Why use Facebook Messenger ads? As more and more people turn to private messaging on social media —and since Facebook combined its messaging backend with Instagram — Messenger ads have never been more related.
More than one billion people use Messenger every month, 78% of them using smartphone users to send messages.
At the same time, businesses exchange more than 20 billion messages monthly with Messenger users. (And yet for Gen Z, that’s still not enough: 60% of that age group wish they could message more businesses. Greedy!)
So whether you need to hedge your bets on the future of social, or you’re in the dozens of different ways you can use messaging apps to reach your audience right now, we’re here to explain to you how to use Facebook Messenger ads to converse.
And convert.
What are Facebook Messenger Ads?
Facebook Messenger ads are advertising choices that either start instant-message conversations with people or appear in the Messenger app.
Whatever number of Facebook Messenger ads you select (and we’ll get to your options in a sec), the goal is to begin a one-on-one instant message conversation with a potential customer.
It’s an ultra-personal way to connect immediately, and privately: essentially treating customers like friends. This intimate interaction can lead to a more than average conversion rate.
So get your conversation muscles (fingers and brain) all warmed up and get your favorite emojis at the ready. It’s time to get chatty.
Your options for Facebook Messenger ads include…
Ads that click to messenger
You need to use a normal Facebook display ad to start a conversation with a potential customer.
These ads appear in the newsfeed however feature a Call to Action button that opens up a Messenger conversation.
Sponsored messages
This hyper-targeted option lets you send a sponsored message directly to customers who have already chatted with your business via Messenger.
Messenger stories ads
Messenger Stories ads are full-screen mobile versions that appear in the Messenger app.
These ads are only available for purchase alongside Instagram Stories ads, or as an add-on to campaigns already running in the main Facebook newsfeed.
Messenger inbox ads
Messenger inbox ads are not currently available in some countries: the U.S., Canada, Australia, or France. However, for those countries that do have access to this Messenger ad format, ads are shown right in the chat tab inside the Facebook Messenger app.
When a customer taps on your ad, they are sent to a detailed view in Messenger with a call-to-action. Clicking on this will take the user to the destination you set through the ad creation: that might be a direct message conversation with your business, your website, or an app download.
If you’re going to implement any of these advertising choices, you should be sure you’ve got a team that can be responsive once the conversation gets going. Ghosting a chatty customer? Not an excellent look.
Check out our complete guide to Facebook Messenger Bots, if you need a little extra help in the auto-customer service department.
Of course, before you dive into Facebook Messenger ads, you must review your brand’s Facebook ad strategy holistically. There are tons of ways to spend your money over there — make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
How to set up Facebook Messenger ads
Each specific kind of Messenger ad requires a slightly different set-up. Whatever choice you go for, the process begins with opening up the Ad Creation manager.
1. Choose your goal in the Ad Creation manager and click continue.
- Sponsored Messages: Select Messages as your goal.
- Click to Messenger ads: Choose Traffic, Messages, or Conversions as your goal.
- Messenger Stories ads: Select Brand Awareness, Reach, Traffic, App Installs, Video Views, or Conversions.
- Messenger Inbox ads: Choose Traffic, App Installs, Messages, Conversions, or Catalog Sales.
2. Give a name for your campaign, make additional optional decisions, and click next.
At this point, you can also toggle many other specific ad choices, such as declaring in case your ad is related to special ad categories or if you’d like to optimize your campaign budget.
3. Select your message, or where to drive traffic.
Depending on your goal, you’ll be prompted to either…
a. Select where you’d like people to message your business. It’s Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Business, or Instagram Direct.
b. Choose where to lead users who click on your ad to your website, an app, Messenger, or WhatsApp.
4. Edit your Budget and Schedule and your Audience
How much will you spend? How long should the campaign run? And who should see it?
5. Select Automatic or Manual placements
If you choose Automatic placements, AI will deliver impressions to the audience most likely to drive campaign outcomes.
Keep in mind that if you’d like to place your ad intentionally in Messenger Stories, choose Manual Placement. From here, choose Instagram Stories or Facebook Feed to access Messenger Stories.
6. Add your creative
Depending on your specific ad kind, this step will vary, but will likely involve some combination of text and images.
Here is where you may also customize a Message template to go out to people after they click your ad.
7. Click publish
Your campaign is nice to go! You can check back on the Ad Creation manager at any time to pause, tweak, cancel, or extend your campaign, and see how effective its reach is.
For a more specific step-by-step guide to any of these ad types, check out the official Facebook FAQs for Sponsored Messages, Click to Messenger ads, Messenger Stories ads, or Messenger Inbox ads.