FACEBOOK MESSENGER - Should I advertise on it?

Should you use it for your business? Absolutely!

Facebook have announced that they are rolling out testing of Messenger Display Advertising globally, placing businesses display ads directly into a potential customer’s inbox. This move will give businesses a new and potentially more compelling way to reach people directly, selling their products and services straight from the Messenger App.

Why should I advertise in messenger?

According to Facebook, 2 billion messages are sent between people and businesses every month on Messenger, both automated and manual. 53% of people are more likely to shop with a business they can message directly and 56% of people would rather message than call a customer service line.

Starting a 2 way conversation with your customer has a much more personal touch in terms of customer service and increases the likelihood that users will respond to your message, Then you can start answering their questions and providing them with everything they need to lead them to a purchase.

Messenger will allow you to create a message chain with your potential customer and utilise Chatbots, enabling them to make selections directly within the message chain, such as: Pick a colour, with options such as: Red, Black, White; or Pick a size: such as S, M, L etc

Customers can even make payment straight from the Messenger App, via its in-app payment system for peer-to-peer money transfers.

Messenger may also be able to use its M artificial intelligence assistant to make recommendations to potential customers when it recognises elements in their texts that signal they might want to buy something.

Here is what else we think you need to know:

What do messenger ads look like?

There are a couple of different types of ad that can be selected; Destination Messenger adverts, Sponsored Messages and the newer Facebook Messenger Display adverts.

Facebook newsfeed click to message newsfeed ads

These have been around for a couple of years now and they are placed in the newsfeed with the call to action being Click to Message which starts a chat with the business in Messenger.

Facebook sponsored messages

If you use Click to Message ads in your News Feed advertising, you will be able to direct message these people with a Sponsored Message anytime in the future as you have already chatted with them. These Sponsored Messages can be delivered straight to the users Messenger Inbox.

Facebook messenger display ads

This format has just gone into testing globally and will be displayed under your most recent messages in the Messenger App. Facebook have said the ads appearance will  “depend on how many threads a user has, the size of their phone’s physical screen and the pixel density of the display”, but generally they will appear as a single display ad design, text or a video.

With these ads you can either direct people to a website landing page, rendered in the app’s internal browser, or start a Message thread with the user, like the Click To Message ads currently available on the News Feed.

This gives you the opportunity to engage directly with your potential customer and provide them with a more personal experience. The other great opportunity with this option is that because you’ve already begun chatting with them, you are eligible to send them other Sponsored Messages in the future.

So the question should not be 'should I use Facebook Messenger advertising for my business?' It should instead be 'when can I start?'

One last point to note is that you need to be committed to responding promptly to messages. Consumers reach out in a moment of time when they are considering their options. If you are slow to reply... you might miss the boat!