brands, building brand loyalty all the same. And for those worried about lost web traffic, Facebook will offer analytics for Instant Articles, including time on page, scroll depth and more. While web traffic will decrease with the use of Instant Articles, brands shouldn't consider it a loss, but rather a reallocation.

Digital marketing is constantly changing, and Facebook Instant Articles is a big move from a major platform to further innovate and optimize for users. Have you seen Instant Articles yet? What do you think?

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