Meta and Facebook Lead Ads: How They Work and Setup
How Meta and Facebook lead ads work: instant forms on Facebook and Instagram, setup, testing, where leads go and how Malta businesses reply fast enough to win.
Facebook & Instagram ads · Childcare
Facebook ads for childcare centres
in Malta.
Malta Digital runs Facebook and Instagram ads that bring enquiries for local businesses, as a Meta ads agency in Malta. Childcare is a special case, because for many families the hours are free. This guide shows what that means for your ads, when to run them, what to say and what to ask, with a free enrolment planner. For budgets, see Facebook ads cost in Malta.
1 Feb · 1 OctWhen many places open
Short answer
Under Malta’s Free Childcare Scheme, eligible parents do not pay for the hours they work or study. So a childcare ad cannot win on price. It wins on trust, hours, location and a real free place. Run ads 6 to 10 weeks before a place opens, because the scheme needs the paperwork a month before the start. Ask for the child’s age and start month in the form. Malta Digital sets these campaigns up and counts visits booked, not likes.
Key takeaways
- Do Facebook ads work for childcare centres in Malta? Yes, when the ad shows the locality, hours, age groups and start month, and invites parents to book a visit. Price matters less, because many families use the Free Childcare Scheme.
- When should a childcare centre advertise in Malta? About 6 to 10 weeks before places open. Many open on 1 October and 1 February, when children move to KG1, and the scheme needs paperwork a month before the start.
- Can a centre on the Free Childcare Scheme charge fees? The official brochure says centres may not ask for payment or deposits on top of what the government pays, but may charge a reasonable one-off registration fee and for food.
Why it is different
Why childcare ads in Malta are different.
Most ads sell a price or an offer. Childcare in Malta works another way. The Free Childcare Scheme, run through Jobsplus since April 2014, pays for childcare while both parents work or study. A single parent who works and pays social security also qualifies.
The scheme covers children from three months up to three years. The official brochure says a centre on the scheme may not ask for any payment or deposit on top of what the government pays. It may only charge a reasonable one-off registration fee and for food.
So two centres in the same town often cost a family the same. The ad has to answer other questions. Is it close to home or work? Are the hours right? Do the staff seem kind? Is there a place for my child, from the month I need it?
Malta numbers
More children, and more centres.
Eurostat’s 2025 survey found that 55.9% of children under three in Malta were in formal childcare. The EU average was 40.6%. More than a third of Maltese under-threes, 37.2%, were there 30 hours a week or more.
Supply has grown too. Eurostat counts 143 child day-care businesses in Malta in 2024, up from 119 in 2021. People working in them rose from 1,169 to 1,755. More centres means more choice for parents, and more ads competing in their feeds.
A centre cannot simply add children to meet demand. The brochure notes that group sizes, adult-to-child ratios and space per child are set by national standards, under licences from the Department for Quality Services in Education. So your ads should only promise the places you really have.
When to advertise
When to run childcare ads: the intake rhythm.
In Malta, many places open on two dates. State kindergarten (KG1) takes children on 1 October and 1 February. The Free Childcare Scheme ends once a child can start KG1, so those children leave and places open up.
| KG1 start | Children who move on | Scheme paperwork due | When we start ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 February 2027 | Children three by 30 April 2027 | By 1 January 2027 | Late November 2026 |
| 1 October 2027 | Children three by 31 December 2027 | By 1 September 2027 | July 2027 |
| Any other month | Leavers, moves, families relocating | One month before the start | 6 to 10 weeks before |
The brochure also says the scheme office needs the application at least one month before the start date. Parents apply through the centre. So the real deadline is earlier than the intake date. Families need time to visit, compare and decide before that.
That is why we start childcare ads 6 to 10 weeks before a place opens. For a 1 February 2027 start, that means ads live in late November or early December 2026, before Christmas takes everyone’s attention.
Have places opening soon?
Apply now and tell us how many places, which ages and from which month. We’ll reply with the dates, budget and ad we’d run.
What to say
What to say in the ad, and what to leave out.
Lead with what parents check first: the locality, the opening hours, the age groups and the start month. If you are on the scheme’s list of centres, say so in plain terms. Then invite a visit.
| Say this | Avoid this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “Places for February 2027, ages 1 to 3, in Mosta” | “Book now, limited spaces!!!” | Parents want facts they can check |
| “Open 7:00 to 17:30, Monday to Friday” | No hours at all | Hours decide most choices |
| “On the Free Childcare Scheme list” | “Free childcare” on its own | Free applies to eligible hours only |
| “Registration and meal fees explained” | Hiding the fees until the visit | Trust breaks at the first surprise |
| “Book a visit this week” | “Guaranteed place” | The brochure says no placement is guaranteed |
Photos need care. Show your rooms, garden, toys and meals, which tell a parent a lot. Show children only with written consent from their parents for ad use, and never in a way that identifies them. Many centres use photos with no faces at all, and they work well.
Be clear about money too. The scheme allows a registration fee and food charges. Put both on your website and say “fees explained” in the ad, so nobody feels misled at the visit.
Free tool
Free tool: enrolment ad planner.
Enter how many places you want to fill, the start date and your own rates from past intakes. The planner shows the visits and enquiries you need, a rough ad budget, and the latest date your ads should go live so the Free Childcare Scheme paperwork is in a month before the start. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
Enrolment ad planner
Starting numbers match the worked example below. Replace them with yours.
Your intake plan
Your result appears here as you type.
The form
What to ask in the lead form.
A short Meta instant form works well for visits, because parents fill it on the phone in a few taps. Our guide to Facebook lead ads covers the setup. For childcare, ask only what you need to call back with a real answer.
- Child’s age, or month of birth. It tells you the group and how long the child can stay on the scheme.
- Start month. So you only call families you can take.
- Days and hours needed. Full days, mornings, or a few days a week.
- Locality. Home or work, whichever matters for drop-off.
- Free Childcare Scheme. Yes, not sure or no, so you can help with the paperwork.
- Best time to call. Parents at work often prefer a lunch-time call.
Call back the same day. A parent who enquires on Monday may visit three centres by Friday. Our lead response time checker shows what slow replies cost.
Worked example
A worked example in euro.
This is an example to show the maths, not a result or a benchmark. Say a centre in the north of Malta has 6 places opening on 1 February 2027.
From past intakes, it knows that about half the families who visit take a place. So it needs about 12 visits. About 4 in 10 enquiries book a visit, so it needs about 30 enquiries.
Our 478-lead campaign averaged €9.68 per lead, in another sector. If enquiries cost about that, 30 enquiries need about €290 of ad spend. The planner above starts with these numbers. Replace them with your own.
Timing matters as much as money. The scheme paperwork is due by 1 January 2027, a month before the start. If families take about 4 weeks to decide, the ads should be live by early December 2026.
How we run it
How we run childcare ads for you.
- Count the real places. By age group and start month, so ads never promise what you cannot give.
- Map the area. A radius around the centre and nearby work areas, shown in the ad text too.
- Make the creative. Rooms, garden, meals and staff, with consent for any child photo.
- Build the form. Six questions, sent to your phone or CRM straight away.
- Report visits and places. Not likes. We count visits booked and places filled.
If you run a nanny or childcare agency rather than a centre, our childcare agency platform case study shows how bookings and staff can be managed in one system.
Malta Digital manages Facebook and Instagram ads from €1,249 a month plus ad spend, paid to Meta in your own ad account. Many centres run a short campaign before each intake.
Proof
Proof: leads at a cost you can plan around.
For a lead campaign we manage, Meta Ads Manager shows 478 form leads at €9.68 each, from €4,625.31 of ad spend between 1 May and 25 July 2026, on a budget of €6 a day. It is a different sector, so treat it as a sense of scale, not a childcare promise. For a centre, the number to watch is visits booked, then places filled.
A few straight answers
What you might be wondering.
Do Facebook ads work for childcare centres in Malta?
Yes, when the ad shows the locality, hours, age groups and start month, and invites parents to book a visit. Price matters less, because many families use the Free Childcare Scheme.
When should a childcare centre advertise in Malta?
About 6 to 10 weeks before places open. Many open on 1 October and 1 February, when children move to KG1, and the scheme needs paperwork a month before the start.
Can a centre on the Free Childcare Scheme charge fees?
The official brochure says centres may not ask for payment or deposits on top of what the government pays, but may charge a reasonable one-off registration fee and for food.
Which ages does the Free Childcare Scheme cover?
Children from three months up to three years, until they become eligible for state kindergarten (KG1).
Can I show children in childcare ads?
Only with written consent from the parents for ad use, and never in a way that identifies them. Photos of rooms, gardens and meals work well too.
What should a childcare lead form ask?
The child’s age or month of birth, the start month, days and hours, locality, whether the family will use the scheme, and the best time to call.
How much do Facebook ads for a childcare centre cost?
It depends on the places to fill and the cost per enquiry. Malta Digital manages the ads from €1,249 a month plus ad spend, and many centres run a short campaign before each intake.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Keep reading
Related guides.
Facebook Ads for Tutors and Tuition Centres in Malta
How tutors and tuition centres in Malta use Facebook and Instagram ads to fill lessons and groups: parents as buyers, the exam calendar, forms and WhatsApp.
Facebook Lead Form vs Landing Page: Which to Use
Facebook lead form or landing page? What each is good at, how lead quality differs, which Malta businesses should use which, and a free calculator.
A useful first step
Tell us about your next intake.
Tell us how many places, which age groups and from which month. We’ll reply with the dates, budget and first ad we’d run.
Step 1 of 2
Apply now for Meta ads
A few quick questions, about a minute. We usually reply within 2–3 hours.