Facebook Messenger, quite possibly the most widely used mobile messaging platform, will soon display ads.
After a limited beta the company performed in Thailand and Australia, Facebook has apparently finally decided to roll out the ads option for everyone who uses Messenger.
Facebook Rolls Out Ads On Messenger
As per VentureBeat, users might soon see the normal flow of their Messenger home screens interrupted by sponsored ads before this year ends. Moreover, similar to ads seen on Facebook and Instagram, they'll be specifically tailored to the user; a lover of dogs might see dog care-related ads, skin care products might show up for someone searching for moisturizers, and so on — you get the idea.
Facebook uploaded a video showing how ads will work on Messenger. Clicking an ad will bring you to the website of the company or it can also open a conversation with the business within the Messenger app. It will just open up a tab, which you can dismiss. Also, because the ad shown in the demonstration contains an image, the whole placement looks much, much bigger than the typical message rows.
Besides direct placements on the home screen, businesses using Messenger can already send sponsored ads to users that messaged their business prior. Stan Chudnovsky, head of product for Messenger, said that ads will make the platform profitable.
"There are some other business models we are exploring as well, but they're all around ads one way or another," he said.
How Facebook Will Roll Out Ads On Messenger
It's worth noting that the betas Facebook performed in Thailand and Australia involved sending nearly all Messenger users ads. Yet Facebook plans to change its delivery approach once the ads roll out globally.
The company says it will roll out the ads slowly, and it also confirmed that it doesn't totally know when the average user will even see the placements. Facebook will take a data-driven and feedback-driven approach with regard to enabling ads, so there's a chance a user who hates seeing ads might not see it at all, provided they sternly reprimand Facebook regarding the change.
Some of these changes will sure appear pesky to some users, surely. But it's a logical move for the time being from a business standpoint, seeing just how big Messenger is and just how many users are using the platform. VentureBeat notes that ads will bring Facebook closer to its goal of connecting 1.2 billion users to 70 million businesses on the site.
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