Creating a Meta Engagement Ad to Drive Conversations
Overview
You can create Meta ads designed to start conversations with potential customers. These ads, often called Click-to-Message or Click-to-Direct ads, direct users to message your business through selected messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct, or WhatsApp. This guide details how to set up an engagement campaign with messaging apps as the conversion location.
Creating the Ad Campaign
Step 1: Access Ad Manager
Navigate to your sub-account within the CRM. Go to Marketing and select Ad Manager. Click the button to create a new campaign, choose Facebook Campaign, and select the option to start from scratch.
Step 2: Select Your Facebook Page and Instagram Account
Choose the Facebook Page you want to represent your business for this ad. You can then select an Instagram account that is connected to this Facebook Page to run the ad on Instagram. If no Instagram account is connected, the ad will not be eligible to use Instagram Direct as a messaging option.
Step 3: Choose the Ad Objective
Select Engagement as your campaign objective. The conversion location will automatically be set to Messaging Apps, and the performance goal will be set to Maximize number of conversations.
Step 4: Choose Messaging Apps for Conversations
In the Messaging Apps section, select the platforms where you want to receive messages.
- Facebook Messenger: Always available.
- Instagram Direct: Only active if your selected Facebook Page has a connected Instagram account.
- WhatsApp: Only available as an option if you have added WhatsApp numbers to the Facebook Page selected for the campaign.
What happens if a messaging app is not selected?
- If all three apps are available and selected, Meta's algorithm will decide the best app to show the user.
- If only Messenger and Instagram Direct are available (WhatsApp is not), users can message via those two platforms.
- If only WhatsApp is available, the ad will only direct users to WhatsApp and will not run on Messenger or Instagram.
- If only one app is available and selected, the ad may show across platforms but users can only contact you via that single app.
- If no messaging apps are available, you cannot create an ad under this objective and may need to choose another, like Traffic or Leads.
Step 5: Create or Use a Conversation Form
You can create a new conversation form or select a pre-existing one. This form defines the automated greeting and initial questions users see when they click your ad and start a message.
Step 6: Select Ad Placements
You can choose Automatic Placements (recommended), allowing Meta to place your ad where it performs best. Alternatively, choose Manual Placements to select specific locations like Facebook Feed, Instagram Stories, and others.
Step 7: Build Your Ad Creative
Choose an ad format, such as a single image/video or a carousel. Write compelling ad copy with a clear call-to-action. For the CTA button, select Send Message. If you've selected multiple messaging apps, Meta will optimize which platform to suggest to the user.
Step 8: Set Budget and Schedule
Set either a daily or lifetime budget for your campaign. You can also define a specific start and end date for the ad schedule.
Step 9: Define Your Target Audience
Configure your target audience based on location, demographics, and interests. You can use Custom Audiences to reach existing contacts or Lookalike Audiences to find new users similar to your best customers.
Step 10: Review and Publish
Carefully review all your campaign settings, including budget, audience, and ad creative. Once confirmed, click the button to publish your ad. You can monitor its performance in your Ad Manager statistics.
Tracking and Optimization
After publishing, use Meta's tracking tools like the Meta Pixel to monitor user interactions. For more detailed conversation tracking, you can set up a Conversions API (CAPI) action. To improve performance, test different ad creatives, audiences, and adjust your budget or placements based on the results.