Facebook (NASDAQ:$FB) has just announced that it will be featuring ads onto the homescreen of its Messenger app. The news followed what was most likely a successful run of the limited beta version of this type of advertising in Thailand and Australia. According to VentureBeat, these ads will be in place before the end of this year — and like the ads seen on Facebook and Instagram (owned by Facebook), they will be specifically targeted to the user.
Besides this feature, businesses on Messenger can now also send sponsored messages to those who have messaged their business before. While ads aren’t everything, it is the main source of our profit currently, Messenger head of product Stan Chudnovsky said to VentureBeat. The business models developers are currently exploring are all centred around ads one way or another, Chudnovsky noted.
The implementation of the home screen ads will begin slowly, Chudnovsky said. The main reason for this is to ensure that users can see the ads and that data and user feedback can be collected before Facebook fully commits to this type of advertisement.
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