Keystone Meta Ad Guidelines

What you need to know to start your campaign, why it’s important, and some helpful tips to improve your campaign results.  

With five years of experience and significant investment in TikTok advertising, we’ve developed a deep understanding of online students' behavior and needs during the crucial time when they are searching for higher education. 

This expertise enables us to identify and connect with the right student profiles on TikTok, helping match them with schools that best fit their goals. 

Below, we’ve outlined what we need from you, why it’s important, and some helpful tips to improve your campaign results.  

Your creative choices are important — clients who follow our recommendations often reach the top end of our performance benchmarks, even when their brand is relatively unknown in target markets. That’s why we’ve shared some additional best practice below the creative requirements. 

Creative Requirements 

'Visual Requirements: 

Submit at least one image or video in both of these formats: 

• 1:1 (square) 

• 9:16 (vertical) 

Videos should be no longer than 60 seconds. 

Our team will decide if your ad should run as individual post or in a carousel, depending on the creative. If you’ve sent multiple images and videos in the required specs, our team will evaluate based on expertise how to best use these to capture audience attention and tell the best story for your campaign. 

Please avoid using text on images that: 

• Promises success 

• Makes exaggerated claims 

• Mentions jobs, housing, insurance, finance, career or future

These types of text can trigger Meta’s AI moderation, which may delay your ad launch or result in suspension, disrupting your campaign. 

 

Copy Requirements: 

Provide 20-40 words of copy for your ad’s primary text. We’ll adjust the text to third person, ensure it meets Meta’s guidelines, and send you a preview before going live. 

 

For Program-Specific Ads: 

If you’re promoting individual programs (up to three), please provide: 

• At least one image or video per program (in 1:1 and 9:16 formats). 
• The exact program names as they appear in SmartHub. 
  
  

Note on Mixed Degree Levels:

We do not target students from different higher education levels (e.g., Master's and Bachelor's programs) within the same campaign. That's because when your campaign is only relevant to part of the audience, it drops in visibility and performance.

For Meta Traffic Gen Ads (NOT collecting leads): 

• Provide a link to the landing page where you want to direct students. 
• Share your Facebook page URL so we can invite you to a partnership ad. We can only run traffic campaigns through partnership ads, so you will need to have access to the page to approve our partnership request. 

Note on Competing Ads: 

Make sure not to run identical creative and targeting simultaneously as Keystone's campaigns on social channels. Overlap could make the Keystone campaign seem like spam, reducing its effectiveness.  

 

Best Practice for Meta Ads 

When it comes to running successful Meta ads, following best practices can make all the difference in achieving impactful results. Whether you’re promoting a university or specific programs, understanding how to create engaging content and effectively target the right audience is key. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the essential strategies and tips for designing compelling Meta ads that not only capture attention but also drive meaningful conversions. From optimizing visuals and copy to refining your targeting, these best practices will help you maximize your ad performance and reach the students who are searching for educational opportunities. 

Creatives That Convert 

Visuals: 

Your visual content is the first thing your audience sees, and its effectiveness determines whether they will engage with your ad. Strong visuals are key to grabbing attention. 

• Use bright colors: As students scroll, sharp color contrast or bright hues will stand out and drive higher engagement. 

• Keep the video short! We can only publish videos that are 60 seconds or less, but Meta actually recommends the ideal video is actually 15-30 seconds. 

• Avoid generic or commercial imagery: Make it personal. Images that reflect campus life, classroom moments, or a fun student lifestyle resonate best. 

• Add subtitles to videos: Many students watch without sound. If you don’t add your own, Meta will generate them, so ensure your audio is clear. 

• Highlight program titles: Including the program title on images can improve conversion rates, especially for program-specific ads. 

• Make the first three seconds of the video count: Eye-catching and engaging starts give you the best chance to capture attention in this critical three second attention window. 

• Branding matters: Include your school’s name or logo in all creatives. Where possible, add the program name or other key details to reinforce your message. 

• Including an additional horizontal (16:9) image can help improve ad placement and slightly boost conversions. 

Our team will decide if your ad should run as an individual post or in a carousel, depending on the creative. If you’ve sent multiple images and videos in the required specs, our team will evaluate based on expertise how to best use these to capture audience attention and tell the best story for your campaign. 

 

Copy: 

While visuals capture attention, the text reinforces your message. The right words can clarify your value proposition and drive student interest. 

• Avoid generic text: Make sure the copy is relevant to what you’re promoting. Like strong visuals, strong words communicate what makes your institution or program special. 

• Focus on facts, not promises: Meta is strict about allowing ads on their platform that users may consider spammy. Instead of making promises, share clear facts about your school or programs that students can easily understand. Our guidelines outline what we can’t promote. Meta restricts: “extravagant claims or promises of guaranteed success. Mentions of mention jobs, housing, finance, career, future, or personal healthcare should also be avoided." But beyond that, our best performing schools focus on facts students can grab onto, such as program ranking or internship placements. 

• We’ll handle the third-person transition: Our team will adjust your copy to fit the context of Keystone’s account, presenting your institution as a valued partner. 

• Keep it concise: Students will only spend a few seconds reading your text, so make it count. We accept up to 40 words to ensure clear and effective messaging. 

 

Converting Students on Your Landing Page 

For schools running traffic campaigns (not lead generation), we want to help you make the most of the students we send your way. Converting students off of a social platform can be challenging, but here are some tips to maximize the impact: 

• Design your landing page for newcomers: Your landing page should appeal to students who may have never heard of your school before. Social campaigns introduce your brand to a new audience. 

• Use UTM tracking on your landing page link: Although we can generate a tracked link that you can check, we recommend you generating your own link according to your campaign reporting structure. Tracking the performance of your campaign will help you evaluate value and improve student experience in your future ads. 

• Capture leads effectively: If you’re using the page to gather leads, remove unnecessary links and simplify your lead form to just a few information fields (ideally five). 

• Bold branding: Make sure your branding is prominent and incorporates your school’s colors.  

 

Targeting That Fits 

Targeting the right audience is essential, and we handle most of the targeting for you. However, there are some things you can do to make your campaign even more effective. 

 

University vs. Program Promotion: 

If promoting your university overall, we recommend using a video that highlights the institution and targets the degree levels you offer. Video campaigns tend to have the highest reach and engagement. 

For program-specific campaigns, you’ll be working with a smaller pool of students. Carousel ads featuring 2-3 related programs tend to perform best. For instance, promoting three Engineering programs will target more efficiently than mixing Design, Business, and Engineering programs in one ad. 

 

Geographic Targeting: 

If you’re looking for a balanced geographic distribution of students, try to target countries within the same economic tier. Meta values student attention differently based on perceived purchasing power, so results can vary significantly between regions. 

Also, consider how your creatives might be perceived by students from different cultures. For example, an ad that works well for both Brazilian and Japanese students may require a balanced tone. We’ve seen schools successfully target diverse regions like Japan and the Nordics by being mindful of cultural nuances. 

 

By following these guidelines and best practices, you'll be well-equipped to create effective, high-performing campaigns that resonate with your target audience. Our team is here to support you throughout the process, ensuring your Meta ads deliver the results you’re looking for. Let’s collaborate to connect students with the educational opportunities they’re seeking.