The education advertising landscape is evolving rapidly, and Douyin is at the forefront of this transformation.

As student preferences shift and digital content consumption soars, education institutions and agencies must rethink their marketing strategies to stay ahead.

With demand for high-quality education at an all-time high, the competition to attract and engage students is fiercer than ever. In this post, we’ll uncover the latest trends shaping China’s outbound student market and reveal powerful strategies to target the right audience, maximize engagement, and optimize campaign performance on Douyin and other apps in China using the powerful Ocean Engine advertising platform.

The rise of language & study abroad Business Accounts on Douyin

Douyin, China’s leading short-video platform, has become a powerful tool for educational institutions looking to expand their digital presence. Nearly 70% of users trust officially certified business accounts, making credibility a crucial aspect of content strategy.

Language and study abroad agencies were among the first to establish their presence on the platform and the growing demand within China for multilingual capabilities and cross-cultural experiences has driven a rapid increase in language and study abroad business accounts.

Douyin Business Account growth trends within the education agency sector

For interest-based courses such as music, art, and vocational training, summer and winter breaks offer the highest engagement periods, as students have more free time to explore extracurricular learning. This is an ideal time to run frequent ads, as courses will appeal to both students and parents. Longer holidays also make parents more likely to invest in their children’s hobbies, boosting enrollment interest.

Academic education campaigns require a more flexible approach. The audience for degree advancement is broad, with working professionals seeking part-time study options, new graduates looking to boost their credentials, and so on. Different groups also make decisions at various times throughout the year, with no pronounced seasonal peak. Ad placement should therefore be aligned with the target audience’s profile, budgets, and enrollment goals, catering to every potential learner’s schedule.

Lastly, in terms of user profiles, the predominant age group interested in overseas study options are those aged 31-35, with many users at a stage of life involving family responsibilities. Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shandong are the top provinces for traffic.

Leveraging Ocean Engine’s AI-powered advertising solutions

To maximize lead generation and conversion rates, more education advertisers are tapping into Ocean Engine’s suite of AI-driven advertising tools to run ads on popular social platforms like Douyin and Toutiao.

Ocean Engine’s UBMax solution, for instance, enables automated lead delivery, allowing brands to harness peak traffic periods efficiently during holidays or maximize traffic within a specific timeframe. This solution is designed specifically for lead generation campaigns and helping advertisers acquire high-quality leads faster and at a stable cost. With a recommended budget setting of at least 5,000 CNY per day, first-time users of this solution can establish strong performance benchmarks while experienced advertisers can scale their efforts for greater impact.

Another popular option is Native Ads, which integrate seamlessly with Douyin’s content ecosystem as part of users’ personalized content feed. Native Ads are ideal for lead generation, content marketing, and strengthening your Business Account’s presence on Douyin.

Image Ads, meanwhile, are also useful for generating leads or expanding video types to capture more user attention and clicks. This ad format features multiple images accompanied by background music, presented in an automatic carousel. Users can also manually browse and switch to the images that interest them. Advertisers should use at least three and up to eight images, ensuring the cover image is the most impactful. To maximize effectiveness, avoid using duplicate or overly similar ad materials across campaigns.

For Image Ads, the text layout should be clean and well-organized, using a popular font such as Founder Font (bold/Songti). The title should be large and in a prominent color to capture attention, while the subtitle should emphasize the program’s key benefits, particularly its high value and credibility. Visual elements should include solid backgrounds, images of prestigious schools, lecturers, and students, reinforcing authenticity and overall appeal.

Crafting high-impact creative content

Compelling visuals and persuasive copywriting are at the heart of any successful study abroad campaign. Ad creatives should focus on clearly communicating the program’s value proposition, unique selling points, and incentives. High-quality content and copywriting will bring more likes, comments, and shares and reduce reports and dislikes, leading to wider coverage. For language and study abroad services, highlighting factors such as personalized learning plans, expert faculty, and career benefits can help capture user interest.

Ocean Engine’s AI Creative platform further enhances content production by providing AI-generated video scripts, digital human avatars, and material performance analytics. These features streamline the creative process, allowing advertisers to experiment with different formats and refine their messaging based on engagement metrics.

Digital Human, for example, is an AI Creative platform product that helps advertisers produce videos with AI presenters instead of filming with real actors. The product offers over 3,500 digital human avatars covering a wide range of industries and scenarios, helping advertisers cost-effectively create high-quality, dynamic creative materials.