Ads are Introduced to Facebook Messenger

In 2011 Facebook released the first version of the Facebook Messenger App. As with most new social platforms, some people loved the new offering and others hated it. However, as time went on, the Messenger App became the only option for Facebook users as Facebook removed the option to message directly from the Facebook app.

Now, roughly six years later, Facebook is doing the inevitable and introducing ads to the Messenger app.

Ads will be displayed in a “sponsored” section which will be added to the same window that shows which of your friends is active on the app. At least in the beginning stages, Facebook has assured users that the ads will not appear in a conversation; unless of course a user activates the “ad experience” or starts a conversation with a sponsored brand.

Similar to most new advertising opportunities, Facebook is rolling out the platform piece by piece in order to control any issues should they come up.

Advertisements are currently active on the Messenger app in Australia and Thailand.

As predictable as this change was, consumers aren’t too happy about it. However, once the dust settles and advertisements in the app become old news, I am willing to bet that business will go on as usual.