When Did Messenger Ads Launch for Advertisers?

No Meta page read for this entry gives one launch day for all Messenger ads. The earliest dated one is a developer blog post of 12 September 2016, which says Meta was starting to roll out News Feed ads that open a Messenger chat. Meta’s changelog dates sponsored messages in the Messenger Platform API to 7 November 2017. Today’s Help Center describes ads that click to Messenger and ads in Messenger Stories.

When did ads that open a Messenger chat start?

Meta’s developer blog post of 12 September 2016 says: “we are starting to roll out ads in News Feed that drive people to chat with your bot on Messenger”. It adds that “Advertisers will now be able to select Messenger as a destination under the website clicks objective and use any call-to-action in their ad, including ‘Send Message’, to link to Messenger”.

The post says this capability “is rolling out over the next month”, so 12 September 2016 is the start of a roll-out, not a day every advertiser had it. Meta’s changelog of the same date says: “Messenger Destination Ads are now available under the website clicks objective”.

What did Meta say about Messenger ads in 2017?

Meta’s changelog of 18 April 2017 says: “Bots can now access referral information when users enter via a Messenger Ads.”

On 7 November 2017 the changelog says: “Sending sponsored messages can now be done via the Messenger Platform with a single API request to the /sponsored_message_ads endpoint.” It adds that “Access to the API is already available to many developers, and will roll out to 100% over the next month.”

Meta’s annual reports to the SEC show a related change. The report for fiscal 2016 says marketers’ ads can appear “on Facebook, Instagram, and third-party applications and websites”. The report for fiscal 2017 says “on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and third-party applications and websites”.

Neither report gives a launch day. They show only that the sentence on where ads can appear names Messenger in the second report and not in the first.

What happened to Messenger ads in 2019?

On 29 August 2019 Meta’s developer blog said: “This week, we will begin rolling out our lead generation in Messenger template, first introduced as a beta during our annual developer conference, F8”. It said businesses could use the template in Ads Manager to qualify leads in Messenger.

The same post said: “We’re updating our Standard Messaging window to 24 hours”, with the updated policies taking effect on 15 January 2020. It added: “Beyond 24 hours, developers will be able to utilize message tags and sponsored messages to reach their customers”.

If you inherit an old Messenger flow, check its rules against today’s Help Center.

What is left of these formats today?

• Sponsored messages: Meta’s developer FAQ says they were deprecated on 31 July 2024, and calls them “an ephemeral ad format that appeared in inbox”.
• The messages objective: Meta’s help page says the original 11 objectives were simplified into 6. You now create messages campaigns with traffic, engagement, leads or sales.
• Ads that click to Messenger: Meta says they work with those four objectives. It also says certain messaging-related metrics, ad campaigns and organic messaging features are unavailable for ads delivered to and from Europe and Japan.
• Messenger Stories: Meta says you can create ads for this placement “to increase the reach of your Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories campaigns”. It is included in Meta Advantage+ placements for compatible objectives.

What should you do now?

Choose the objective that matches the outcome you want. For traffic, engagement or sales, Meta’s steps say to select message destinations as your conversion location. For leads, you choose where to start lead conversations. Meta’s insights page says to use the Breakdown: Placement column to see data for each placement, such as reach, results and impressions. For re-engagement beyond sponsored messages, the related entry on sponsored messages covers what Meta’s FAQ says about marketing messages. Do not quote a single launch date unless you can cite the Meta page it comes from.

FAQ

Is there an official launch date for Messenger ads?

Not for all Messenger ads in the Meta pages read for this entry. The earliest dated one is 12 September 2016, when Meta said it was starting to roll out News Feed ads that open a Messenger chat. Sponsored messages in the API are dated 7 November 2017. Cite the page you rely on instead of a single date.

Can I still send sponsored messages?

No. Meta’s developer FAQ says Sponsored Messages was deprecated on 31 July 2024. It describes marketing messages as a different product: paid, persistent and sent outside the standard messaging window. Check Meta’s requirements for marketing messages before you plan a send.

Is there still a messages objective?

Meta’s help page says the original 11 objectives were simplified into 6, and that you now create messages campaigns with traffic, engagement, leads or sales. It also says campaigns on the old objective would keep running until mid-2024, tentatively. Check what Ads Manager shows for your account.