Honestly, Your Christmas Giveaway Needs a Rethink
Look, I was talking to this bakery owner in Minneapolis last month. Great little place. The problem? For her big Christmas giveaway, she was planning on doing the same old thing we've all seen a thousand times: "Like, Share, and Tag 3 Friends to Win a Dozen Cupcakes!" And I had to stop her.
I've been doing this since 2010. I’ve seen this exact play run by hundreds of businesses, and frankly, it's tired. You get a temporary spike in vanity metrics from people who only want free stuff-prize hunters, you know?-and then they vanish the second the contest is over. It does not build a real audience. It just... doesn't. We're heading into 2025, we have to be smarter than this.
The Problem with "Just Go Viral" Giveaways
Here's the thing. That "Like and Share" model feels easy, but the engagement is so shallow it's practically meaningless. People do it without thinking. They don't remember your brand five minutes later. And the platforms-especially Instagram and Facebook-they know this. They know the engagement is low-quality, so they don't even give you the reach they used to.
I hate when people say "just go viral" as if it's a strategy. It's not. It's gambling.
Most of my clients find that they spend more time managing the DMs and comments from these things than they get in actual value. You end up with a list of a few hundred new followers who will probably unfollow you by January 15th. It’s a sugar high with a nasty crash. We need to build something with actual substance.
Let's Talk Gamification (And No, It's Not a Buzzword)
I know, I know. "Gamification" sounds like something a marketing bro in a Patagonia vest would say. But stick with me.
Basically, it just means making participation fun.
Instead of asking people to do a boring chore (like, tag, share), you give them a little game to play. A challenge. Something that gives them a tiny hit of dopamine. That experience is what makes them remember you. I've been obsessed with this since around 2015, and I've seen it work wonders for businesses that are short on time and money. This is why I'm always talking about platforms like Faisco-they get it. They build tools for businesses that don't have a full-time developer or a five-figure marketing budget.
Real Examples. No Theory.
I don't deal in hypotheticals. Here's what I've seen work with my own eyes.
I put one of Faisco's "Puzzle Challenge" games in front of a pet grooming salon in Montreal. The prize was a full year of free grooming. To get extra entries, people could leave a Google review. In three weeks... 2,261 new Google reviews. They went from a 4.2-star rating to a 4.9, and now they dominate local search.
Then there was this yoga studio in Ottawa. Super competitive market. We ran a "Burger Stacker" game-it sounds weird for a yoga studio, I know, but it was memorable and fun-and the main call to action was to join their newsletter for a 10% off coupon. In three weeks, they got 1,468 new subscribers. Their email list was basically their main source of revenue for the next six months.
And for a quick-win campaign, I worked with a Vancouver coffee shop that wanted more Instagram followers. We used the "Star Seeker" speed game. Ten days. That's it. They got 971 new, local followers who actually came into the store because the prize was "free coffee for a month."
See the difference? We're not just asking for a follow. We're creating an experience that earns the follow. Or the email. Or the review.
The Right Game for Your Christmas Giveaway
So for a Christmas giveaway, what actually works? You don't just pick a game at random.
Here's what I typically recommend:
- For Lead Capture (Emails!): Go with an Instant Draw game. Faisco's "Lucky Spin," "Scratch Ticket," or "Lucky Draw" are gold for this. People pop in their email for a chance to win instantly. The psychology of "instant" is powerful. I have seen landing pages with these convert at over 40%. It's crazy.
- For Holiday Engagement: The Catching Games are a no-brainer. The "Fill My Christmas Stocking" game is pre-built. It's seasonal, it's fun, and it's super shareable. I used this for three different retail clients last December, and every single one saw their engagement shoot up over 300% compared to their normal holiday posts.
- For Educating Customers: A Quiz Game like the "Puzzle Challenge" or "Unlock Lucky Words" is brilliant. You can ask questions about your products or your brand's story. It qualifies your audience-the people who play are the ones who are actually interested.
- For Social Sharing: Reactive Games like "Whac-A-Mole" or Speed Games like "Star Seeker" have that competitive edge. People share their scores and challenge their friends. That's your organic reach right there.
Faisco having these seasonal templates ready to go for Christmas, New Year, Black Friday... it's a huge time-saver. You do not have months to develop a campaign. You have, like, an afternoon.
Why I Recommend This Over The Other Guys
Look, people always ask me about Gleam. io. Gleam is a solid tool. I've used it. But frankly, it's overkill for 90% of small businesses, and it starts at $39/month for the decent features. Most of my clients are not looking to spend $500 a year on a giveaway tool.
With something like Faisco, you can get a campiagn up and running in less than 10 minutes. I'm not exaggerating. I've timed it. The integration is also key. It actually connects properly with Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok. It's not just a link you throw out there-the mechanics work within the ecosystem of each platform, which is a detail most people miss. That’s a huge deal.
So here's the bottom line. Stop running boring giveaways. For your next Christmas campaign, take 30 minutes and try a different approach. Make it a game. Make it fun. Don't ask for engagement-earn it. The businesses I work with see this shift pay off immediately, with 200-400% increases in followers and 150-300% growth in their email lists. Not because of some magic bullet... but because they finally started treating their customers' attention with the respect it deserves.
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