When our agency landed a small Irish pub as a client in early 2024, I never imagined their social media campaign would teach me one of my most valuable lessons about viral marketing. The pub owner wanted to boost their social media presence before St. Patrick's Day, but their budget was tighter than a leprechaun's grip on his gold.
That's when inspiration struck. Instead of running traditional promotions, we launched a "How to Draw St. Patrick's Day" challenge on TikTok and Instagram. The concept was simple: participants would learn to draw increasingly complex Irish-themed illustrations over 17 days, leading up to March 17th.
The results? The campaign reached 2.3 million views, increased the pub's follower count by 1400%, and created a vibrant community of artistic pub-goers. But the real magic wasn't in the numbers – it was in the psychological triggers we accidentally activated.
The Psychology of Progressive Mastery
What we discovered was that people aren't just drawn to games – they're drawn to feeling themselves improve. Each daily drawing prompt built upon the previous one. We started with simple shamrocks and graduated to detailed Celtic knots. The key was making Day 1 so easy that anyone could succeed, building confidence for harder challenges ahead.
I've seen many brands try to gamify their social media presence, but they often miss this crucial element of skill progression. Gucci's AR shoe try-on feature is impressive, but it lacks this addictive "leveling up" component that keeps people coming back.
The Community Amplification Effect
Here's something fascinating: our most engaged participants weren't actually interested in the pub – at least not initially. They were art teachers, students, and hobby artists who saw an opportunity to learn new drawing techniques. They became our unexpected brand ambassadors, creating detailed tutorials on how to draw St. Patrick's Day themes, which then attracted an even wider audience.
The Content Multiplication Principle
Each participant's drawing journey created multiple pieces of content:
- The initial attempt
- Progress videos
- Side-by-side comparisons
- Teaching others
- Celebration posts upon completion
This organic content multiplication is something I now look for in every social media strategy I develop. When users naturally create multiple pieces of content from one prompt, you've struck marketing gold.
Looking Forward: The Evolution of Social Learning Games
This experience has shaped my view of where social media marketing is heading. I believe we'll see more brands embracing what I call "skill-building challenges" – campaigns that help people learn something tangible while building brand affinity.
The success factors are clear:
- Make the entry barrier extremely low
- Ensure visible progress within the first attempt
- Build a clear skill progression
- Create natural sharing moments
- Foster community teaching and learning
A Word of Caution
Not every brand should launch a drawing challenge. The key is finding the right skill-building activity that aligns with your brand values and audience interests. For our Irish pub, drawing celebrations of Irish culture made perfect sense. For your brand, it might be something entirely different.
What excites me most about this approach is its sustainability. Unlike traditional social media contests that spike engagement temporarily, skill-building challenges create lasting communities and genuine brand advocates.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this approach. Have you seen other examples of brands successfully combining learning and social media engagement? Drop a comment below – I read and respond to every one.
Remember, sometimes the most powerful marketing strategies don't feel like marketing at all. They feel like growth, like achievement, like fun. And isn't that what we're all really after?
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Want to Know What Really Gets People Talking?
Let me share something that caught me off guard when I started using Faisco. We ran a small contest for a client last month, and what happened next was pretty eye-opening. Their social traffic didn't just tick up – it jumped by over 60%. People stuck around on their site four times longer than usual. And here's the kicker: their conversion rates shot up by 28% compared to their regular campaigns.
I get it – numbers are nice, but you're probably wondering what this means in real terms. Here's the deal: Faisco turns those boring "enter your email" promotions into experiences people actually want to share with their friends. I've seen it work for scrappy startups and growing SaaS companies alike.
Looking to Give This a Shot?
From my experience running these campaigns, I've picked up a few tricks that make a real difference.
Start with the End in Mind
Here's what I tell my clients: figure out what success looks like before you dive in. Are you after more email signups? Brand awareness? Social buzz? Each goal shapes how you'll set up your campaign.
Pick Prizes People Actually Want
I learned this one the hard way – offering an iPad might get entries, but offering something your specific audience craves? That's when magic happens. One of my clients in the photography space offered a premium preset pack, and their engagement went through the roof.
Get the Word Out
Sure, you could just hit publish and hope for the best. But I've found mixing things up works better – share on social, tap into your email list, maybe test some ads if you've got the budget. Different channels reach different folks.
Keep an Eye on What Works
Faisco comes with some pretty solid analytics tools. I check them regularly to see what's clicking with people and what's not. Sometimes the smallest tweaks make the biggest difference.
Here's something cool: you can test this out yourself at i.faisco.com. Their free trial lets you set up a campaign in about three minutes. Beats spending weeks planning and coding something from scratch.
If you want to make a payment, you can also check their pricing page.
