Nearly all of Facebook’s revenue – just below $27 billion in 2016 – comes from advertising. But at the end of last year, they began telling investors that they’re starting to hit the limit of the number of ads that can be placed into their biggest money maker – users’ News Feeds. This has resulted in Facebook looking for other places to advertise, including Marketplace and Messenger.
Facebook Marketplace Ads
In July of this year, Facebook announced that it will start running ads inside Marketplace, its “swap meet” style hub where users buy and sell their wares and garage sale worthy goods. With over 18 million items posted on Marketplace in May alone, the potential for ad revenue is ripe for the taking. Right now, Facebook is testing a small percentage of U.S. users, and the ads will only be seen on the mobile version of Facebook.
The ads will look the same as those that users see in their News Feed, but they will be labeled with the advertiser’s name and the word “sponsored” so that users will know that they’re different from other postings in Marketplace. The biggest difference between these new ads and the regular News Feed ads, though, is that users visit Marketplace specifically looking to buy. While they will not be able to buy products directly through the ads on Facebook, they will be able to click on the ad, which will send them to the advertiser’s landing page.
Currently, Facebook is not charging the participating advertisers who are involved. The goal of this test is to evaluate how successful the ads are and help to determine if the Marketplace ads will become a regular feature on Facebook.
Ads in Facebook Messenger
In November of last year, Facebook began rolling out ads on their messaging app, Messenger, whose various sections and tabs provide more room for customer engagement as well as more room for potential ad space. After successful testing of sponsored messages in Australia and Thailand, Facebook began offering the service to all brands who use Messenger’s developer tools to manage their Messenger conversations. This means that the ads will only be shown to customers who already have an existing conversation with your brand.
With more than 1.2 billion users each month, Messenger offers a major opportunity for broader campaigns and greater ad results. And the fact that Messenger ads will use the same targeting features that allow you to customize your News Feed ads (i.e., demographics, interests), makes for some pretty promising results. Options for ads are:
- Ad placement on Messenger’s Home tab
- Sponsored messages that can be sent privately to any customer who has previously messaged your page, allowing you to re-engage with current and past customers
- Click to messenger ads that allow prospective customers to click on your ad and send you a private message
- Create your own Messenger Bot to automate the beginning stages of your communication with your customers.
