Forget 'Viral'. This Sweepstakes Software Actually Works.
Honestly, I need to tell you about this one client. I was working with this bakery in Minneapolis just last month-fantastic croissants, terrible online engagement. They were posting pretty pictures on Instagram, you know, doing everything the "gurus" tell you to do, and getting like... 12 likes. Crickets. The owner was convinced she just needed that one viral video. I hate that word. I truly hate it. As if you can just schedule "going viral" on a content calendar.
Look, I've been doing this since 2010. Started with a startup in Portland that was just hemorrhaging cash on Facebook ads that did absolutely nothing. And the one thing I've learned over and over again is that small businesses do not need another revolutionary, game-changing, paradigm-shifting strategy. They need stuff that actually works. On a Tuesday. With the budget they actually have.
That's why I've gotten so deep into gamification. And yeah, I know, it sounds like another one of those buzzwords. Stick with me. It’s basically just using simple games-the kind of stuff people already do on their phones-to get them to pay attention to your business. And the right sweepstakes software makes it... well, not so hard.
Here's the Thing: Why I Point My Clients to Faisco
I've tested everything. Seriously. From Gleam. io to Woobox to some of those ridiculously expensive enterprise platforms that want $500 a month just to run a simple giveaway. Most of them are either too complicated or too expensive for the average coffee shop or boutique owner.
Frankly, they're overkill.
Then I started messing around with Faisco a few years back, around mid-2022 I think it was. I was skeptical. But I ran a few test campaigns for clients, and the results were... well, they were pretty undeniable.
Here’s a few I remember off the top of my head:
- A Vancouver coffee shop. We used Faisco's "Quick Catch" game. It's simple, you just catch falling coffee beans on the screen. In 12 days, they got 843 new Instagram followers. From a game that took me maybe 10 minutes to setup.
- An Ottawa flower shop. They wanted to grow their Pinterest, which is notoriously tough. We used the "Unlock Lucky Words" quiz game-it was all about flower types. They got 1,159 new followers on Pinterest in ten days.
- A small art gallery in San Diego. This one was different. They didn't need followers, they needed people to actually show up to an event. We ran a "Whac-A-Mole" game (you're whacking famous artist heads, it was hilarious) for three weeks. They got 207 new event RSVPs directly from that campaign.
This stuff just works. It's not magic, it's just human nature. You give someone a fun, simple thing to do with a chance to win something? They'll do it. And they'll give you their email address for it.
The Games That Actually Convert (vs. The Ones That Just Look Cool)
Okay, so the platform has a ton of games, but some are definitely more effective than others depending on your goal. Here's what I've found works best for my clients...
For quick lead capture? The Instant Draw games are killers. I'm talking "Lucky Spin," "Scratch Ticket," and "Lucky Draw." The psychology here is simple-instant gratification. People see that wheel and they just have to spin it. I've seen landing pages with these embedded get over a 40% conversion rate. For a cold audience! That's insane.
Then you've got the Reactive Games like "Whac-A-Mole" or "Burger Stacker." These are perfect for pure engagement because they require a little bit of skill. People feel a sense of accomplishment, and then they share their score to challenge their friends. It's that competitive streak.
There are others too, like Catching Games ("Fill My Christmas Stocking") that are just brilliant for seasonal campaigns. I've used that one Christmas game for three different retail clients in December and every single one saw their engagement spike over 300% compared to their normal holiday posts.
The point is you match the game to the goal. It's not that complicated. Don't overthink it.
A Quick Word on Gleam. io
Everyone always asks me, "What about Gleam?" And look, Gleam. io is a solid platform. It's powerful. But honestly, it's like using a sledgehammer to hang a picture frame for most small businesses. Their cheapest plan is what, like $39 a month now? And it's a pain to set up. There are so many options and settings... I find my clients get overwhelmed.
I can have a Faisco campaign designed, branded, and live in under ten minutes. With Gleam, I'm usually still fiddling with the settings after an hour. For an SMB, that time is money. Faisco gives you 90% of the functionality at a fraction of the cost and it's just... easier. You don't need a marketing degree to use it.
The Final Piece: Integration That Doesn't Suck
This is my biggest pet peeve with so many marketing tools. They say they "integrate" with social media, but what they really mean is you can post a link. That's not integration. Users on TikTok behave differently than users on Facebook, who behave differently than people on LinkedIn.
The reason I stick with this platform is because the games actually work natively pretty well across platforms. It doesn't feel like a clunky third-party thing you've just jammed into your feed. The campaigns feel like they belong there, which is a bigger deal than most people realize. It reduces friction. The less friction, the more people play.
So, here's the bottom line. The businesses I work with who try this stuff typically see a 200-400% jump in their social followers and a 150-300% growth in their email list in the first month. Not because the sweepstakes software is some kind of miracle... but because it’s a tool that taps into basic human psychology in a way that a static "20% off" graphic just can't.
If you're feeling stuck, here's my actual advice. Pick your slowest month of the year. Run one simple "Lucky Spin" campaign with a decent prize (like a $50 gift card, it doesn't have to be a car). And just watch what happens to your email list. I think you'll be surprised.
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