Facebook’s aggressive approach to get people to download Messenger in 2011 left many irritated. Even though the access requirements for the app raised many questions, Messenger has grown to 1.2 billion users. It is not surprising that Facebook now wants to put ads in front of those users. Facebook Messenger will be rolling out a beta test this month for display ads in between conversation threads.

The ads currently take up a lot of screen space on the home screen, which might make Messenger not so user-friendly. The ads are not native to the environment like Newsfeed ads, so they feel more like a display ad on a website. During the test, Facebook will serve ads based on how many threads a user has, the size of the phone’s physical screen and the pixel density of the display. Facebook will have to find the right balance of ads in Messenger so it does not ruin the user experience.

What type of reaction do we anticipate from users when ads start to pop up in Messenger? Some will feel that the ads are intrusive among personal messages. We saw a similar reaction when Facebook and Instagram released ads between personal photos of friends and family. However, Newsfeed ads work when there is high relevancy between the user and the ad. If I’m looking for a certain pair of shoes, and are then served an ad for shoes that I can buy right on Messenger through an in-app payment system, am I going to buy them? I probably will, because it simplifies my buyer journey. The success of Messenger ads will be determined by the user experience and relevancy of the ads that are served.

Facebook Messenger ads demo: https://youtu.be/Hsl7OeVIhGU