Users will start seeing ads in Facebook Messenger as a part of a series of changes rolled out by the social media giant last week. Although this gives marketers a new way to reach their audiences, not all are on-board with the idea nor believe this is an effective way of marketing…
Will users click on these ads?
Prior to now, Facebook Messenger has traditionally been used as a platform for users to connect and communicate with friends through chat, not learn about brands, businesses, products or services. Some have argued that because of this, users will not be interested in Messenger Home Ads.
We investigated this idea and whether users actually clicked on Messenger Home Ads. Interestingly for one client, we found that these ads actually received double the amount of clicks, compared to their respective News Feed Ads. Although this is a singular case, it does show that it’s possible to achieve clicks through Messenger Home Ads.
Are Messenger Home Ads disruptive?
Simply by looking at the images below, we cannot ignore the fact that Messenger Home Ads take up significant screen space, which could potentially interrupt the user experience. We believe one of three outcomes could occur because of this large size:
- Users will intentionally click the ads
- Users will accidentally click the ads
- Users will hide or ignore the ads
Do Messenger Home Ads reach less people?
We found that compared to News Feed Ads, the reach for Messenger Home Ads is significantly less. This could be due to the fact that not all Facebook members use Messenger, or that not all users in Messenger are able to see these ads. Either way, we believe the best way to ensure your ads reach your targeted audience, is by ensuring your campaign displays across various placements.
How can marketers leverage Messenger Home Ads?
For some businesses, Messenger Home Ads may be an effective placement to add to your existing Facebook advertising repertoire. However for others, this could mean wasted advertising budget and negative ROI. The easiest way to see which Facebook advertising placements work best for your brand is by simply launching and testing the results of your campaign. You can read more about this topic here.