When it comes to digital advertising there are number of options available to international schools, but which ad platform is best for your school?
The truth is… it depends on a number of factors. For most schools, the four main options for digital ads are:
- Paid Social Media Ads – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.
- Search Ads – Predominantly Google, but Bing, Yandex, and Baidu are possibilities.
- Display Ads – Google Display Network, etc.
- Direct Partnerships – International Schools Search Websites, Popular Expat Blogs, etc.
In this article I’ll break down the various ad platforms and outline when your school should use them.
Facebook Ads
A lot of International schools start with Facebook ads, but as a interest based advertising platform, Facebook (Meta) is not suitable for every scenario. With Facebook and other Social Media Platforms, top of funnel ads work well, especially if the ad is linked to a event. This is because social media platforms are primarily entertainment platforms, and for high-involvement services such as a private school, potential families need the extra touchpoints that events offer in order to move them further into the admissions funnel.
Families might check out a school’s social media presence but are unlikely to start their search for a school there.
Pros of Facebook Advertising
- Good for building awareness of your brand and curriculum
- Great for promoting admissions events to local audiences
- Can visually display your school’s main selling points
- Great for promoting materials that display your school’s expertise
Cons of Facebook Advertising
- The ad recipient probably isn’t searching social media for a new school
- Direct to offer ads are less likely to work for high-involvement services
In short, use social media ads for promoting events and raising your school’s profile.
Google Search Ads
By contrast, Google (or any search engine) is an intent based ad platform which matches your school’s ads directly to what someone is searching for. For schools this means that you can buy the ad space above the search results, right when someone is searching for a new school (or even your competitor’s school). The concept is quite simple, an advertiser picks a keyword (or group of keywords) that they want advertise on and then bids against other advertisers. Their ad then has a chance to show when someone enters the keyword into Google.
Google is the most likely place that a prospective family will start their search for a new school.
Pros of Google Search Ads
- Intent based – Searchers are looking for schools
- Highly targeted messaging – Can use direct to offer ad copy
- Low cost per conversion
Cons of Google Search Ads
- Very complex platform with lots of pitfalls
- Not so good for spreading awareness of events
- Competitors can advertise on your branded keywords
Display Ads
Display ads appear on websites and apps across the internet. There are several ad networks, the biggest of which is the Google Display Network. These can be set up via the same interface as Google Search Ads, however, they are very different. For schools, display ads are great for retargeting campaigns that serve follow up ads to recipients that have already interacted with your school’s ads or website. They can also be set up to target specific audiences, including those that Google categorizes as “In Market” for certain services. e.g. International Education. To do this, Google (anonymously) uses its massive amount of search data and info on a user’s previous interactions with ads to create lists of users that are likely actively searching for a product or service.
Pros of Display Ads
- Low cost
- Can target specific groups/websites
- Good for retargeting ads
Cons of Display Ads
- Lower conversion rate than search ads
- Not as targeted as search ads
Direct Partnerships
I often see International Schools purchasing ad space on individual websites, such as locally popular blogs and school search and review sites, often for 1,000’s of dollars a time. It is an old digital advertising model that hasn’t really been relevant for most businesses for years. Having monitored several of these campaigns over the years I can honestly say that these partnerships rarely provide a good return on investment, especially compared to spending the same amount on another ad platform.
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