Why should you use Facebook Messenger ads? Messenger ads have never been more relevant since more and more people turned to private messaging on social media and merged the FB messaging backend with Instagram.
More than a billion people use Messenger every month, including 78% of smartphone users who send messages.
Meanwhile, businesses exchange more than 20 billion messages per month with Messenger users. (Still still not enough for Gen Z: 60% of this age group wish they could text) more businesses. Greedy!)
So, whether you want to hedge your bets on the future of social media, or are interested in the dozens of different ways to use messaging apps to reach your audience, we’re here to show you how to use Facebook Messenger ads. chat.
And convert.
What are Facebook Messenger Ads?
Facebook Messenger ads are ad options that initiate instant messaging conversations with individuals or appear in the Messenger app.
Whatever type of Facebook Messenger ad you choose (we’ll get to your options in a second), the goal is to initiate a one-on-one instant message conversation with a potential customer.
A highly personal way to connect directly and privately: essentially treating customers like friends. This friendly interaction can lead to an above-average conversion rate.
So warm up your speech muscles (fingers and brain) completely and get your favorite emojis (obviously Blinking Face and Water Polo Playing) ready. It’s time to chat.
Your options for Facebook Messenger ads include:
Ads clicking on Messenger
You can use a standard Facebook display ad to start a conversation with a potential customer.
These ads appear in the news feed but include a Call to Action button that opens a Messenger conversation.
Sponsored messages
This hyper-targeted option lets you send a sponsored message directly to people who have already chatted with your business via Messenger.
Messenger stories ads
Messenger Stories ads are full-screen mobile experiences that appear in the Messenger app. (Yes, these are different from Facebook Stories for some reason.) (Don’t worry, we had to research it too.)
These ads can only be purchased in conjunction with Instagram Stories ads or as add-ons to campaigns currently running on the main Facebook news feed.
Messenger inbox ads
Messenger inbox ads are not currently available in the US, Canada, Australia or France. However, in countries with access to this Messenger ad format, the ads appear directly in the chat tab in the Facebook Messenger app.
When a user taps on your ad, it’s sent to a detailed view in Messenger with a call to action. Clicking this will take the user to the destination you set during ad creation: it could be a direct message conversation with your business, your website, or an app download.
If you’re going to implement any of these ad options, you should make sure you have a team that can respond when the conversation starts. Dreaming of a talkative customer? It’s not a good image.
If you need a little more help with the automated customer service department, check out our complete guide to Facebook Messenger Bots.
Of course, before diving into Facebook Messenger ads, you should review your brand’s Facebook advertising strategy holistically. There are many ways to spend your money out there – make sure you get the best bang for your buck.
How to set up Facebook Messenger ads
Each specific type of Messenger ad requires a slightly different setup. Whichever option you choose, the process starts with opening the Ad Creation manager.
1. Select your target in the Ad Creation manager and click continue.
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- For Sponsored Messages: Select Messages as your destination.
- For Click for Messenger ads: Select Traffic, Messages or Conversions as your goal.
- For Messenger Stories ads: Select Brand Awareness, Reach, Traffic, App Installs, Video Views or Conversions.
- For Messenger Inbox ads: Select Traffic, App Installs, Messages, Conversions or Catalog Sales.
2. Name your campaign, make additional optional decisions, and click next.
At this point, you can also change a few other custom ad options, such as specifying whether your ad is about specific ad categories or if you want to optimize your campaign budget.
3. Choose where to drive your message or traffic.
Depending on your goal, you will be asked to do one of the following:
a. Choose where you want people to message your business: Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Business or Instagram Direct.
B. Choose to send users who clicked on your ad to your website, an app, Messenger or WhatsApp.
4. Organize your Budget and Plan and Audience
How much will you spend? How long should the campaign last? And who should see?
5. Choose Automatic or Manual layouts
If you choose automatic placements, the AI will deliver impressions to the audience most likely to drive campaign results.
If you purposely want to place your ad in Messenger Stories, select Manual Placement. From here, select Instagram Stories or Facebook Feed to access Messenger Stories.
6. Add your creative
Depending on your custom ad type, this step may vary, but will likely involve some combination of text and images.
This is also where you can customize a Message template to be delivered to people after they click your ad.
Find all Facebook ad features in one place here and check out our social media advertising guide here for help creating the perfect ad.
7. Click Publish
Your campaign continues! To pause, fine-tune, cancel or expand your campaign, you can always check back in the Ads Creation manager and see how effective its reach is.
For a more detailed step-by-step guide to any of these ad formats, check out the official Facebook FAQs for Sponsored Messages, Click-to-click Messenger ads, Messenger Stories ads, or Messenger Inbox ads.
7 effective Facebook Messenger ads to inspire you
You’re probably in high spirits and ready to start talking to your customers, but before diving into this Ad Manager, get inspired by brands that are using this format in conscious and innovative ways.
Kiehl’s Vietnam
When people organically started using Messenger to ask for general information about skincare brands and products or even try to place an order! — Kiehl’s saw an opportunity to meet customers where they are.
The company built a Messenger bot (named Mr. Bones, after Kiehl’s skeleton mascot) and created a series of targeted Stories ads that click into a Messenger chat.
The campaign quadrupled the amount of Messenger conversations and increased sales by 22%.
Source: Facebook
One Doc Laser and Aesthetics
The great thing about the One Doc Laser and Aesthetics campaign here is the direct call to action. The clinic ran a series of 15-second video ads explaining the benefits of treatment with animations, each ending with the message “PM Us for Appointment Now.”
Paired with the “Send Message” button, interested prospects can be prompted to book an appointment instantly.
Source: Facebook
QVC
QVC had a large audience for sponsored ads via Messenger, as the shopping network had a large number of customers arriving via Messenger with questions and comments.
The ads targeted people who already had open Messenger topics with the company. The results were impressive (not surprising since they reached customers who were already engaged), with a return on spend five times higher than other types of Facebook ads.
Source: Facebook
Kia Motors America
The auto company launched its virtual assistant through a Facebook ad campaign. Potential customers were informed about the cute little “Kian”‘s abilities from the news feed and encouraged to hit the “Send Message” button.
Clicking on it, users started a Facebook Messenger conversation with the chatbot. Here they can request vehicle comparisons or schedule a test drive.
(Bonus for this ad method: participating customers can now be targeted with sponsored Messenger ads.)
Source: Facebook
New Interactive
As a company focused on real estate development ads, Newsome Interactive is ultimately in the business of lead generation: finding people willing to buy property.
For a development called Jasper Highland, ads asked viewers to “Send a Message” if they wanted a free booklet with more information. Clicking it started an automated conversation with a chatbot that collects contact information and some other important facts.
FabFitFun
Subscription box company FabFitFun attracted customers with its click-to-message ad.
The ad featured a dynamic video ad showing the sample contents of a box and information about a discount code. However, a Messenger experience has been launched for those who click “Get Quote”.
The message reiterated the 40% off discount, but also allowed the user to redeem this offer directly in Messenger.
Source: Facebook
heaven life
Using a click on Messenger, insurance agent Haven Life encouraged viewers to tap the “Get Quote” button to start a chat and receive life insurance quotes directly in Messenger.
It worked to attract customers by emphasizing the simplicity and speed of the process. 12% more people completed the Messenger quote survey compared to the website’s more traditional quote form.
Source: Facebook
Of course, Facebook Messenger is the only direct messaging tool that brands can optimize for. Check out inspiring examples from brands using messaging in creative ways across a range of platforms… and then start the conversation.
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