Ads that Click to Messenger

This document provides information on how to create an ad on Facebook, Instagram, or in the Messenger Inbox that will start conversations with people who are interested in your business' products or services, how to get webhook notifications for messages you will receive from these ads, and how to assign a specific app to handle these conversations.

How It Works

When a customer clicks on your ad it starts a conversation in Messenger. You can tailor your ad to send a customer to a specific user experience depending on the action the customer took in your ad.

Your business can use ads that click to Messenger to start conversations at scale and leverage targeting across Meta technologies to find customers relevant to your business. Whether the goal is to generate leads, raise awareness of brands or products, or drive sales, your business can tailor conversations in Messenger to meet your specific needs — driving business outcomes one conversation at a time.

For Lead Ads in Messenger consider using the dedicated Lead Generation Ads in Messenger.

Limitations

Conversations – You will only be able to view the conversation once a person takes action, such as sending a message or clicking a quick reply or CTA, after clicking on the ad. If the person takes no action, no webhooks notifications are sent.
Conversions – Use the Conversions objective when tracking events with a Meta pixel and driving conversions at scale.
Metrics – When using the Engagement objective, a conversion will only be counted after a person takes action, such as sending a message or clicking a quick reply or CTA, after clicking on the ad. Until the customer takes an action, the conversation is visible only to the customer and is not counted.
Webhooks – The webhooks notifications will only contain the customer's message. It will not contain the content from the ad.

Create an Ad

Use the Meta Ads Manager to create an ad that will include the full messaging experience including setting a budget, creating a template, tracking events, adding media and m.me links, and more. Follow the instructions in the Meta Business Help Center to create your ad.

Webhooks Notifications

To get notifications about ads that click to Messenger, you should subscribe to the following webhooks:

messaging_referrals – This webhook will be triggered when a conversation is started via an ad, with the exception of an ad with a postback, Get Started button, or persistent menu
messaging_postbacks – This webhook will be triggered when a conversation is started via an ad with a postback, Get Started button or persistent menu item

The type of webhooks notification triggered for m.me links are dependent on the scenario. New conversations will trigger the messaging_postbacks webhooks notification. Existing conversations will trigger the messaging_referrals webhooks notification.

Handover Protocol

When a person clicks on an ad that redirects the person to a Messenger experience for your business, you can select the specific app that will handle the conversation. By adding the app ID in the message template in the Ads Manager when creating the ad, the app will be assigned the owner for any conversation from an ad that clicks to Messenger.

Set the App ID

In Ads Manager, when creating an ad, in the Message Template > Advanced Setup, click Edit to add the receiving_app_id parameter set to the app ID for the app that will control the conversation.

Example Advanced JSON setup

{
  "receiving_app_id": YOUR-CTM-APP-ID,
  "message": {
      "attachment": {
         ...
      }
  }
}

Learn More

Ad Attribution – You can verify ad attribution by clicking Preview for your ad in the Meta Ads Manager. You can view the ad and when you send a reply, the ad attribution column is updated.
Ads Insights – You can view insights for your ads in the Meta Ads Manager.
App Events API – Use the App Events API to track actions taken by a customer, such as a purchase, and attribute these action to your ads.
Marketing API – Use the Marketing API to create ads and custom audiences programmatically.