Familiar Brands May Soon Send You Ads Within Facebook Messenger
We all knew there was a good reason why Facebook opted to create an entirely separate app for its messaging feature: additional revenue stream! Starting in the second quarter of 2016, Facebook Messenger will begin to feature ads. With more than 800 million monthly active users, this Facebook change may be a source of huge opportunities for marketers and retailers.
The ads would only come from businesses who have already interacted with customers via the chat app, meaning that Facebook users will not only avoid being inundated with ads, but will also only see ads from companies they have some type of interactive relationship with.
TechCrunch’s Josh Constine (@JoshConstine) and Jon Russell (@JonRussell) first reported this rumor back in February, and Facebook has yet to make a formal announcement.
The Booming Relevancy Of Facebook’s Messenger App
Facebook Messenger has grown leaps and bounds since it first hit the social world. As the third most popular free app on the App Store, Messenger has become an integral channel for marketers to uncover revenue potential. Since launching, Messenger has:
- Added payments as part of the app
- Introduced M, its digital assistant, which completes tasks and finds information for users (including ordering ticket)
- Partnered with Uber, so that users can request rides through the Messenger app
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also said that more services would eventually come to Messenger in the future, including airlines.
Messenger vs. Whatsapp
Many folks have been wondering what Facebook intended to do with two eerily similar services that it owns: Messenger and WhatsApp. It seems we marketers are getting a clearer picture these days.
The inevitable introduction of ads into Messenger will be a stark difference to what’s in store for WhatsApp, which recently surpassed 1 billion active monthly users.
WhatsApp recently announced it was getting rid of its subscription fees, and the service is currently experimenting with the business-to-customer niche.
How Can You Use Messenger Ads To Your Advantage?
Well, for now there’s not much you can do. Nothing has launched, or has even been made official. But, assuming that Facebook does intend to incorporate ads into Facebook Messenger, you’ll want to approach it in a similar manner in which you approach other remarketing efforts.
Except, this will be with a twist. Unlike online ads, social media conversations are far more specific and customized to that customer. Perhaps you had a conversation with someone on Facebook who wanted to know about an out-of-stock item. Or perhaps you responded to a different customer who asked whether you shipped to Australia.
These conversations could potentially require their own specific type of ad. But what if Facebook doesn’t allow you to manipulate your ads to such a specific level? What then? You’ll have to think of creative ways to design an ad that hits home for every single one of your prospects whom you’ve conversed with on Facebook.
That’s where we come in. The social team here at OperationROI has been keeping a close eye on these latest developments, and has already begun to strategize potential best-practices when it comes to creating ads for Messenger.
When ads do come to this popular app, we’ll be ready, and you should be too. Contact us today at 1-888-277-5429 or by filling out our contact form to learn more about how we can prepare you for this exciting new potential revenue stream.
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