· 3 min read · Jason Youngjin Koh
Meta ads for tennis coaching
Parents scroll Instagram at night, and most tennis academies are invisible there. A simple Meta system changes that within a term.
The Meta ads that fill tennis programs are simple: real footage of the academy's own coaches and players, a low risk first step such as a trial lesson, an audience of parents and adults within a short drive, and fast follow up once someone enquires. Sydney Tennis Academy used that system to bring in thousands of leads and more than 300 enrolments on $24,000 of total ad spend.
300+
Enrolments for Sydney Tennis Academy from a full funnel Meta system, on $24K total ad spend
Who should tennis ads target?
People within a realistic drive of the courts, usually a few kilometres in a city. For juniors, that means parents. For adult programs, the people most likely to start: beginners who played as kids, cardio tennis players, and social players looking for a regular game. Meta's broad targeting now works well inside a tight radius. The creative and the offer do most of the targeting by deciding who stops scrolling.
What creative works for tennis academies?
- A coach talking to camera for twenty seconds about how first lessons work.
- Real juniors in a squad session, smiling and moving, filmed on a phone.
- An adult beginner's first rally, which tells other adults they would not be the worst on court.
- A parent explaining why they chose the academy.
Stock photos of professional players fail here. Parents want to see where their child would be, and who with.
What offer should the ad lead with?
A first step that costs little and commits to nothing: a trial lesson, an assessment, or a free first session of a term. The goal of the ad is a conversation. The enrolment happens after a parent has met a coach and seen the courts.
What happens after someone enquires?
This is where most of the money is made or lost. A lead that hears back within minutes, with a specific trial time, books far more often than one that hears back tomorrow. Every lead should get a reply, a booking link and a reminder before the trial. After the trial, a message the same evening with the recommended class and a way to enrol.
How much should a tennis academy spend on ads?
Work backwards from what a player is worth. A junior who stays several terms is worth far more than one term's fees, so the affordable cost per enrolment is higher than most owners assume. Set the budget against the number of places to fill and the value of each one, then measure cost per enrolment, not cost per click.
Timing decides as much as targeting. When to start advertising a term intake