Step 1: Choose the Right Campaign Objective
When you create a new campaign, Facebook asks for your objective. For school admissions, choose 'Leads' — not 'Traffic,' not 'Engagement,' not 'Brand Awareness.' The Leads objective tells Facebook to optimize your ad for parents most likely to fill a form, not just to see or click your ad.
Step 2: Set Up Your Ad Set — Audience, Budget, Placement
- Audience: Age 27–45, Location within 15 km of your school, Interests: Parenting, Child Education, School Admission India
- Budget: Set a daily budget of at least ₹500–₹700/day for a new campaign
- Placements: Select 'Manual Placements' and choose Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, and Facebook Stories — avoid Audience Network
Step 3: Create Your Lead Form
Inside the Ad level, choose 'Instant Form' as your lead destination. Build a form with these fields only: Parent Name, Phone Number, Child's Current Grade. Add a qualifying question: 'When are you looking to join?' with options: This Term, Next Term, Just Exploring. Parents who select 'This Term' are your hottest leads — prioritize calling them first.
Step 4: Write Your Ad Copy
Structure your ad text like this: Hook → Value → Proof → CTA. Example: 'Are you looking for a CBSE school near Velachery for your child? At [School Name], 94% of our Grade 10 students scored above 85% in 2024. We have a few seats open for April admission — fill the form below and our admissions head will call you within 2 hours.'
Why Expert Setup Outperforms DIY — Every Time
While this guide gives you the basics, the real difference is in the hidden details: reading the hidden charts inside Ads Manager, identifying which placement is delivering your best leads, reading frequency data before your ads fatigue, and knowing when to scale versus when to pause. These skills come from managing hundreds of school campaigns — not from a tutorial.