Messenger App Ads Will Start Being Tested

Facebook announced earlier this week that it will be rolling out a limited testing of its new Messenger app ads.

Facebook announced earlier this week that it will be rolling out a limited testing of its new Messenger app ads which could appear on the start screen.

The company released an announcement on the matter on Wednesday. On January 25, Facebook published an official blog post. It in, it presented the potential new Messenger app ads system.

At least for the moment, the test is very narrow. It is being rolled out in just 2 countries. These are Thailand and Australia. Facebook Messenger app users may start seeing ads on their start screen.

Testing will begin in just a few weeks’ time. Just a limited number of users will be involved. Facebook explained its decision to roll out the test. According to the blog post, the Messenger app ads are an opportunity for businesses. It can help make their products more visible.

The social media giant also went to explain the process. According to the statement, ads will be displayed solely on the start screen. More exactly, they will not appear in a conversation.

These new Messenger app ads will work as follows. They will be based on the Facebook ad campaign system. More exactly, they will appear as sponsored messages. The system is already generally used on Facebook.

And in some cases, also on the Messenger app. But only in case specific situations. Users can already receive sponsored ad messages. But only if they have previously interacted with the respective brand.

The Messenger app ads will also have a similar such feature. Sponsored ad messages may spring up in a conversation. But only if the user is chatting with the brand selling them.

Messenger ads will have the same base system as the Facebook News Feed ones. More exactly, advertisers will use the same parameters. They currently target users on a specific set of data. This does not and will not include private messages.

Facebook’s Messenger app ads tests should not intrude on the user. They will still have control over their app. The users involved in the tests will have several options. They will be able to hide the ads. Or they can even report them. Both options will be accessible from the drop-down menu.

Messenger app ads will be displayed below the most recent conversations. For example, just think of the birthday notifications. These surface on the Messenger mobile app. The ads’ location is also similar to that of the active users bar.

Still, neither feature will disappear because of the ads. These later will just be placed on top. Birthdays and active users will come after them.

The Messenger app ads tests will be limited. And it remains to be seen if they will be expanded. The decision will probably be based on the user response. This latter will probably also determine its widespread usage.

If the tests are unsuccessful, the program will most likely remain just a test. The public rollout is not guaranteed. But neither denied.

The Facebook Messenger service has over a billion active users. This is just the monthly count. Estimates also show that more than a billion messages are sent every month. And these are just in between customers and businesses.

Presently, the tests target only the Messenger app ads. It remains to be seen or announced if Facebook will also be targeting a similar campaign for the web page version.

Image Source: Flickr

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Karen Jackson

Karen Jackson has always been passionate about technology. All the way through high-school she immersed herself in computers and web-design. Her ambitious nature helped her become a pro in Adobe Photoshop only by watching online videos and working with the program herself. This is also the program that she mostly uses in the creation of websites at her work-place. Technological innovation and gadgets that push the boundaries of what we are comfortable with have always fascinated her, so expect to see some weird gadget reviews coming from her.