History has proven that Facebook doesn’t create new products without monetizing them. Take a look at News Feed, Instagram Stories, and Watch. After those features showed their potential, Facebook opened them to advertising. So it’s no surprise that after two years since its release, Facebook finally allows advertisers to serve Facebook ads in Marketplace.
What Will Facebook Ads in Marketplace Look Like?
When you enter Marketplace to purchase that china set you’ve been coveting, you’ll see Facebook ads displayed alongside listings by Facebook users. Those ads will resemble News Feed ads, with the business’ name and the “sponsored” label appearing on top.
You can serve your own Facebook ads to Marketplace by choosing Automatic Placements in Ads Manager. Doing so will allow Facebook to automatically serve ads to Marketplace, as well as News Feed, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network. You can also manually choose Marketplace as a placement option in Manual Placements.
Marketplace: A Brief History
Facebook launched Marketplace in 2016 after noticing the 450 million users using buy-and-sell groups each month. Facebook didn’t allow businesses to sell on Marketplace until 2017, opening the page to select auto dealerships and businesses that offer home services. Eleven months later, Facebook tested Marketplace ads with select advertisers. It’s not until now that Facebook is allowing all businesses to advertise on Marketplace.
Currently, Facebook allows only ads with the traffic, conversions, and product catalog objectives targeting audiences in the US and Canada to appear in Marketplace. But in the next few weeks, ads with the video views and reach objectives targeting audiences in Australia and New Zealand will become eligible for placement.
