Facebook has expanded its Messenger ad offering on user home pages, rolling out the service on a global scale.

After receiving positive feedback from small-scale testing of the ads in Thailand and Australia, the expansion will allow businesses from around the world to place ads on the home screens of Facebook users Messenger app.

When Messenger users click on an ad, they’ll either be redirected to the advertiser’s website or a direct Messenger conversation.

In a B2B context, this new tool will allow marketers to advertise to and communicate with Messenger’s 1.2 billion monthly users and will serve as a platform between customers and businesses, as well as increasing brand awareness and improving customer satisfaction.

The sponsored advertising will be available to all brands over the coming weeks through Facebook’s Ads Manager and Power Editor tools.  

One of the testers of the beta ads in Australia said: “Messenger ads have been a powerful addition to our digital advertising campaigns, helping us reach our customers where they are already active and engaged. And thanks to placement optimisation across Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network and now Messenger, we’re able to continue to optimise our advertising spend and further drive business results.” 

B2B brands can already

engage prospects via direct message conversations

, but this new initiative will allow businesses to target even more users.

Most recently, Facebook has announced that 

slower-loading


webpages


are less likely to appear on a user’s newsfeed

, highlighting the importance of brands spending time continually optimising their website’s UX.