No more Sponsored Messages?
The Marketing API v20.0 release was mostly a bunch of minor updates. But, one announcement stood out…
Discontinuation of Sponsored Messages Ad Type creation in Marketing API. As of today, the creation of the Sponsored Messages ad type will no longer be available in Marketing API v20.0 and ad creation support for this ad type from previous versions of the API will end after 90 days.
This announcement is just for the API, but I assume Meta will remove this from Ads Manager as well (it’s still there, for now).
About the Ad Type
This feature goes back to at least 2017, if not earlier (that’s the earliest blog post I wrote that mentioned it).
To set one up, use the Engagement objective and Messaging Apps conversion location.
It allows you to send ads straight to people’s DM inbox (which means that this is your only placement).
You can only reach people who recently messaged your page, which makes this a very restrictive feature.
An Awkward Fit
The restrictive nature of Sponsored Messages makes it inconsistent with the present and future of Meta advertising, which trends toward broad and expanded audiences. It makes far less sense in the current environment.
Assuming this feature goes away, you’ll still be able to run Click to Message ads and use Messenger as an ad placement.
You just won’t be able to craft promote DM’s that appear in engaged users’ inboxes.
Do you run Sponsored Messages?
