Empowering Education Franchises: Leveraging Social Media and Amazon Ads to Drive Growth

As public education continues to grapple with pandemic setbacks, the 2024 Education Recovery Scorecard, a joint effort by Harvard and Stanford, reveals mixed progress. Students in 30 states have clawed back about a third of their lost math skills and a quarter of their reading abilities. Yet, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), colloquially known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” highlights ongoing declines in these areas, calling the situation “sobering.” Faced with a gap too wide for public schools to bridge alone, parents are turning to the private education sector, fueling demand for education franchise services. This market is thriving, with an impressive projected growth rate of 8.1% annually from 2017 to 2024, far outpacing the overall franchising sector’s 6.7%. In the U.S. alone, this market was valued at $26.1 billion in 2022 and is expected to surge to $89.2 billion by 2030, while the global market is set to reach $287.9 billion.

Franchise marketers in education services can harness this momentum. By leveraging local advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Amazon Sponsored Display, they can drive foot traffic, web traffic, and signups. 

Platform-Specific Strategies

Facebook

Facebook’s massive audience spans a wide range of age groups, making it ideal for reaching every demographic. Its sophisticated targeting capabilities allow education franchisees to connect with high-intent local audiences, driving sign-ups. Radius, zip code, and city targeting hone in on specific service areas, and minimum budgets of $1 a day make Facebook advertising attainable for most local businesses. Dayparting by location can increase performance and improve relevancy.

Instagram and TikTok

Vertical video content dominates on both Instagram and TikTok, and these platforms are ideal for promoting facilities, amenities, and how your franchise makes learning fun for the student.  Reels on Instagram and Facebook offer broad demographic reach with quick, impactful ads, though music usage is limited to original or licensed tracks. TikTok, appealing to a younger crowd, provides flexible video lengths for varied storytelling and boasts a vast music library. Both platforms offer valuable analytics, guiding franchisees to optimize their ad strategies. By empowering your franchisees with local advertising technology, you help them overcome the challenges of creating short form video and enable them to take advantage of the power of vertical video advertising.  

While Reels targeting parameters are the same as Facebook (see above), it should be noted that TikTok parameters differ in several meaningful ways. First, TikTok does not allow for radius targeting, but rather focuses a level up to zip code, DMA, or city. Second, TikTok’s minimum budget requirements are higher at $50 per day, however, these spending requirements are lower than in years past and will continue to decrease as more and more advertisers leverage the tool and publish ads.

Amazon Ads Sponsored Display

Amazon Sponsored Display is a powerful new tool for targeting proprietary audiences based on purchase and viewing behaviors in the Amazon ecosystem. Tiger Pistol’s collaboration with Amazon Ads introduces Sponsored Display Ads to a broad range of businesses, including those not selling directly on Amazon, like tutoring services and specialty-focused centers like music, art, STEM, or physical education. Amazon assembles high-intent audiences from its vast data, allowing education franchisees to reach potential customers efficiently. Creative execution is a cinch, and Amazon Sponsored Display requires no minimum daily budget.  

As the private education sector continues to expand, education franchise marketers have a golden opportunity to capitalize on this growth by empowering their franchisees with effective local advertising strategies. Leveraging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Amazon Sponsored Display can significantly boost foot traffic, web traffic, and sign-ups. Each platform offers unique tools and targeting options, from Facebook’s sophisticated audience targeting to TikTok’s engaging vertical video content and Amazon’s data-driven ad placements. By embracing these advertising technologies, franchise marketers can help their franchisees reach local audiences more effectively, driving growth and success in a competitive market. The future of education franchising lies in the ability to adapt and utilize these powerful digital advertising tools to meet the rising demand for individualized educational services.