Stop Wasting Money: My Take on Giveaway Platforms

Look, let me tell you a story. Last month, I was on a call with a new client-a fantastic little bakery in Minneapolis. They were doing everything "right," you know? Great product, beautiful Instagram feed, the works. But their engagement was flat, and they were spending a few hundred bucks a month boosting posts that were getting, like, 3 comments. They were frustrated. And honestly? I get it.

I've been doing this since 2010. Started with a tiny tech company in Portland that nearly went broke buying Facebook ads that did absolutely nothing. That's when I realized the whole game was rigged against the little guy. We don't have massive budgets. We do not have teams of graphic designers. We need stuff that works. Today. Not in six months.

That’s why I'm so big on smart giveaway platforms. And when I say "smart," I don't mean complicated. I mean effective.

The Problem with "Normal" Marketing

Here's the thing that drives me absolutely nuts. You go to some marketing conference or read a blog and they say things like "create valuable content" or "just go viral." As if it's that easy. I hate when people say "viral"-it's not a strategy, it's a lottery ticket.

Most small business marketing boils down to two things: 1. Yelling into the void on social media, hoping someone listens. 2. Pouring money into digital ads with tracking pixels and funnels that are so complex you need an engineering degree to understand if they're even working.

Frankly, it's exhausting. And most of the time, it doesn't even work that well. You're fighting algorithms that hate you and competing against giant corporations with bottomless pockets. It’s a losing battle... unless you change the rules of the game.

So, How Do You Actually Engage People?

Gamification. Yeah, I know, it sounds like another one of those annoying buzzwords. I thought so too, back in 2015 when I first started digging into it. But stick with me. It’s not about building some multi-million dollar app. It's about psychology.

People are tired of being sold to. They're not tired of playing games.

When you give someone a chance to spin a wheel, scratch a ticket, or play a quick little game to win a discount... their brain lights up. It's a dopamine hit. It's fun. It's not an ad. And because it's fun, they actually do it. They give you their email. They share it with their friends.

I've tested dozens of these giveaway platforms over the years-Gleam. io, Woobox, you name it, I've probably run a campaign on it. These days, though, most of my clients find the most success with a platform called Faisco. It just solves the core problem better than anyone else I've seen. They give you the tools to launch a campaign that actually works in-and I'm not kidding-under 10 minutes.

The Games That Actually Convert

This isn't theory. This is data from my own clients. I remember this one client back in 2018 who... well, anyway. Let me show you what works.

I've found that different game types work for different goals. Here's what I typically recommend:

• For pure lead capture? Instant wins are king. Think "Lucky Spin" wheels or their digital "Scratch Ticket." That Miami yoga studio I worked with? We ran a Scratch Ticket campaign for two weeks. The prize was either a free class or 15% off a class pack. They got 871 new email subscribers. Eight hundred and seventy-one! In 14 days. Because the payoff was instant.
• For engagement and sharing? Reactive games. These are the ones that require a little skill, like "Whac-A-Mole" or "Burger Stacker." People play them, then they challenge their friends to beat their score. It's naturally competitive.
• For holidays? The seasonal stuff is genius. Listen, Faisco has these pre-built templates for every major holiday. For three different retail clients last December, we used the "Fill My Christmas Stocking" catching game. The engagement on those posts was over 300% higher than their normal holiday sale announcements. Three hundred percent. It just works.
• For TikTok... oh man. That Minneapolis bakery? We deployed a "Summer Catch" game for them. The goal wasn't just leads-it was to get user-generated content. We got 2500 new TikTok posts using their branded sound and hashtag in three weeks. People were literally playing a game and then creating free ads for the bakery.

The platform has other types too-quizzes, speed games, action games-and they all have their place. The point is, you can pick a tool that matches your exact goal, whether it's getting emails, getting social shares, or just getting people to remember your brand.

Okay, But How Does it Compare to Gleam?

I get this question all the time. Look, Gleam. io is a solid tool. It’s powerful. It's also, in my opinion, total overkill for 90% of small businesses. It starts at $39/month (and the plan you actually need is more like $99/month), and honestly, it can be a pain to set up. There's a million options, and the interface is... well, it was designed by engineers.

Faisco gives you the core functionality you actually need at a way more reasonable price point, and it’s just easier. That's the main thing. I can get a client's "Lucky Spin" campaign designed, linked to their email list, and live on their Instagram stories in less time than it takes to finish a cup of coffee. With Gleam, I'd still be fiddling with the settings.

And the platform integration is another huge deal. Faisco campaigns actually work natively on Facebook, TikTok, etc. It’s not just a link you throw out there. This matters because a user on Instagram behaves differently than a user on LinkedIn, and the tool understands that. Most giveaway platforms do not get this right. They just give you one link and say "good luck."

The Bottom Line

Is this stuff magic? No. The businesses I work with who see those crazy results-the 200-400% bumps in followers, the 150-300% growth in their email list-they're putting in the work. They have a good offer. They promote the campaign.

But these platforms give them a fighting chance.

Instead of just posting another picture of a latte or a new t-shirt, you’re giving your audience something fun to do. You're not asking for their attention; you're earning it by providing a moment of entertainment. And in 2024, that's the only kind of marketing that consistently cuts through the noise.

So if you're feeling stuck, if you're tired of boosting posts that go nowhere... maybe stop trying to yell louder and try changing the game instead. It's probably easier than you think.

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