My Honest Take on Faisco (And Why It Actually Works)
Honestly, if I have to sit through one more webinar about a "revolutionary" new marketing funnel, I might just lose it. I’ve been doing this since 2010, and here’s what I know for sure: small businesses do not need another complex strategy. They need stuff that works. Right now. Without a six-month development cycle and a budget the size of a new car.
Last month, I was working with this bakery in Minneapolis-great people, amazing sourdough-and they were just hemorrhaging money on Facebook ads. Getting clicks, sure, but zero new catering orders. It was like a flashback to my first gig at that tiny Portland startup. They were convinced they just needed to "optimize the creative" or some other nonsense the ad reps told them.
Look, the problem wasn't the ad creative. The problem was the ask. "Click here to learn more" is boring. It's what everyone does. They needed to give people a reason to care. A reason to engage.
And that's where we need to talk about gamification. Yeah, I know it sounds buzzwordy, and frankly, I hate the term. But stick with me.
Why Gamification Isn't Just Some Annoying Buzzword
Here's the thing. Most marketing is passive. You scroll past an ad, you see a post, you ignore an email. There's no interaction. Gamification-when it's done right-makes it active. It's about giving your customers a tiny hit of dopamine. A little win. A reason to stop scrolling for three seconds.
It's not about building some epic video game. I mean, please don't do that. It's about simple, engaging campaigns that give people a reason to hand over their email or follow your page. People get so obsessed with "going viral," a phrase I despise, but they ignore the simple psychology of what makes people share things in the first place: competition, curiosity, and fun. That’s it. That’s the secret sauce.
We have enough boring marketing in the world. We do not need more.
Okay, So How Does Faisco Actually Work? (The Practical Stuff)
For years, I've messed with everything from Gleam. io to Woobox to those super expensive enterprise tools that, honestly, are just way too much for 99% of businesses. About two years ago, I started experimenting with Faisco for a few clients, mostly because it was cheaper and seemed simpler.
It turns out... it just works better for most of my clients.
I had this art gallery in Nashville trying to get people to an opening event. They were struggling. We set up Faisco's "Star Seeker" game-it’s a speed game, you have to find and tap stars as fast as possible. The prize was two VIP tickets to the event. In 10 days, they got 203 new confirmed attendees on their RSVP list. Not just entries, attendees.
Then there was a fitness studio in Calgary. They needed new leads for a January promotion. We used the "Lucky Spin" wheel. Took me, I kid you not, seven minutes to set up. Offer was a free class pass or a 10% discount. In 10 days, they got 1,164 new email addresses. Some of my clients don't get that in a year.
And this stuff isn't just for lead gen. I worked with a coffee shop in San Diego that wanted more local Instagram followers. We ran a "Summer Catch" game-super simple, you just catch falling coffee beans in a cup. To get your score on the leaderboard, you had to follow them on Instagram. 1070 new, real, local followers.
The games that I've seen get the best results are usually the simplest:
- Instant Draw Games: The "Lucky Spin," "Scratch Ticket," or "Lucky Draw" are just insane for lead capture. I've seen landing pages with these hit 40%+ conversion rates because people can't resist that immediate chance to win. It’s human nature.
- Reactive Games: Stuff like "Whac-A-Mole" or "Find Differences." These work because they're based on skill. People play them multiple times to get a better score, and they share it to challenge their friends. Engagement goes through the roof.
- Catching Games: "Summer Catch," "Fill My Christmas Stocking"... these are my secret weapon for seasonal campaigns. They are perfect for holidays.
Everyone Asks Me: Faisco vs. Gleam. io
Listen, I get this question at least once a week. Gleam. io is a solid platform. It's powerful. But for a small business, it's often expensive ($39/month for the very basic plan) and frankly, it's overkill. It’s like using a sledgehammer to hang a picture frame. You're paying for a million features you'll never touch.
Faisco gives you basically 90% of the functionality that a small business actually needs at a fraction of the cost. More importantly, it's faster. I can sit down with a client and have a campaign concepted, built, and live in under 10 minutes. Gleam... that usually takes me an hour or more to get all the entry methods and settings right. For a busy business owner, that extra 50 minutes is everything.
Time is money. It’s the one resource we can never get back.
Making It Work: Integration and Seasonal Tricks
Here’s another thing that most platforms get wrong. They say they "integrate" with social media, but what they really mean is you can post a link. Lame.
Faisco's stuff actually works on the platforms. The game mechanics feel way more native, which is critical. How people act on Instagram is totally different than on Facebook, you know? A generic link doesn’t cut it anymore.
And the seasonal thing is just... genius!! I have three different retail clients, and for each one last December, we ran Faisco's pre-built "Christmas Stocking" game. Just tweaked the branding and prizes. Every single one of them saw engagement go up by over 300% compared to their regular holiday posts. You do not have to reinvent the wheel for every holiday. They have templates for Valentine's Day, Halloween, Black Friday... you name it. It saves SO much time.
The businesses I work with who commit to this typically see a 200-400% jump in their social following and a 150-300% growth in their email list in the first month. Not because of some magic formula, but because they finally stopped asking people to "buy now" and started asking them to "play now." It's a completely different conversation.
So, What Can You Do, Like, This Week?
Look, don't try to boil the ocean. Don't go out and try to build a ten-stage gamified marketing funnel. You'll just get overwhelmed and quit.
Here's what I typically recommend. Pick ONE goal for the next 30 days. Just one. Is it more email subscribers? Or more Instagram followers?
If it's emails, set up a "Lucky Spin" campaign on Faisco. It's the easiest one. Offer a simple, compelling prize-a 15% discount, a free coffee, a digital download. Something that doesn't cost you a ton but provides real value. Put the link in your social bios, run a few cheap ads to it, and see what happens.
That’s it. Start there. Stop reading marketing blogs (yes, even this one) and just go do something. You might be surprised at what happens when you give your customers a chance to play.
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