It’s a question I wish more small business owners would ask before being lured in by Meta’s ‘Boost Post’ button and all its promises of delivering more reach and impressions.
So, thank you for clicking on this post.
Whether you’ve arrived here after having experimented with ads or you’re considering running them for the first time, you’re in the right place.
We’re about to look at when Facebook ads will help your school’s growth, when they might harm it, and what you need to do before you even think about putting money into Meta.
Are Facebook ads a good idea for education businesses?
There’s no doubt that social media ads can be a great way to promote your education business. They are almost guaranteed to boost your reach and impressions, which can help raise brand awareness, attract new followers and maybe even increase sales.
Note the can and maybe in that sentence…
Increased visibility only translates into tangible results if you’ve planned the entire journey – from the moment a potential student sees your ad through to the moment they enquire.
Selling educational programmes isn’t as straightforward as selling a product. It takes time to earn a student or parent’s trust to the point where they’ll consider learning with you.
That’s why boosted posts rarely lead to sales and ads promoting a new course to a cold audience are extremely unlikely to work.
Your audience needs to go through certain steps before they’re ready to reach out. Ads might be part of that process, but they don’t allow you to skip it.
Case in point: 62% of small businesses fail to see results from their ads.
That’s a whole lot of money down the drain.
So when is the right time to invest in social media ads?
Ads are great for amplifying what already works. So, before you even consider investing in them, you should make sure your organic marketing channels are performing.
That usually means:
- A website or landing page that converts at least 3% of visitors
- A lead magnet that you know is popular with your target audience
- An optimised social media profile that clearly says what you do
Unless your content is already hitting these benchmarks, ads will probably just highlight the cracks in your strategy.
So what should you do if you’re not ready to run ads?
The good news is there’s plenty you can do to increase your programme bookings without handing your marketing budget over to Mark Zuckerberg and hoping for the best.
Let’s start by looking at what you were hoping to achieve by running them.
IF YOU WANT TO INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS
Refine your top-of-funnel messaging:
Work on your website visibility: Known as SEO in marketing jargon. People are searching for language courses, maths tuition, sports clubs and kids activity groups every day. On Google, on ChatGPT, on Claude – you name it. Optimising your webpages to show up in these results gives you more affordable, reliable, long-term results than any ad.
Start a blog: Definitely more of a commitment than some of the other options, but also definitely worth it. A blog can get you in front of a warmer audience by answering the questions they’re typing into search engines.
Go on guest podcasts: Partnering with businesses who work with a similar audience to you can be a much more effective way of reaching the right people, raising awareness and earning trust.
Start a new social media platform: I don’t usually suggest starting multiple social media channels. But if you’re established on, say Instagram, then perhaps you could repurpose your content for LinkedIn? Look at where your ideal clients are hanging out, and assess whether it’s worth joining them over there.
IF YOU WANT TO INCREASE ENQUIRIES
Refine your messaging: If you’re struggling to get results from your marketing, more visibility won’t help. But a stronger, clearer message will. Compare your market research insights to your current content and explore how you can align the two more closely.
I talk about this in more detail in this post, but I can also support you with my done-for-you website messaging services.
Edit your website copy: Once you’ve reviewed your core message, edit your website to make sure it’s clear what you do, who you serve and why someone should choose your school over the competition.
Review your content strategy: The sales process takes time. Make sure your organic content features a good mix of posts that cover the student journey – from the problem you solve to misconceptions to demonstrating your results.
IF YOU WANT TO GROW YOUR EMAIL LIST
Add links to your website: Sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many people forget to do this. Link to your email list via a pop up, from your blog posts, on your homepage, in your website footer and even your contact page (after the enquiry form, of course).
Test a lead magnet: Created a resource? Share it with your existing audience through social media, your website or your emails to assess how popular it is before putting money behind it.
📖 Here are 18 lead magnet ideas education and activity businesses might want to try.
Show your emails off: Share snippets of your best emails or teasers of what’s coming along with a link to subscribe. You can also post subscriber feedback that shows how much people love what you write.
Long story short? There are heaps of paths you can take before going down the paid ads route. Start here, and you’ll thank yourself later!
Not sure which one to take first? I created a quiz for that! Answer 10 quick questions, and I’ll tell you exactly what to focus on next.
When you’ve got your organic marketing sorted?
Then it may be the perfect time to look into ads. But still, I would get crystal clear on your goals.
I’m no ads expert (just ask me about the time I spent the school’s entire monthly ads budget in one day in my first marketing job).
But I do know this:
- You need to know why you’re doing it.
Brand awareness? More email subscribers? Free trial bookings? Get clear on your goal and then even clearer on why ads are the answer.
- You probably want to seek expert support.
I’m all for DIYing your way through the early stages of marketing your school. Particularly when there’s little at stake. But when you’re investing in something like this, it’s worth seeking advice from someone who knows the platforms, understands the targeting and can advise you on how much money to put in.
- You should set clear success markers.
If you want more subscribers, decide how many. If you want to increase awareness, define what that means. If you want more trial bookings, how many do you need to convert?
A campaign can only be successful if you know what you’re measuring.
Facebook ads are not right for every school.
And they’re definitely not the magic fix they might appear to be.
A clear message beats a big ad budget every single time. Understand who you’re speaking to, what they need to hear and why they should choose you, and you won’t need to think about boosting a post again.
If you’re not sure where to start with that? Take this quiz, and I’ll tell you.
Or, if you just want someone to take it all off your plate, ask me about my website and sales page copywriting services. I’ll take care of the research, build out your messaging strategy and write your copy for you, so your site (or sales page) does the selling for you.
