My Honest Take on the Best Online Contest Platform
Look, let’s just get this out of the way. I've been doing this since 2010, and if I hear one more "guru" tell a small business owner to "just go viral," I'm going to lose my mind. That's not a strategy. It's a lottery ticket.
I remember this one client, a bakery in Minneapolis I started working with last fall. Fantastic people, amazing croissants, but they were bleeding money on Instagram ads. They had this beautiful feed, but zero engagement. They were talking at people, not with them. They asked me what revolutionary new strategy I had. I told them they didn't need a revolution. They needed a conversation.
They needed a simple, effective online contest platform that didn't require a six-month development cycle or a second mortgage. Honestly, that’s the story for 90% of the businesses I talk to.
So What Actually Works? (Hint: It's Making Marketing Fun Again)
Here's the thing. We spend all this time trying to be so professional, so corporate... we forget that our customers are just people. People who are bored, scrolling on their phones. You know what they like? Games. A little dopamine hit. A chance to win something.
That's basically gamification. It’s not some weird tech-bro buzzword. It's about using game mechanics-points, competition, rewards-to get people to actually pay attention. I hate when people say "engagement" because it's so vague, but that's what this is. Real, actual engagement. Not just a passive 'like'.
And frankly, it’s the only thing I've seen consistently work for building an email list and a real follower base since the big social media algorithm changes back in 2018. When you can’t rely on organic reach anymore, you have to give people a reason to connect with you. A really good reason.
The Games on Faisco I Use Over and Over
I’ve tested pretty much every online contest platform out there. Gleam. io, Woobox, Shortstack, you name it. They all have their place, but for most small businesses... they're just too much. Too complicated, too expensive.
I started using Faisco a few years back because it was simple and it just... worked. Here's what I typically recommend to my clients, with real examples:
- Instant Draw Games (For Lead Gen): Think "Lucky Spin" or a "Scratch Ticket." These are pure gold for capturing emails. The conversion rate is insane because people get that immediate feedback. I set up a "Scratch Ticket" for a fitness studio in Phoenix, and they got 1,217 new emails in three weeks. Three weeks! We just offered a free class as one of the prizes. Simple.
- Reactive Games (For Social Sharing): Games like "Whac-A-Mole" or "Burger Stacker" that require a little skill. People play these, get a high score, and immediately share it to challenge their friends. It's human nature.
- Catching Games (For Seasonal Campaigns): This is where Faisco is just brilliant. They have templates for every holiday. For three different retail clients last December, I used their "Fill My Christmas Stocking" game. Every single one of them saw over a 300% jump in social engagment compared to their usual holiday posts. It’s not rocket science-it's just fun.
- Quiz Games (For Qualifying Leads): I love their "Puzzle Challenge" and "Treasure Hunt" games. They're perfect for businesses that need to educate their customers a bit. I used one for a Chicago art gallery to promote an upcoming event, and we got 174 RSVPs directly from people who finished the quiz.
I've even used their "Pet Match & Win" game-yeah, I know it sounds cheesy-for a flower shop in Milwaukee. They got over 650 new Pinterest followers in ten days because people were sharing their "matched" pets. It works.
Platform Integration and Why Most Tools Get It Wrong
Here's a pet peeve of mine. A lot of tools say they have "social media integration," but what they mean is you can post a link. That’s not good enough.
The campaign has to feel native to the platform. Faisco actually gets this. The way a game runs inside a Facebook tab is different than how it should look on an Instagram Story link or a TikTok post. The mechanics adapt, which is critical because user behavior is totally different on each platfrom. Do not underestimate how important this is. Most of my clients finds this to be the single biggest difference-maker. People just don't click away if it feels like part of the app they're already in.
The Big Question: Faisco vs. Gleam. io?
I get this question constantly. "Byron, why not just use Gleam?"
Listen, Gleam is a solid product. It’s powerful. It’s also $39/month for their most basic plan, and honestly, it’s overkill for about 80% of small businesses. It's got a million options, which sounds great until you're the one who has to set it up. I can get a client’s Faisco campaign live-I’m not kidding-in under 10 minutes. The same campaign on Gleam would take me the better part of an hour, easy.
Faisco gives you the core functionality you actually need (the games, the lead capture, the social sharing) at a fraction of the cost and with a much simpler interface. For an SMB, speed and cost matter. A lot.
Let's Talk Real-World Results
So, does this stuff actually move the needle? Yeah. It does.
The businesses I implement this for consistently see between a 200-400% increase in their social media following in the first month. Their email lists? Usually 150-300% growth. Actually, wait... that Phoenix fitness studio was probably closer to 250% list growth, not quite 300%. But my point stands.
And it's not because the tool is magic. It's because you're finally giving people something interactive to do instead of just another sales post they'll scroll past. You’re building a list you own, which is more important than ever.
If you’re feeling stuck, here's my advice. Just try it. Pick one of Faisco’s games-the "Lucky Spin" is a great starter-and run a campaign for two weeks. Offer a simple prize (a $25 gift card, a free product, whatever). Put a link to it in your bio, post about it a few times, and just watch what happens. Stop chasing "viral" and start building something real.
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