With social media pushing out content for us to consume all day every day, advertising nowadays is less about pushing your courses or programs and more about stopping a thumb.
If your ad doesn’t grab a potential student’s attention in a split second, it gets lost in the noise. The endless scroll of social media feeds has become a fiercely competitive space for educators, where only the most engaging and relevant content stands out.
But what does it take to truly capture a viewer’s attention with so many distractions going around?
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The Power of the Scroll-Stopper Ad
At its core, a scroll-stopping ad is one that disrupts the usual flow of social media browsing. It’s an ad that captures the eye and makes potential students pause, even if just for a moment. This brief interruption is important because it opens the door to deeper engagement with your educational offers.
But effective scroll-stoppers do more than just grab attention. They are memorable and shareable, often leaving viewers with intriguing questions about your courses or programs.
The most impactful scroll-stopping ads go beyond being visually appealing — they evoke thought or emotion. They are crafted to be discussed, analyzed, and shared, with the goal of creating buzz and driving viral engagement.
However, successfully stopping a scroll doesn’t guarantee success on its own. It’s only the first step in a larger strategy to turn that initial interest into meaningful engagement and conversions.
Beyond the Scroll: Building Deeper Engagement
While grabbing attention is important, it doesn’t automatically translate into converting viewers into students or generating revenue.
A truly effective ad does more than just momentarily disrupt the scroll — it makes a lasting impression. It invites potential learners into a compelling narrative or educational journey that they are eager to explore further.
Many educators and course creators stumble here as they focus on the immediate impact rather than considering the long-term engagement.
To make the most of a scroll-stopping moment, your ad must also deliver substantial value. This means providing content that resonates with your target audience and aligns with their educational needs and interests.
Even if your ad features engaging storytelling or an unexpected twist to pique curiosity, it’s essential to have a strong, relevant offer that supports and fulfills the viewer’s expectations.
Standing Out to Build a Broader Audience
Taking risks with your advertising strategy isn’t about being daring just for the sake of it — it’s about standing out in a saturated educational market.
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Unconventional ads might seem like a gamble, but they are often key to reaching a broader audience. Why? Because you’re essentially challenging conventional approaches and pushing creative limits all while unlocking new levels of growth and engagement.
A bold ad presents a chance to extend your reach, attract attention from untapped segments of the online education space, and build a reputation for innovation and creativity.
Over time, this can lead to a more engaged and loyal audience who feels connected to a brand that isn’t afraid to take risks and continuously captivates them with fresh, inventive ideas.
1. The Twists and Turns
Leverage the power of the unexpected.
Ads that surprise and intrigue can be highly effective, especially in reinforcing brand recall. This is an approach that resonates particularly well with younger audiences, who are more inclined to engage with content that defies their expectations.
The strategy becomes even more impactful when you’re an established educational brand, known for a specific style or focus, taking a creative risk by stepping out of its usual approach.
But this deviation should be carefully considered — just enough to catch viewers’ attention without straying too far from what they know and expect.
Additionally, showcasing these unexpected, innovative ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which thrive on creative and unconventional content, can amplify their effectiveness.
Platforms such as these are ideal for ads that play with surprising elements or humor, as long as they remain tasteful and steer clear of controversy. Today’s audiences, on the younger side or not, appreciate clever twists and refreshing takes that break from the ordinary.
2. The exclusive fanclub
If you’re a brand that values a bold, unconventional approach, adopting a contrarian stance or being polarizing might be worth a try in your advertising.
These ads aren’t meant to be universally appealing, rather, they’re designed to resonate deeply with a dedicated niche audience.
A strategy like this very straightforwardly aligns your brand with specific values or a distinct lifestyle. By doing so, you forge a strong emotional connection with those who see your courses or programs as a reflection of their own interests and beliefs.
The allure of this type of ad often lies in its initial ambiguity or the curiosity it generates. When viewers find themselves intrigued or slightly puzzled by what they’re seeing, they’re more likely to engage further, discuss it with others, and share their reactions.
It’s almost like broad viewership is made to feel left out of an interesting conversation that only a special group of people (your customers) are having, activating their FOMO.
It’s a strategic move that gets those who aren’t yet familiar with your brand thinking: If others are interested, maybe I should check it out too and see what it’s all about.
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3. The viral moment
Context can be a game-changer for your advertising strategy. Integrating your educational offers into a popular meme or viral trend can be a powerful way to achieve viral marketing.
The logic is simple: you position your courses or programs within these cultural moments, you make them more memorable and relatable to a wider audience.
To up your game, overlay a brief text on the screen that highlights a key benefit of your educational product as the ad plays. In this way, you leverage the viral moment but also introduce your brand messages and offers to an engaged audience already interested in the trend.
There’s a fine line, however, between clever marketing and coming across as cringe-worthy. To stay on the right side of this line, keep your messaging casual and the tone light.
Blend seamlessly into the viral moment, rather than interrupting it. Simply attaching your brand to a trending topic isn’t enough. You need to creatively and naturally weave your educational content into the narrative of the trend.
The UGC Ad
While big brands can certainly jump on trends, it’s important they choose ones that are easy to execute, have a quick turnaround, and are both simple and recognizable.
Alternatively, you can leverage UGC creators to capture these trends more authentically. There’s nothing worse than a brand trying to capitalize on a trend after it’s peaked or, worse, executing it in a way that feels forced or out of touch.
UGC content stands out when it includes engaging elements such as fast-paced hooks, mood-setting music, a clear and compelling voiceover, and an effective product demo.
For online education ads, these demos should showcase one or two core features or benefits of your courses or programs in a way that feels organic and relatable. The more visual you can get with it, the better.
Even if the production quality isn’t top-notch, the ad should flow smoothly and blend seamlessly into social media feeds like Instagram and Facebook.
The strength of UGC lies in its ability to build trust and credibility through real, authentic experiences from actual users. Avoid overly polished scripts or studio-quality production — focus on capturing moments that feel genuine to resonate with your audience on a personal level.
Conclusion
When you’re making an ad, ask yourself:
Will it make people stop scrolling?
Will it get people thinking and chatting?
And will it actually get them to engage?
If the answer is yes, you’re doing it right. For your new era of digital ads, being bold may be the way to go.