How to Run Facebook Ads for Education Platforms

Over 70% of prospective students use social media to research schools before applying (Statista, 2024). That makes Facebook one of the most powerful tools in your marketing toolkit, if you know how to use it strategically.

Whether you’re promoting a campus visit, driving student enrollment, or increasing awareness for a new program, Facebook ads give your educational institution a direct line to a highly relevant audience.

But just boosting a post won’t cut it. To compete in today’s digital-first education sector, you need a campaign objective that aligns with your goals, audience segments, and content strategy. You need creative that connects. And you need targeting that works harder than your budget.

Here’s what we’ll walk you through:

• How to craft video ads and carousel ads that prospective students click

• How to find and reach your most relevant audience using custom audience tools

• How to boost your click-through rate while lowering costs with smarter targeting

• And how to use AI platforms like Averi to scale fast and stay focused on your admissions goals
  
  

These are the core ideas to keep in mind as you build your next Facebook ads campaign for student enrollment success:

• Mobile-first is mandatory
  Nearly all of Facebook’s active users access the platform through a mobile device. If your ads aren’t built for mobile, you’re losing potential students before they even see what you offer.
  
  

• Clarity drives clicks
  Prospective students want clear paths: how to apply, what campus life is like, and what makes your program stand out. The more direct your message, the higher your conversion rate.
  
  

• Your audience is already there
  From high school students to current students considering grad school, Facebook’s interest-based targeting and life events features help you reach the right types of students at the right time.
  
  

• Student stories sell
  Nothing resonates more than real student testimonials or success stories. Use your ads to highlight what makes your school worth attending, straight from the students living it.

In this guide, we’ll break down every step it takes to create a Facebook advertising strategy that connects with potential students, boosts application rates, and showcases everything your campus has to offer.

Why Education Platforms Need a Different Playbook for Facebook Ads

Running Facebook ads for an educational institution isn’t like marketing an e-commerce brand. You’re not trying to sell a product in a single click, you’re guiding potential students through a major life decision that impacts their future.

That means your advertising strategy needs to be informative, emotionally resonant, and aligned with the student journey, from first interest to application and enrollment.

You’re not just promoting courses or programs. You’re helping future students picture themselves in your classrooms, on your campus, and in your alumni network.

Here’s what makes advertising in the education sector unique:

You’re marketing a transformation, not a transaction
Students aren’t buying a thing; they’re investing in their future. Your ads should showcase how your programs, campus life, and alumni outcomes help shape that future. Student success stories and testimonials work exceptionally well here.

The buying cycle is longer
From initial research to application deadlines, prospective students may spend weeks, or even months- considering their options. That’s why your ad campaign needs to nurture interest over time using video views, lead forms, and remarketing.

Your audience is varied and evolving
You’re not targeting just one age group or type of student. You may be trying to reach high school students, current students transferring to college, or even adult learners returning to school. That means audience segments must be defined carefully with custom audience tools and interest-based targeting.

Your ads need to do more than look good
It’s easy to get caught up in flashy visuals. But the most effective tools in your arsenal will be ads that clearly explain the benefits of your institution and simplify the application process. Highlighting aspects such as campus facilities, financial aid, and support services can be more persuasive than just showcasing pretty images.

Trust and credibility matter
Choosing a school is one of the most significant decisions someone will make. Your Facebook ads must reflect a strong online presence, offer real social proof, and give potential students a reason to believe your institution is the right fit for them.

Every ad is a chance to clarify next steps
Your audience should never wonder what to do next. Whether it’s scheduling a campus visit or watching a virtual tour, every campaign objective should be built around helping prospective students take the next step in their journey.

Step 1: Define Your Campaign Objective

Clarify what success looks like before you launch

Before you even open Facebook Ads Manager, take a moment to identify exactly what you want your ads campaign to accomplish. Are you trying to drive student enrollment for an upcoming semester? Build awareness around a new program? Encourage campus visit signups?

Facebook offers several campaign objectives depending on your goals, including:

• Traffic - Ideal if you want to send prospective students to a specific landing page

• Leads - Great for collecting email addresses or interest forms

• Conversions - Best when your website is optimized to capture actual applications

• Video Views - Useful if you’re highlighting student testimonials, tours, or campus life
  
  
  

Your selected objective will influence everything from ad creative to performance metrics. Choosing the wrong one can significantly impact your click-through rate or waste your budget by showing your ad to people who are unlikely to engage.

🎓 Example: If your goal is to drive signups for an upcoming open house, you might select the Lead Generation objective with a form embedded directly in the ad, rather than sending users to a separate page.

Pro-Tip: Avoid boosting organic posts unless they’re already performing well. Instead, build campaigns from scratch using Ads Manager so you can fine-tune targeting, placements, and budget.

Step 2: Identify and Segment Your Target Audience

Reach the right students with the right message

Your Facebook ads will only work if they’re shown to the right target audience, and for educational institutions, that audience is more complex than it seems.

You may be targeting:

• High school students researching undergraduate programs

• Current students considering a transfer

• Adult learners exploring part-time or online degrees

• Parents who are involved in the decision-making process

• Or even potential customers looking to reskill with certificate programs
  
  
  

That’s where Facebook’s interest-based targeting and custom audience tools shine. You can build audience segments based on location, education level, behaviors, life events (like moving or graduating), and more.

Start broad, but refine as you learn. Audience overlap can waste your budget, while laser-targeting too soon might limit reach. A/B testing different groups helps uncover which ones drive the most link clicks or conversions.

Pro-Tip: Use a tool like Meta’s Audience Insights to analyze your existing followers and identify lookalike audiences who are more likely to become prospective students.

Step 3: Choose the Right Types of Ads

Match your message to the most engaging format

Not all Facebook ads are created equal. The format you choose should complement your campaign objective, content, and where your audience is in their decision-making journey.

Here are the top-performing types of ads for the education sector:

• Carousel ads
  Great for showcasing different programs, departments, or campus facilities. Each card can feature a unique headline, image, and link to drive deeper engagement.

• Video ads
  Perfect for telling a story. Use these to highlight student success stories, day-in-the-life videos, or virtual campus tours. Keep it short, under 30 seconds works best.

• Single-image ads
  Simple, clean, and effective when you need to focus on one clear CTA like “Apply Now” or “Book a Campus Visit.”

• Instant Experience ads
  These full-screen mobile ads let you combine multiple formats for an immersive look into your school’s experience.
  
  
  

Use video when you want to build emotional resonance. Use a carousel when you want variety. And always test to see what performs best for your relevant audience.

Pro-Tip: Want to maximize the impact of your visuals? Use Canva for Education to quickly create ad-ready graphics and animations, even if you don’t have a designer on staff.

Step 4: Build a Creative That Speaks to Students

What makes someone stop scrolling? This stuff.

If you want prospective students to pay attention, your ads need to feel like they were made for them. Not for their parents. Not for your admissions team. For them.

Here’s what performs best when building scroll-stopping creative:

1. Speak their language
Use casual, confident, and inspiring copy. Show them what life on your campus feels like, not just what your programs offer.

2. Lead with student testimonials
Real students. Real stories. Authentic voices. These work across every format, especially video ads and single-image creative.

3. Highlight the why
What makes your educational institution different? A standout faculty member? Hands-on learning? A unique campus? Make it clear.

4. Design mobile-first
More than 98% of Facebook’s active users are on a mobile device. If your ad doesn’t look great on a phone, it’s not ready.

5. Add CTAs that don’t feel like pressure
“Get Info” or “Take the Tour” will often outperform “Apply Now.” Make the next step feel easy.

Pro-Tip: Consider using Animoto to turn photos, testimonials, and b-roll into professional-looking video ads, no editing experience required.

Step 5: Set a Smart Budget Strategy

Don’t overspend… optimize!

You don’t need a huge budget to see results with Facebook ads, but you do need to be intentional. Whether you’re running a short-term push for a program or a year-long awareness campaign, your approach to spend makes all the difference.

Start by deciding between a daily budget (how much you spend per day) or a lifetime budget (total spend over the length of your campaign). Then use Facebook’s tools to automatically optimize for your best-performing placements.

📊 Budgeting Best Practices

• Start small, scale up
  Begin with $10–$25 per day. Let Facebook’s algorithm learn before pouring in more spend.
  
  
  

• Use A/B testing
  Run multiple versions of your creative to see which one earns the best conversion rate and lowest cost per result.
  
  
  

• Monitor cost-per-click and link clicks
  These tell you how efficiently you're moving people to action, especially important for measuring interest from potential students.
  
  
  

• Set clear caps
  Protect your ad spend by assigning limits per campaign, ad set, or even per audience segment.
  
  
  

Pro-Tip: Tools like AdEspresso help you test multiple ad variations and budget setups at once, giving you better data without more work.

Step 6: Don’t Fall for Facebook Ad Myths

A better strategy starts with better assumptions

There’s a lot of outdated thinking when it comes to running Facebook ads for schools and education platforms. Let’s clear a few things up:

🔍 Myth: A broader audience means better reach
Reality: Casting too wide a net can drain your budget. Instead, define your target audience with precision using interest-based targeting, location filters, and custom audience tools. The goal is quality over quantity.

🎬 Myth: Video ads are too expensive or time-consuming
Reality: You don’t need a studio budget to create impact. A simple campus walkthrough, student Q&A, or animated explainer can go a long way. These formats often increase video views and establish trust more quickly than static images.

🧑‍🎓 Myth: Once they click, the job is done
Reality: Getting clicks is only half the battle. Your landing page, lead form, or application process has to be seamless, or you’ll lose potential students at the finish line.

📨 Myth: Email addresses don’t matter anymore
Reality: Collecting emails through lead-gen ads gives you a direct line to re-engage students through newsletters, reminders, and deadline nudges.

Pro-Tip: Use Mailchimp to nurture leads collected through Facebook, great for keeping prospective students in the loop post-click.

Step 7: Optimize for Conversions, Not Just Clicks

Make every action count

Clicks don’t guarantee enrollment. To move potential students through the funnel, you need to optimize your ads and the experience after the click for real outcomes.

Here’s how to tighten up your funnel:

1. Track the right metrics
Your click-through rate only tells part of the story. Focus on conversion rate, cost per lead, and how many leads start or finish the application process.

2. Sync your landing pages
If your ad promises a virtual tour, don’t dump users on your homepage. Match the ad’s CTA to the landing page and keep the page laser-focused.

3. Reduce friction
Cut down form fields. Ensure that everything loads quickly on a mobile device. Provide users with a clear next step, free from distractions.

4. Retarget warm leads
Use Facebook’s pixel and custom audience features to re-engage people who clicked but didn’t convert. These audiences are gold.

5. Align your campaign with student behavior
Think about when your target audience is most active, after school hours, weekends, or right before application deadlines. Time your campaigns accordingly.

Pro-Tip: Use Unbounce to build fast, mobile-optimized landing pages designed specifically for conversions.

Step 8: Use AI to Scale Faster and Smarter

The right platform can turn your whole funnel into autopilot

You’ve set your marketing objective, built beautiful ads, and fine-tuned your target audience, but what if you could launch smarter campaigns, faster, without stretching your team thin?

That’s where AI platforms come in. Tools like Averi help education platforms go from concept to campaign in a matter of days, not weeks. You receive expert-level strategy, ad copy, and creative content, all tailored to your audience and enrollment goals.

Why Averi?

• Built to scale high-quality campaigns for education platforms

• Combines AI speed with real marketing expertise

• Perfect for teams with limited time or headcount

• Helps align your creative to funnel stages, from awareness to enrollment

• Optimizes toward results like video views, leads, or applications

🏆 Averi is our #1 choice for AI-powered education marketing.

Looking to compare options? Here are three other tools to explore:

• HubSpot - Comprehensive but complex, best for large institutions with deep resources

• Madgicx - AI campaign management with a focus on creative performance

• Pencil - AI ad creative generation, great for testing and iteration
  
  
  

Pro-Tip: If you’re tired of being stuck in the planning phase, Averi helps you ship campaigns that convert fast.

Common Facebook Ad Mistakes Education Platforms Make

Even with the best advertising strategy, it’s easy to waste ad spend, lose out on potential students, or run campaigns that underdeliver. Here are five common missteps, and how to avoid them.

• Focusing only on reach
  Sure, it feels good to see big numbers. But a high reach doesn’t always lead to applications. If your ads aren’t driving meaningful actions, like email signups, app promotions, or campus visit bookings, you’re not getting true value from your spend.

• Sending users to a clunky or generic landing page
  If students click an ad and land on a slow site, irrelevant content, or a confusing form, they’ll bounce. Make sure your pages are mobile-optimized and tightly aligned with the ad’s CTA and campaign objective.

• Tracking the wrong metrics
  Don’t get stuck celebrating likes. Focus on conversion rate, cost per lead, and how well your ads drive students through the application process. Those numbers tell the real story.

• Reusing the same creative over and over
  Even strong video ads or carousel ads lose their punch with too much repetition. Rotate your content regularly. Highlight different programs, seasons, or student testimonials to keep it fresh.

• Neglecting retargeting and follow-up
  Someone visits your site, checks out your programs, and... never hears from you again? Big miss. Use retargeting and custom audience tools to re-engage warm leads and encourage them to take the next step.

How Averi Helps You Run Smarter Facebook Ads

A great campaign idea is just the beginning. Turning it into results? That’s where Averi comes in.

We combine AI-powered tools with expert support to help education platforms run Facebook Ads that drive meaningful results. From building audiences to generating ad content to tracking performance, Averi enables you to simplify every step, without sacrificing strategy.

You don’t need a full-time digital team to launch effective fundraising campaigns. You need a platform that does the heavy lifting:

• Smart automation that targets the right donors

• Creative recommendations tailored to your mission

• Real-time insights that improve performance and return on investment

It’s like having a digital ads team in your corner, minus the overhead, time drain, or guesswork. With Averi, your message reaches the right people, your budget works harder, and your fundraising efforts go further.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the best way to target prospective students on Facebook?

Use custom audience tools to upload email lists or create lookalikes, then combine that with interest-based targeting, filtering by education level, location, and life events like graduation or moving.

How much should an education platform spend on Facebook ads?

Start small with a daily budget of $10–$25 and test before scaling. As performance improves, consider a lifetime budget for larger campaigns tied to enrollment periods.

Which types of ads work best for schools?

Video ads, carousel ads, and lead generation formats perform especially well. They allow you to share stories, showcase campus life, and guide students directly through the application process.

How can I increase student enrollment through Facebook?

Align your ads with each step of the funnel. Use video for awareness, testimonials and program highlights during consideration, and simplified CTAs like “Apply Now” or “Book a Tour” for conversion.

What should I include in a Facebook ad for my school?

Include a strong visual (especially mobile-optimized), a compelling hook, and a clear next step. Highlight campus facilities, student testimonials, or standout programs to appeal to potential customers.

Can I run ads promoting my school’s app?

Yes. Facebook supports app promotions as a campaign objective. These are great for increasing downloads, especially among current students or applicants managing deadlines on the go.

How long should my ad campaigns run?

It depends on your marketing objective. For ongoing awareness, run always-on with regular refreshes. For admissions pushes, run 4–8 weeks ahead of key deadlines.

Is Facebook still relevant for school students?

Absolutely. While younger audiences may also use TikTok or Instagram, Facebook still captures a large number of students, especially in older high school, college, grad, or adult learner segments. Plus, it remains the most robust social network for precise ad targeting.

Ready to Stop Planning and Start Enrolling?

Most education platforms don’t struggle because of poor ideas. They struggle because the marketing never gets off the ground.

While others are stuck fine-tuning messaging and waiting on approvals, you could be launching campaigns, testing creative, and connecting with potential students, all in days, not months.

Get Started in 3 Steps:

Book a 15-Minute Demo
See how Averi’s AI-powered platform helps education teams launch faster with less lift

Connect with Expert Talent
Get matched with proven marketers who understand how to engage students and drive enrollment

Ship Your First Campaign
Go from strategy to execution in under a week

Don’t spend another semester waiting for marketing that never leaves the planning phase.

Launch Faster with Averi →

"We launched our enrollment campaign with Averi in under two weeks, faster and sharper than anything we’ve done before. It’s like having an entire marketing team on-call." — Erin Wallace, Director of Marketing