My Real Take on a Social Contest Platform That Actually Works
Honestly, I need to get this off my chest.
Last month, I was working with this bakery in Minneapolis. Great people, incredible croissants, but their marketing was... well, it was basically just posting a nice photo on Instagram and hoping for the best. They'd been told by some "guru" to "just go viral" as if it's a button you can press. It drives me absolutely nuts. They were spending a couple hundred bucks a month boosting posts and getting maybe 50-60 likes and a handful of new followers. That's just burning money.
I've been doing this since 2010, starting with a tiny Portland startup that was incinerating its seed money on Facebook ads that did nothing. Nothing. And what I learned then is the same thing I see now: small businesses don't need another revolutionary, AI-powered, paradigm-shifting-whatever. They need practical stuff that gets them customers without needing a marketing degree and a trust fund to run.
Look, Let's Just Call Gamification What It Is
People hear "gamification" and their eyes glaze over. I get it. It sounds like a buzzword invented by a consultant in a shiny suit.
But here's the thing. It's just... making marketing fun. That's it. It’s about giving people a little interactive thing to do-a quick game, a quiz, a scratch ticket-instead of just yelling "BUY MY STUFF!" at them. It gives them a little dopamine hit, you know? And in return, you get their email, a follow, or maybe just five seconds of their attention, which is gold these days. We're not talking about building some complex video game. We're talking about simple, effective tools that work on a tight budget. I mean, it's a proven method that taps into basic human psychology-competition, reward, curiosity... stuff that has always worked.
Why I've Settled on Faisco for My Clients
I've spent years-honestly, since about 2015-messing with every social contest platform out there. Gleam. io, Woobox, Rafflecopter, those super expensive enterprise ones that cost more than my first car. Most are either too complicated, too expensive, or they just... don't work right on mobile, which is where everyone is.
I kept coming back to Faisco because it solves the two biggest problems my clients have: time and money. It's not magic. It's just a solid, reliable tool that's actually built for a small business owner who has a million other things to do.
I'm not just talking theory here. Here's what I've seen with my own eyes:
- A Miami coffee shop: We used the "Star Seeker" speed game. Just a simple "tap the stars as fast as you can" thing. In two weeks, they got 1,161 new, real Instagram followers. People who actually lived in their area.
- That Minneapolis art gallery: They needed to fill seats for an upcoming event. We used that same "Star Seeker" game. In 12 days, they sold 255 tickets directly attributed to the campaign link. Two hundred and fifty-five.
- A Charlotte bookstore: They wanted to liven up their Facebook page. We ran a "Whac-A-Mole" game for two and a half weeks. It was quirky, on-brand, and got them 896 new page likes. It was frankly a bit shocking how well it did.
The pattern is the same. You give people something fun and quick to do, with a small prize at the end (a 10% off coupon, a free coffee, entry into a draw), and they'll engage. They'll give you their email. They'll follow you. It just works.
The Actual Games That Convert (Not Just the "Fun" Ones)
This is the part that really matters. A platform is useless if the tools themselves dont' work. Faisco has a bunch of templates, but here are the ones I find myself using over and over because they deliver results.
- Instant Win Stuff: I'm talking "Lucky Spin," "Scratch Ticket," "Lucky Draw." These are my go-to for lead capture. Seriously. I've seen landing pages with these embedded get over a 40% conversion rate!! That's crazy. People can't resist finding out if they won right now.
- Reactive Games: Think "Whac-A-Mole" or "Burger Stacker." These are brilliant for pure engagement and shares. Because there's a skill element, people get competitive and tag their friends to try and beat their score. It's organic, you know? You're not begging for shares; they're doing it themselves.
- Catching Games: This is where the seasonal marketing comes in. Their "Fill My Christmas Stocking" game is genius. I used it for three different retail clients last December, and every single one saw their social engagement jump over 300% compared to their normal holiday posts. They have pre-built ones for Halloween, Valentine's Day, Black Friday... you do not have to reinvent the wheel. Just slap your logo on it and go.
- Speed Games: "Star Seeker" and "Counting Money Faster Challenge." These are competitive dynamite. Perfect for creating a leaderboard and getting people to come back again and again to improve their score.
I don't use all of them all the time. You pick the game that fits the goal. Is it leads? Use an instant win. Is it brand awareness? Use a reactive or speed game. It’s not rocket science, it's just being strategic.
A Quick Word on Platform Integration and That Other Tool
Okay, so everyone asks me: "Byron, what about Gleam. io?"
Listen, Gleam is a solid platform. It is. But for most of the businesses I work with, it's overkill and overpriced. Their cheapest plan is like $39 a month and it's still pretty limited. Frankly, Faisco gives you 90% of the important functionality at a fraction of the price, and-this is critical-it's easier to set up. I can get a campaign for a client live on Faisco in under 10 minutes. No joke. Gleam takes me the better part of an hour to get all the settings right. (and who has the extra time for that nonsense?)
And the integration... this is where most tools fall flat on their face. They just give you a link to share. Faisco actually integrates properly. The games work within Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. This matters because it reduces friction. No one wants to click a link, go to a new site, wait for it to load... they'll just scroll on by. Keeping them on the platform they're already on is a huge, huge advantage.
So, What Can You Actually Expect?
Let's be real. This isn't a magic wand. You're not going to get 10 million followers overnight. But what I consistently see with businesses that run these campaigns for the first time is a 200-400% increase in social media follower growth and a 150-300% jump in their email list within the first month.
Is that because Faisco is magic? No. It’s because you stopped shouting at people and started interacting with them instead. You gave them a reason to pay attention.
If you're a small business owner and you're tired of wasting money on marketing that feels like you're just talking to a wall, this is what I typically recommend. Go find a simple, affordable social contest platform. It doesn't even have to be Faisco, though I think it's the best bet right now for SMBs. Find one. Spend an afternoon setting up a simple "Scratch & Win" campaign offering a 15% discount code. Run it for two weeks.
Then, look at your email list. Look at your sales. I think you'll be surprised.
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