Have you received a message from a family member, friend, colleague, or business today? I bet this message was sent via one of Facebook’s apps or services.

Around 100 million messages are exchanged between people and businesses every day using Facebook products.

According to Statista, more than 2.8 billion users take advantage of at least one Facebook platform, among which Messenger is the most beloved.

Over 40 million companies around the world use Messenger to promote their products and services to customers and to be in touch with them 24/7.

If you’re thinking about creating Facebook Messenger ads for your own business, don't hesitate. Messaging is a wonderful way for any company to build better relationships with its customer base.

According to a Facebook survey, 59% of people feel companies that use messaging provide faster response times, over 50% feel such companies provide better advice and care, and more than 49% feel they get more truthful responses via messaging compared to other marketing channels.

Not to mention that users engage with businesses more willingly through messaging than through any other form of communication. 

Facebook data shows that more than 58% of customers would rather send a message than make a phone call, over 58% of customers prefer messaging over filling out a form on a website, and over 55% of customers feel more confident messaging than emailing.

Would you like to make your customers feel more confident and turn this into a benefit for your business? Read this Facebook Messenger ads tutorial!

The Beginner’s Guide to Messenger Ads

Launched in 2011, Messenger is now the number two messaging app in the world after WhatsApp. Its user base is equal to the population of India. 

Pretty soon, the number of Messenger users is likely to approach the population of China.

As of October 2019, there were over 1.3 billion people using Messenger every month. Just imagine how many Pusheen cat stickers people send each other every day!

Actually, let’s imagine you’re about to get started with Facebook Messenger advertising. How should you go about it?

First, you need a Facebook Ads Manager account.

This is where you’ll do everything related to your ad campaign: pick a marketing objective, target an audience, manage your budget, customize and schedule ads, set tracking, etc.

Say you log in to Ads Manager and you’re ready to launch your first Messenger ad campaign. You’ll notice the Messages objective, and you’ll probably want to select it.

The messages marketing objective is designed to generate leads, boost sales, and enhance the customer experience by sending a message to one of three destinations: Messenger, WhatsApp Business, or Instagram Direct.

If you’re serious about advertising your business via messaging, you should definitely test this option. However, keep in mind that it’s not the only way to launch your Messenger ads.

4 Messenger Ad Formats to Begin an Engaging Conversation

Customers and companies receive more than 20 billion messages via Messenger each month.

Businesses across 15 markets consider the effectiveness of messaging as “excellent” or “very good” compared to phone calls.

And the cool thing about messaging is that it can take many different forms.

Here are four types of ads you can launch on Messenger:

1. Ads in the Messenger Inbox

Ads in the Messenger Inbox will encourage people from your target audience to start a conversation with your business by appearing in the Chats tab of the Messenger app. 

Another huge benefit you get with this Messenger ad format is that it can help you be in the limelight for a large number of people so they’ll keep your business in mind.

After users stumble on an ad in their inbox and tap on it, they’re directed to a detailed view that has a call-to-action button. After they tap on this CTA, they’re directed to any destination you set: a Messenger chat, mobile app, or website.

Best Practices for Ads in Messenger Inbox:

• Preview both the inbox and detailed views before publishing your ad to make sure it looks great.
• Create close-up images with high contrast, a clear focal point, and minimum text overlay to make them noticeable to viewers.
• Make sure your image has a 1:1 ratio so it appears right in the center. Images with other ratios will automatically be masked to 1:1 to show up in the center.
• Start your ad copy with a call to action and keep your message short and clear.

2. Messenger Stories Ads

Having first appeared on Instagram and Facebook, Stories ads are now also available on Messenger.

Powered by Instant Experience, Messenger Stories ads allow you to spark users’ interest with an appealing, dynamic, and captivating visual narrative about your company, products, and services.

After people tap on a call-to-action button on your Story ad, they’re driven to a chat with your business.

Best Practices for Messenger Stories Ads:

• Keep the length of your story ads from 4 to 7 seconds. It’s a golden middle that gets viewers interested without being intrusive.
• Come up with a story that will encourage people to start a conversation with you. In other words, create intrigue. 

3. Click to Messenger Ads

Facebook reports that click to Messenger ads is one of the fastest-growing ad formats. This format allows you to hook the attention of customers on Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook and then chat with them one-on-one after they tap the ad.

Best Practices for Messenger Stories Ads:

• Write a personalized welcome message to introduce your business.
• Add quick replies to simplify the process of acquaintance.
• Use the messages marketing objective to show ads to users who are more likely to engage with your company.

4. Messenger Sponsored Ads

Using sponsored Messenger ads is one of the best Messenger retargeting techniques. With this advertising format, you can contact Messenger users you’ve already engaged with by sending highly personalized offers they’re likely to be interested in.

Best Practices for Messenger Sponsored Ads:

• Strike while the iron is hot. Ideally, you should show your retargeting ad within two days of the first contact.
• Be ready to respond at any moment after launching your Messenger sponsored ad campaign. Customers may have questions about your offer. Don’t miss this great opportunity.

How to Befriend Customers Through Messenger Ads

If you want to learn how to advertise on Facebook Messenger like a pro, use these simple recommendations to get the ball rolling.

Automate Messenger Marketing with Facebook for Developers

Messenger is an awesome platform for advertising because you can adjust it to the needs of your business in any way you want, as if you were developing a messaging app from scratch.

If you want to get the most out of advertising your business with Messenger, you should take advantage of the opportunities offered by Facebook for Developers.

The Facebook for developers website includes a large number of tools, features, and APIs that will help you:

• create chatbots
• use messaging templates
• get insights
• measure the performance of your Messenger ads
• and do many other things to automate and optimize your Messenger marketing.

Take Advantage of Retargeting Opportunities

We’ve already told you about Facebook Messenger retargeting in the previous part of this guide where we mentioned the sponsored ad type. However, retargeting on Messenger doesn’t end with this option.

According to Facebook data, nearly 2.9 billion people use Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, or WhatsApp each month.

Almost every Messenger user has a profile on Facebook and Instagram, which means you shouldn’t neglect the great chance to use these channels to reach people who’ve seen your ads but haven’t finished their journey through your sales funnel and show them retargeting ads on Messenger.

Moreover, you can use Messenger to retarget people who haven’t engaged with your business and its services on Facebook. For instance, you can create a Custom Audience from a customer list.

Take a Messenger Course

Messenger has tremendous potential for marketers and advertisers of all sorts.

We hope you’ve found our Facebook Messenger ads guide informative. Still, the truth is that there are many ideas you can use to achieve your marketing goals and we can hardly fit them in one article.

If you feel that you don’t quite understand the whole picture, bridge the gaps in your knowledge by taking one of the Facebook Blueprint courses on Messenger advertising. 

These courses are informative, easy to go through, and free.

You’ll be able to learn more about Facebook Messenger ad placements and formats, chat functionality development process, and other aspects of marketing with the Messenger platform.

Get Inspired by Other Businesses that Advertise on Messenger

When it comes to advertising, experience gained by others always comes in handy. Businesses across all industries all over the world look to other companies for inspiration.

As Pablo Picasso once said, Good artists copy, great artists steal.

But how would he respond to one of the best Facebook Messenger ad examples ever?

The Pablo Picasso Messenger bot received lots of responses from fans of the Genius series by National Geographic.

If you want to create a Messenger ad or chatbot that will fascinate your audience, you can find inspiration in:

• Facebook Success Stories. This amazing website allows you to find Messenger ad case studies from companies of all sizes.
• Instagram Success Stories. Though this alternative to Facebook Success Stories is dedicated solely to Instagram ads, you’ll find lots of ideas that are useful for your business.
• Facebook Creative Inspiration. Check out this resource, if the other two aren’t enough for you.

We hope you’ll have a lot of fun gaining insights and inspiration for your advertising!

Increase Conversions with Messenger Video Ads Made by AI

Now that you know how to make Messenger ads, we have news for you.

You can save and launch your video Messenger marketing campaign with Softcube artificial intelligence.

Good luck with your messaging!