It is one more way to get in touch with your customers directly. But it’s a way that will help you skip several steps of your sales funnel. Using Facebook’s messenger ads you can directly have people added to your qualifying prospects instead of having to sort them later from the funnel. This is because with messenger ads, your prospective customers can be directly in touch with you. This is somewhat similar to LinkedIn’s In-mail service where you can directly contact customers.

Facebook statistics say that almost 2 billion messages are sent between individuals and businesses each month. 53% people are more likely to buy from businesses they can message directly and 56% people are inclined to message a business instead of calling for customer care needs. These statistics make Facebook messenger ads lucrative for most businesses.

There are three main kinds of messenger ads on Facebook which are discussed below along with the ways in which one can leverage them for acquiring customers:

1. Destination ads: These ads are similar to display ads on Facebook. However, instead of being displayed in your feed or in the sidebars, these ads are available right in the inbox and can be directly clicked on. Also, when clicked, these ads do not take the customer to a landing page. Instead they take the customer to a conversation where the customer can directly talk to the business owner or executive. This happens through the “Send message” button on the ad. A customer clicking on that button is sure to be interested in at least knowing about and in many cases purchasing the product.
2. Messenger home placement ads: These ads are placed directly in the home section of the messenger inbox. The user must accept this invitation and then the business can initiate a conversation with the user. These ads appear in the messaging app. When selecting this ad strategy the business must select on the home section when selecting placement of the ad. The strategy to be used here is the same as destination ads, wherein the business tries to generate a conversation with the customer instead of directly trying to close a sale.
3. Sponsored messages: These messages are sent straight to the inbox of the user but these can’t be just any Facebook user. The business can send sponsored messages once the user starts a conversation thread with the business. These messages are similar to lead magnets as the customers reached through this option are already brand aware i.e. they know your brand. Hence, you can send them offers and promotions for direct sales. This step must mostly be followed up after destination or messenger home placement ads.

This is a great new addition to digital marketing and a great way to reach out to customers. Considering the fact that most customers today want to message instead of calling, creating a conversation thread with the customers gets you close and personal with them. Any new methodology offers potential risk, hence, it is best to start with destination ads.