You’ve heard that Facebook and Instagram Advertising is a great way to reach families online, but producing your first ad feels daunting. Do you boost an existing post? Do you run an ad with text and a single image? Do you need a professionally produced video to get results? Many factors are involved in creating a great ad. Here’s a simple, five-step process to produce a basic slideshow ad. This article does not cover how to run your ad in Facebook Ads Manager. Please visit this guide if you need help in that department. Let’s start creating your ad!

1) Write a One-Liner

If you’ve been following Everydesk, you’re probably tired of hearing that all great marketing starts with a clear message. But I won’t stop preaching! Your school needs to distill your mission statement into one or two sentences that directly speak to families (not donors or staff). The formula is simple:

State the problem your families experience
Describe how your school is the solution
Forecast the results

Here’s an example for the fictional St. Paul Montessori:

“If tuition wasn’t an issue, many families would choose a Montessori school for their children. We’re a public charter Montesorri school allowing families to access the education of their dreams without a paying dime of tuition.”

If you need a more thorough example, watch this tutorial on how to write a clear brand message. Your one-liner will serve as the theme and primary text for your ad.

2) Collect Five Parent Reviews

The second step is to collect five parent reviews or testimonials. Your audience will trust other parents more than your organization. We will lean into this dynamic and use your parents’ reviews to build the script for our ad.

The easiest way to gather this information is by scrolling through your Google & Facebook Reviews. Find five reviews using the following criteria:

The reviews are congruent with your one-liner.
The parent’s names represent the diversity of your student population.
Use three short reviews and two longer reviews.
Choose at least three reviews that highlight the success of your students.
Choose at least one review that highlights the success of your parents.
Choose at least one review that talks about the way the school makes the family feel.

Copy and paste these reviews into a document. If you don’t have Google or Facebook Reviews, then solicit testimonials from parents using a survey. Keep in mind that you don’t have to use the entirety of a testimonial in your ad. Instead, capture the phrases that resonate most with your theme.

3) Choose Six Pictures

The third step is to find six pictures. The first picture will serve as the cover slide, and the remaining five will become backdrops for the reviews. It’s best to couple pictures with specific reviews. For example, if a review states, “Ever since going to this school, my daughter loves to read!”, find a picture of a young woman reading. The pictures should be high quality but don’t need to be from a professional photographer. It’s best to use photos of your students (especially if they are wearing uniforms), but you can substitute stock photos if necessary. Copy and paste your images underneath the corresponding review so that you can see the flow of your ad in your document before building it out in video software.

4) Create a Call to Action Card

The fourth step is to create a call-to-action card that will serve as the final slide in your ad. The call-to-action slide should contain your logo, the action you want your audience to take, and the website or phone number your audience needs in order to complete the action. If you’re unsure what your call-to-action should say, check out this article on creating a strong call-to-action. You can create this card using PowerPoint, Photoshop, Illustrator, or Canva. Save the file as a jpeg or png.

5) Putting Your Ad Together

Now that you have your content organized, you need to build out your ad. The quickest way to produce your ad is to use the “slide-show” feature in Facebook Ads Manager. Simply drop in your seven images (cover image, 5 review images, and CTA card). Next, copy and paste your one-liner onto the cover image. Then copy and paste the parent reviews over their corresponding pictures. Feel free to add background music, but most viewers won’t have the sound on, so I wouldn’t spend too much time or money finding the perfect song.

If you want more control of the production, use software like Vimeo Pro, iMovie, or Premier to create your video. Here are parameters to keep in mind:

Use your school-branded fonts and colors to the best of your ability.
Make sure your audience has enough time to read the text on each slide.
Your ad should be no longer than 60 seconds.

Launch Your Ad!

Congratulations, you have produced your first ad! By repurposing content that most schools already have on hand, you can create a compelling ad for free within a couple of hours. I know for me, I am always encouraged while making these types of ads. Compiling parent reviews and testimonials remind me why schools like yours exist.

If you would like feedback on your ad, please email me at [email protected] and I will be happy to give you feedback.

Sawyer Schafbuch is a StoryBrand Certified Guide and founder of Everydesk, helping quality schools recruit students. He recently moved to Des Moines, IA with his wife and daughter.

5 Steps to Produce a Great Facebook Ad for Your School