Ensuring Proper Image Ingestion for the Local Stories Player RSS feature

Our innovative Local Stories Player can transform your publication’s stories into engaging video content by using your RSS feed. To achieve this, we rely on specific metadata called Open Graph (OG) tags. This document will explain what OG: tags are, why they are important, and how to ensure your images are correctly ingested for use in video ads.

What Are OG: Tags?

OG (Open Graph) tags are snippets of code added to your website’s pages. They provide metadata to help platforms like social media sites understand and display your content correctly. The key OG: tags for our Local Stories Player include:

• og:title: The headline of your article or page.
• og:image: The main image you want to accompany your post.
• og:description: A brief summary of your content.

Importance of OG: Tags

OG: tags ensure that your content appears as intended when shared across different platforms. For our Local Stories Player, these tags help us identify and pull in the correct images and headlines from your RSS feed, creating dynamic and visually appealing video content.

Example of an og:image Tag

Here’s an example of what an og:image tag looks like in HTML

Issue with Missing OG: Tags

If your site does not include the necessary og:image tags, our system cannot determine which images to use, leading to incomplete or less effective video ads.

Fallback Solution

As an alternative, we can implement a fallback solution. In place of the missing images, we can use your logo as a placeholder. While this ensures that the ad unit functions correctly, it’s not as engaging as using specific images from your articles.

Next Steps

Adding OG: Tags to Your Site

To resolve this issue and enhance the visual appeal of your video ads, we recommend adding the necessary OG: tags to your site’s pages, specifically the og:image tag. This will enable our Local Stories Player to access and use your images correctly.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to adding OG: tags:

1. Identify Key Elements: Determine the title, image, and description for each page.
2. Add OG: Tags: Insert the OG: tags into the HTML of each page. Here’s an example:

3. Update RSS Feed: Ensure your RSS feed includes these tags to allow our system to pull the correct information.

Adding OG: Tags on a WordPress Site

If your site is built on WordPress, adding OG: tags can be done easily with a plugin. Plugins like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack can automatically add OG: tags to your pages.

Testing Your RSS Feed

After adding the OG: tags, it’s essential to test your RSS feed to ensure it’s pulling the correct information. You can use online tools like the Facebook Sharing Debugger to check if your OG: tags are set up correctly.

Need Help?

If you need assistance or further information on how to implement these tags, please let us know by emailing us at help@empowerlocal.com or starting a chat from our dashboard. We’re here to help and ensure that your content looks its best.

Conclusion

By adding OG: tags to your site, you’ll enable our Local Stories Player to create engaging, dynamic content that will attract and retain your readers. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to seeing the exciting results on your site!