With its share of the digital advertising skyrocketing, Facebook Inc. is expanding the reach of its ads.
The social network is running a test in which it delivers video ads on apps that run on set-top boxes like Apple TV and Roku through the rapidly growing ad network it calls Audience Network. Facebook also has begun allowing retailers and other advertisers to pay to promote their Messenger chat bot in users’ news feeds. Messenger is one of Facebook’s messaging apps and a chat bot is interactive software that uses artificial intelligence to simulate human conversation.
With the Audience Network test, Facebook is delivering ads to consumers who watch videos on a few publishers’ apps.
“We are testing how to best deliver video ads through Audience Network to people watching content on connected TVs,” a Facebook spokesman says. “Our goal is to bring relevant ad experiences to people both on Facebook and off.”
In expanding Audience Network to “over the top” video apps, Facebook is taking a significant step to expand the platform’s reach. It currently delivers ads to publishers’ apps and websites on desktop browsers and mobile devices.
The Messenger news builds on Facebook’s Messenger Platform v1.2 update, which enabled a small test group to create news feed ads that drive a consumer to open Messenger when the shopper clicks the ad’s call-to-action button, such as Shop Now or Learn More. Now that option is available to everyone.
“Early adopters have used these news feed ads to open conversations in Messenger in order to raise awareness of their brand campaigns and increase sales,” writes Mikhail Larionov, Facebook technical lead, in a blog post. For example, the vodka brand Absolut recently launched a Messenger bot to drive product samples and used news feed ads to increase traffic to Messenger.
Facebook also is expanding the reach of sponsored messages ads to businesses and developers who use the Facebook’s Send/Receive application program interface. The ads allow a brand to re-engage consumers who have an open, existing conversation with its business.
“Sponsored messages give businesses the ability to send targeted updates, information about promotions, reminders and other relevant messages,” Larionov writes. “The value that people get from 1:1 conversations with the businesses they care about is extended by this ability to consistently engage through customized experiences.”