Facebook Launches Click to Messenger Ads on Instagram

When Facebook purchased Instagram on April 9, 2012, it seemed like a natural fit for two social media stalwarts focused on helping users share experiences. Facebook members import images when sharing experiences, but Instagram’s entire platform is built around photo sharing and video sharing. Now, with 20 million active Facebook members using Messenger every month, it only seemed natural for Facebook to launch Click to Messenger Ads on Instagram in May of last year. So, what does this mean for e-commerce, retail and fashion enterprises?
Facebook has stated that it sees its Messenger platform as the new Yellow Pages, and there’s ample evidence to support that claim. While there are other messaging apps like IOS, Google Hangouts and MessageMe, it’s clear that Facebook, with its 1.2 billion monthly users, is gobbling up market share. The solution means that e-commerce enterprises now have another means of building brand awareness and increasing customer engagement.
Those 1.2 billion monthly users could easily push Facebook Messenger past the competition and into the realm of becoming the preferred channel for business-to-consumer (B2C) communication. In fact, there is no other app at this time that uses rich media images and videos to connect today’s consumers with the brands they love.
Facebook started offering Instagram as a placement for their Click to Messenger Ads to complement their existing Facebook Click to Messenger Ads. This allows advertisers to reach new audiences on Instagram, ones that are interested in communicating with their preferred brands through Messenger. It means stronger lead generation and greater conversion rates. It’s a fantastic solution for any company looking to take their social media marketing strategy to the next level.
Advertisers can take advantage of Instagram's advanced customer segmentation solutions. They can target specific audiences with high-quality, rich images and videos that are tailored to the user’s specific interests. This adds another layer for advertisers looking to reach different audience demographics and connect with that audience using eye-catching imagery. It’s a customer engagement tool that takes advantage of the best mediums in existence: images and video.
Facebook isn’t resting on its laurels. They recently announced that News Feed Advertisements will be accessible on Messenger conversations. Additionally, advertisers can now combine Instagram's powerful customer segmentation tools with specific news items. This will further increase conversions and keep audiences engaged.
Ultimately, driving users to Messenger won’t keep the conversation going. More is needed. So, in order to keep audiences engaged, Facebook has announced the addition of Sponsored Messages during open threads. This provides yet another means for advertisers to keep their audience engaged, and since Sponsored Images can’t be sent to threads that weren’t initiated by users, there’s no risk of users receiving spam.
The addition of News Feeds and Sponsored Images into Click to Messenger Ads will further position the solution as the must-have digital marketing strategy moving forward. Access to an expansive audience, and the ability to engage that audience instantaneously, will help advertisers take their conversions to a whole new level.
Looking to take advantage of other Facebook lead generation strategies? If so, this is a must read: generating leads with Facebook lead ads.