One of the biggest challenges brands face with advertising online education is the rapid onset of ad fatigue. Even the most compelling ads can lose their effectiveness over time.
CHECK OUT OUR 14 PROVEN AD HOOKS FOR ADVERTISING ONLINE EDUCATION
As new hooks and formats emerge all the time thanks to social media platforms, it’s more and more difficult to identify the ones that will consistently resonate with your audience.
But here’s the good news: you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you create a new campaign.
No need to feel pressured to come up with a groundbreaking idea from scratch.
Take a strategic approach by analyzing what’s already working. Spend time scrolling through your Facebook and Instagram feeds, and pay attention to the ads that capture your attention. What made you stop scrolling? Was it the imagery, the messaging, or perhaps the format itself?
Dissect these elements to understand why they work so that you can apply similar techniques to your own campaigns. It’s a time saver and also it increases your chances of finding those winning hooks that will keep your audience engaged and your ads performing at their best.
The Text Conversation Ad Format
With advertising online education, the challenge isn’t just about getting noticed any longer — it’s about grabbing attention in a way that feels natural, engaging, and effective.
Enter the Text Conversation ad format, a subtle yet powerful format that’s changing the way educators connect with their audience.
Starting with a Conversation
The brilliance of the Text Conversation format is its simplicity. It mimics a text message conversation, something we all encounter in our daily lives. By kicking off with a conversational hook, these ads are excellent at stopping the scroll.
This approach feels more like an invitation to join a chat rather than an intrusive ad. It’s casual, relatable, and avoids the hard sell tactics that might turn off potential students.
CHECK OUT OUR FULL GROWTH TO BOOST ONLINE COURSE SALES
The Power of the Soft Sell
What makes the Text Conversation format so effective is its soft sell nature. Rather than a blatant promotion, this format weaves your message into a dialogue that feels genuine.
It’s like hearing about a great course from a friend rather than from a pushy advertiser. This builds trust and resonates more deeply with audiences who are increasingly wary and critical of aggressive marketing.
While it can highlight a sale or special offer, the text exchange ad format is just as effective during non-promotional periods. The conversation can focus on the benefits of your courses or the value of your content, keeping that engaging, conversational tone without the pressure of a hard sell.
In this scenario, the ad isn’t just about making an immediate sale, it’s about positioning your course or program as the top choice. The soft approach makes your message more engaging and encourages interaction, all while subtly guiding potential students to consider your offers.
The Facetime Ad Format
This format taps into the natural human inclination for face-to-face interaction, making it an ideal choice for educators and course creators looking to make a memorable impression while keeping it casual.
The Power of Visual Connection
At its essence, the Facetime format ad mimics the familiar experience of a video call.
We’ve all become accustomed to the visual intimacy of Facetime, Zoom, and other video platforms, especially in a post-pandemic world. This format uses that familiarity by presenting an ad as if it were a Facetime call, featuring face-on-screen visuals that instantly grab attention.
This is not about deceiving viewers into thinking they’re on a real call, but rather about using the visual cues of a Facetime interaction to create a more engaging and relatable experience.
The initial visual of a familiar face — whether it’s a well-known instructor, a relatable student, or a brand ambassador — serves as a strong hook. Viewers’ instinctive reaction is to pay attention, much like they would with a real Facetime call.
This quick engagement is what makes the Facetime format so effective. It draws viewers in before they even realize they’re watching an ad.
Once hooked, the ad can seamlessly transition into showcasing your online education product, blending the Facetime-style visuals with traditional content. In this way, you can maintain a personal connection while effectively delivering your message.
Alternatively, you might choose to structure the entire ad around the Facetime format, keeping the viewer engaged with a continuous, face-to-face interaction throughout.
Ad Format Versatility
The Facetime format is highly adaptable to various campaign goals, whether you’re promoting a new course, highlighting a membership program, or driving sign-ups for a coaching session.
For example, an ad for a language course might show a student excitedly sharing their learning progress with a friend via Facetime. Or a personal development coach could simulate a call discussing the transformative results of their coaching sessions.
The key is to keep the interaction genuine and relatable. This format shines when it feels like a natural conversation rather than a scripted pitch.
The Comment Overlay
This approach mimics the look and feel of social media interactions, drawing viewers in by making them feel like they’re part of an ongoing conversation.
By starting your online education ads with a comment or question, you capture attention while at the same time you also provide a smooth segue into showcasing your educational offers.
The Power of Social Proof
The strength of the comment overlay format lies in its ability to leverage social proof. We’re naturally drawn to what others are saying online, especially when it’s framed as a question or comment about something we’re interested in.
Overlay a comment at the start of your ad to create an instant connection with the viewer, making the ad feel more like a genuine response to real-time engagement rather than a straightforward pitch.
Say your ad starts with a comment like: No way, you’re fluent now? How’d you pull that off so fast? 😱🔥
The overlay appears as if someone has genuinely posed this question on your video, sparking curiosity and encouraging viewers to stick around for the answer. Perfect for capturing and holding attention.
Transitioning to the Testimonial
Once the comment has engaged the viewer, the ad can smoothly transition into a testimonial or demonstration of your product.
CHECK OUT HOW TO GET TESTIMONIALS FOR YOUR ONLINE COURSES
For instance, in response to the question about mastering French quickly, the ad could feature a satisfied student sharing their experience with your online language course.
They might discuss how your course’s structure, interactive elements, or unique teaching methods helped them achieve fluency faster than they imagined.
The ad gets to answer the initial question and also showcase your course’s effectiveness through the voice of a real user. It feels less like an ad and more like a genuine conversation or recommendation, which can be incredibly effective in building trust and prompting viewers to click through.
This ad format can be tailored to fit any niche within the online education space. Whether you’re promoting courses, memberships, coaching programs, or digital resources, it allows you to directly address common questions or concerns your audience might have.
For example, a coaching program could start with a comment like: “What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in your clients?” The ad could then transition into a testimonial from a client discussing their transformation and how the coach’s program made it possible.
Or, if you’re promoting a membership site, the overlay might feature a comment like: “Is the premium membership really worth it?” followed by a detailed breakdown of the exclusive content and benefits members receive.
Conversational Ad Formats and “Serious” Brands?
The answer is yes. Being successful with using conversational ad formats for more elevated educational brands depends entirely on their execution: ensuring they maintain a sophisticated image while still engaging today’s audiences effectively.
Balancing Professionalism with Approachability
These “serious” educational brands are often associated with a certain level of sophistication. Think sleek course presentations, refined branding, and meticulously crafted messaging.
But does this mean that such brands should avoid conversational ad formats? Not at all. The key is to strike the right balance between upholding a high-end image and incorporating relatable, conversational elements that resonate with modern learners.
The execution of these formats for high-end educational brands typically depends on several factors: the setting, the presenters, and the overall production quality.
For example, an ad might feature a well-designed classroom or a sophisticated online learning environment, with lighting and visuals that convey professionalism and credibility. Presenters — whether instructors or students — should convey confidence and clarity, avoiding casual filler words and maintaining a polished demeanor.
These elements all contribute to preserving the brand’s elevated status.
The Shift Toward Authenticity
It’s important to recognize that even the most polished educational brands are seeing a shift in consumer preferences, especially among younger audiences.
A series of highly polished ads may no longer be sufficient to capture attention or drive engagement, particularly on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, where users are accustomed to more personal, authentic content.
Younger generations favor ads that feel less like traditional promotions and more like content they naturally encounter in their feeds. They value authenticity, which is where UGC style ads come into play.
These ads often feature real users sharing honest testimonials or experiences. While the production values might be lower, the relatability factor is much higher. For the more “serious” educational brands, this can be quite the challenge.
How to stay true to a refined image while engaging with an audience that values authenticity? One simple approach is to blend less polished, more organic content with traditional high-end ads.
Start by introducing a few conversational, UGC-style ads into your content mix. Monitor the response: Are these ads driving more engagement? Are they leading to higher conversions?
You might discover that slightly loosening your brand guidelines doesn’t weaken your brand but actually strengthens it by making it more accessible and relatable to a broader audience.
Conclusion
To stand out in online education advertising, you need more than flashy visuals. Use ad formats that make your ads feel more personal and engaging to cut through the clutter and connect better with your audience.