Mmmm, well are you? Have you been seeing more ads in your Messenger feed lately, I know I have? Do I open them? Sometimes, and apparently more so than campaigns sent to my email address. And I’m seeing less of those since the whole GDPR opt-in thing last year!
Speaking of which, how does this fit in with that? Well, as we all know, Facebook have bent over backwards to improve their data security and user experience, and they still are, so just by using the service you’ve opted in to see the adverts they think you should. Don’t like it, vote with your feet, or read on as to how to help them and you in the process.
Worried about spam?
Aren’t we all. There’s no need though really as every advert comes with a ready made complaints procedure right there. If you aren’t tailoring your own user experience you really should be. I’ll explain how to do this in the Facebook Newsfeed in another post, but here’s how in Messenger.
As an example, I recently received this unsolicited message from Amnesty International. I’m hoping they won’t mind me reproducing it here, because it’s increasing the reach for a start. But seriously, why did they choose me?
To find out, I held down on their icon in my messenger window (on my phone obvs), you can also click on the three dots to the right of the name to see four options.
It’s pretty self explanatory from there really, but in case you’re confused:
Hide ad – basically deletes the ad forevermore. Don’t worry though, a different one pops up the next time you open the app! So, lesson learned there, don’t hide ads, if you don’t want to see a new one straight away.
Report ad – allows you to explain why you don’t want to see the ad. This is probably the most important one as it will help the platform to put you in the right box, demographically speaking. You can’t really complain that you keep seeing useless ads if you don’t do anything about it.
Why am I seeing this? – takes you to a webpage that gives the details of the target audience that you are an unwitting part of
What are messenger ads? – takes you to the Messenger Help Centre where several other questions are also answered
Transparent enough for you? They are at least trying.
Love it or hate it, marketing moves to where the market is. At the moment, that’s messaging platforms. While many people, me included, are trying to ween themselves off of the endless scrolling through social media feeds we all need to be contactable.
Whether you’re running campaigns directly through Messenger, or using an Automated Messaging System (AMS/chatbot) like Chatfuel or ManyChat to send opt-in campaigns (arguably more ethical) you could definitely see an upturn in open and click rates from your usual email campaigns. We talked about whether your business might need a Chatbot in a previous blog. Remember how they took over from snailmail?
The beauty of Intelligent Messaging using an AMS is that you can gather all kinds of other general data about the location, age etc to create lookalike audiences for ads elsewhere.
And who knows what will happen with the upcoming integration of WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. Exciting times ahead!
Get in touch now to find out how to integrate Messenger Marketing into your overall social media strategy. Don’t wait until this latest trend goes the way of mass mailshots!