Social media advertising has become an essential tool for independent schools looking to boost enrollment and engage with prospective families. As the leading digital marketing agency for independent schools, Enroll Media Group works with over 100 day and boarding schools across the US. Because of this, we were able to analyze dozens of Meta ad campaigns from the past year to identify ads that consistently deliver impressive results. This data-driven approach reveals what works when it comes to Facebook and Instagram Ads. Here’s what we found. 

Photos of the Campus and Signs have High Engagement

When it comes to visual content, our analysis reveals some fascinating patterns about what captures audience attention. The most successful school advertisements consistently feature specific types of campus images.

At a day school in Connecticut, the top-performing advertisement featured students gathered in front of the school sign. This simple yet effective approach outperformed five other creative concepts tested during the same period. 

Similarly, a boarding school in Tennessee found its most successful advertisement featured students with the school logo prominently projected in the background. This reinforcement of visual branding significantly outperformed classroom scenes, teacher-student interactions, and even athletic images.

Another boarding school sealed the deal for this theory when they posted an ad of students in front of a school sign. The post got more engagement, likes, and shares than any other ad in the previous months. The key takeaway? Images that clearly represent your school's identity or name with students create more engagement online.

The pattern continues with other day and boarding schools that featured the school sign or logo in images, or outdoor campus shots with uniforms or school apparel. A boarding school in Maryland found that outdoor campus photos significantly outperformed other visual concepts. Their top ad showcased students walking together on campus grounds, creating an authentic glimpse into daily student life while highlighting the school's physical environment. The higher impressions and engagement proved to be a natural and effective way to showcase the institution's identity while reinforcing brand recognition.

Meaningful Interactions Between Students, Faculty, and Administration Can Boost Awareness

Beyond physical spaces and branding, advertisements that showcase meaningful human interactions also performed exceptionally well. A day school in California discovered that their most successful open house advertisement featured an older student reading to younger students. This powerful image highlighting mentorship and cross-grade engagement resonated deeply with prospective families, outperforming traditional classroom settings and outdoor scenes.

The common thread across other successful school advertisements is their ability to visually communicate the school's values and community atmosphere. Whether through images of campus, meaningful student interactions, or clear branding, effective ads give families an authentic glimpse into what makes your school special. 

Retargeting on Meta has a Higher ROI than Behavioral Targeting Alone

Campaign structure and targeting strategies play a crucial role in advertising success, too.  Data from multiple independent K12 schools proved the power of retargeting campaigns versus just behavioral targeting. In fact, most retargeting campaigns had twice as much engagement (likes, clicks, shares, comments) as ads reaching out to new audiences based on demographic targeting and often paid less per impression. For example, a day school in CT focused on campus tours via retargeting, and those ads delivered visitors at a 30% lower cost compared to behavioral targeting alone for the same concept ($0.57 vs. $0.74 per user). This demonstrates how reconnecting with people who have already shown interest in your school (aka retargeting them) can dramatically improve your marketing efficiency.

Giving Families Options to Visit Beyond the Open House can Improve Conversions

Schools with calls to action to register for events or get started online proved to be worthwhile. A private school in Florida found that promoting virtual information sessions delivered remarkable efficiency. Their virtual info session campaign achieved a cost per result of just $0.31, compared to an average of $0.68 for their in-person open house events. That's a 55% lower cost per visitor for virtual events compared with in-person open houses. 

Other schools saw similar results when promoting events in various formats such as info sessions and virtual coffee chats with admissions. This suggests that offering and promoting virtual engagement opportunities can be a cost-effective approach to reaching prospective families who might not otherwise attend in-person events due to scheduling conflicts, distance, or other limitations. By marketing various events, schools can give parents options so they can convert when it’s right for them, making the most of those social media advertising impressions.

Final Takeaways for School Social Media Ads

Based on these insights, here are six actionable strategies to enhance your school's social media advertising: 

• Incorporate clear school branding: Ensure your school name, logo, or signage appears in your images when possible, with students.
• Feature your campus prominently: Include outdoor scenes that showcase your grounds and facilities with students.
• Highlight authentic student interactions: Show cross-grade mentorship, collaborative learning, and genuine community moments.
• Implement retargeting campaigns: Reconnect with website visitors who have already shown interest in your school.
• Offer and promote multiple events: Consider adding virtual information sessions and other events to complement traditional open houses to give busy families a reason to engage and convert online.
• Test multiple creative concepts: Follow the example of these schools by testing various image types to discover what resonates with your specific audience.

Remember that effective social media advertising isn't just about impressions, likes, comments, and clicks.  Other important metrics should align with your enrollment goals—whether that's open house registrations, campus tour sign-ups, or application submissions. By analyzing conversion performance data, you can continually refine your approach based on what actually works for your unique institution and community. 

Do you need help running your school's next advertising campaign on social media?   Enroll Media Group is here to help—connect with us today.