Facebook and Instagram Ads for Childcare Centres: A Practical Playbook

Google Ads catches parents who are already searching for care. Facebook and Instagram ads reach them earlier, while they're planning a return to work or settling into a new suburb. Used well, Facebook ads for childcare can keep your rooms full by putting your centre on a family's shortlist before they ever type "childcare near me".

Used badly, they collect cheap "leads" that never answer the phone. This playbook covers how to set up Meta ads (Meta owns both Facebook and Instagram) so they book tours, and the Australian rules that shape what you can put in an ad.

Where Meta ads fit in your childcare marketing

The two big ad platforms work together:

• Google Ads answers demand. A parent searches, your ad appears. Our guide to Google Ads for childcare centres covers that side.

• Facebook and Instagram ads create demand. You show local families what a day at your centre looks like, so they think of you first when they're ready.

That makes Meta ads useful for new centres and rooms that are slow to fill, as one part of a wider enrolment plan.

Step 1: Give every campaign one clear job

Before you open Ads Manager, decide what the campaign must achieve, for example:

• Fill three places in the toddler room on Mondays and Fridays

• Book 20 tours for your open day

• Build a waitlist before a new centre opens

Then pick the matching objective. For enquiries, choose a leads objective, using either an instant form inside Facebook or Instagram or a tour booking page on your website. Boosting a post is quick, but Ads Manager gives you more control over the goal, audience and placements.

Not sure which rooms or days to target? Our occupancy guide shows how to find exactly where places are sitting empty.

Step 2: Target your real catchment

Most families choose care close to home or work, so start with location:

• Draw a radius around each centre, plus nearby workplaces or train stations if your families commute.

• Set up one campaign per centre so each location has its own budget and results.

• Retarget warm audiences, such as people who visited your website or engaged with your Page or Instagram account. Meta's Advertising Standards say custom audiences must follow the applicable terms, so only upload family lists you have collected properly (Meta Advertising Standards).

Step 3: Show your centre, not stock photos

Parents want to see where their child will spend the day. Strong creative includes:

• Short vertical videos of rooms, the outdoor area and the front entrance, sized for Stories and Reels as well as the feed

• Educators introducing themselves or a room

• The room or program the ad is actually about

Be careful with photos of children

Under the Privacy Act, a photo of someone whose identity is clear is personal information. The OAIC says it's good practice to get express consent after explaining how the image will be used, and to take particular care with children by talking to their parent or guardian first (OAIC).

This matters even more for ads. Meta notes that ads are public once displayed and can be shared outside the audience you targeted (Meta Advertising Standards). Get specific written consent for advertising, or use shots where children can't be identified, such as hands at the art table.

Step 4: Write copy and offers that stay inside the rules

Good ad copy answers what parents ask first: where you are, whether you have a place, and what to do next, for example "Places available in our 3 to 5 room in [suburb]. Book a tour this week".

Then check every claim and offer against these rules:

• No prohibited inducements. The Department of Education bans offering cash, vouchers, gift cards, tablets or other gifts to get families to enrol. You can advertise discounted or free care (reported correctly if CCS is claimed), free site visits and trial periods, and marketing merchandise worth up to $30 per complying written arrangement (Department of Education).

• Get your NQS rating right. Only promote your current overall rating. ACECQA warns that giving a false or misleading statement about your NQS rating is an offence under the National Regulations (ACECQA).

• Make claims you can prove. The ACCC says claims must be true, accurate and based on reasonable grounds, and that an ad saying "free" with an extra cost in the fine print is likely to be misleading (ACCC).

• Keep fees consistent. Families can compare services on Starting Blocks, so make sure anything your ad says about fees matches what you've reported.

Step 5: Decide where the enquiry lands

You have two options.

Instant forms (lead ads) open inside Facebook or Instagram with the parent's details pre-filled. Keep them short: name, phone, email, child's age, preferred days and start date. You'll need a privacy policy link. Meta's Advertising Standards also restrict form questions on sensitive topics, including disabilities and mental health (Meta Advertising Standards), so leave questions about a child's additional needs for the tour.

Your website gives parents more to explore first. Meta requires the service in your ad to match the landing page (same source), so send a toddler room ad to a toddler room page with real photos, hours, a CCS explainer and a short tour form. A virtual tour on that page helps parents who aren't ready to visit yet.

Test both and compare tours booked, not form fills.

Step 6: Follow up fast and track to enrolments

Lead ad enquiries don't reach your front desk unless you set that up. Connect your forms to your CRM or email, or check them daily in Meta Business Suite, and call back the same business day.

Then measure what matters:

1. Cost per enquiry

2. Cost per tour booked and attended

3. Cost per enrolment, recorded in your CRM or a simple spreadsheet

If you send ads to your website, install the Meta Pixel so Meta can see which ads lead to tour bookings. Our guide on turning enquiries into enrolments covers the follow-up steps that stop paid leads going cold.

Check what nearby centres are running

Meta's free Ad Library lets you search any Page and see the ads it's running. Look up centres in your catchment, then find the gap: a room they aren't promoting, or a question their ads never answer.

How much should you spend?

There's no honest single number, because costs depend on your suburb, competition and creative. Start from your vacancies and what one filled place is worth over a year, run a focused test, then judge it on cost per tour and per enrolment. Pause ads for rooms that are full.

Quick checklist before you launch

• One campaign per centre, each with a single clear goal

• Location radius set around the centre and nearby workplaces

• Real photos or video, with written advertising consent for any identifiable child

• Offers checked against the inducement rules, and NQS rating claims current

• Short instant form with a privacy policy link, or a matching landing page

• Leads sent to your CRM or inbox, with same-day follow-up

• Tours and enrolments tracked back to each ad

Frequently asked questions

Are Facebook ads or Google Ads better for childcare centres?

They do different jobs. Google Ads reaches parents searching right now; Facebook and Instagram ads reach local families before they search. For most centres, a small, well-tracked campaign on each is a sensible start.

Can we use photos of children in our Facebook ads?

Yes, with care. Identifiable photos are personal information and ads can be shared beyond your audience, so get specific written consent from parents for advertising, or use images where children can't be identified.

Can we offer an incentive to enrol in our ads?

Not cash, vouchers, gift cards, devices or other gifts. You can offer discounted or free care (reported correctly), free site visits or trial periods, and merchandise worth up to $30 per complying written arrangement.

Should we use Meta lead forms or our own website form?

Lead forms are quicker for parents; your website gives families more information first. Test both and judge them on tours and enrolments, not form fills.

Want Facebook and Instagram ads that book tours?

Maximize Marketing runs Facebook and Instagram ads for Australian childcare centres as part of our childcare marketing service, alongside social media management for childcares, Google Ads and websites that turn clicks into tours. Book a free chat and we'll look at your vacancies with you.

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