I think we can all remember a time in our lives when we were stuck at home while our friends were partying and having fun. Try to recall the feeling you had at those times. The way you felt in that moment actually has a name, FOMO or Fear Of Missing Out. While you were home, you were afraid you would miss out on something important or that you won’t understand an inside joke. Similarly, it is why sometimes you agree to do something even though you don’t really want to just because you are afraid you are going to miss out on something.
FOMO is a feeling or perception that others have more fun, live better lives, or experience better things than you are.
Some people are not affected by it, but it creates an unbearable amount of stress for others. Since we live in the age of social media, the amount of FOMO we experience is even larger than in the past. Sometimes we forget that social media is mostly just a highlights reel, especially Instagram.
More often than not, people post their most exciting and happiest times on Instagram because nobody wants to post themselves doing mundane things over and over again. It becomes boring quite fast, and let’s be honest, people love to subtly brag about what they are doing and how much fun they are having. You have to remind yourself every now and again that just because you see someone having the time of their lives on the Internet, that doesn’t mean that whatever you are doing is any less enjoyable.
The more times we spend on different social media accounts, the more FOMO we experience. It goes vice versa, too, because the more FOMO you feel, the more time you would want to be on social media to experience the fun times through your screen. As a result, you are stuck in a vicious cycle that can really affect your self-esteem.
FOMO affects different ages and gender and can have an impact on your life satisfaction.
One research founds that FOMO can lead to dangerous activities such as distracted driving that can result in some serious consequences. Thankfully, there are a lot of ways you can minimize the amount of FOMO in your life. First of all, and most logical would be, simply turn off your phone. Focus your energy on other things and be productive with your time. Again, being on social media all day doesn’t just increase your FOMO, but also the sense of unproductivity and wasted time. Focus on your gratitude as well, look around yourself, and take a look at all of the things you have in your life, both material and nonmaterial. Try out a new hobby, talk to your loved ones in real life, do a workout, or work on your business.
How can you use FOMO as your marketing strategy
You probably don’t even realize how FOMO is implemented in marketing. Think about it, how often do you come across phrases such as „only 1 product left“, „5 more hours until the sale is over, “ and so on. Phrases like these are everywhere on the Internet, and they are a part of the FOMO marketing strategy. They work because they significantly help you get higher conversions and boost sales. By using such phrases, you leverage the customers’ desire to grab every opportunity they see. They don’t want to risk regretting something they haven’t bought or done.
As we all know, email marketing is is an excellent way of reaching out to your customers and subscribers. When it comes to that kind of campaign, it is essential to start with a clever subject line that will immediately work on the reader’s FOMO. For example, you can write something like „Last chance to grab this deal“ or „Today only..“.
Words like urgent, important, last chance and similar are a great way to catch the customer’s attention, and the possibilities are endless.
You can also write in your emails information about products that are about to expire or sell out and remind the customers that it is the time to purchase something they had their eyes on. Don’t forget to include a button that will lead the reader to that specific product in the email. Also, an excellent opportunity to really increase the FOMO is to send an email about a deal they have just missed. The readers will feel the regret of not doing it and will be alert about any future deals.
You can implement FOMO on your own website as well. Maybe you will post a little teaser about a product that they just can’t miss. Announce something big before you let it out completely. Your users will most likely experience FOMO before even seeing what the big thing is.
Sneak peeks and teasers are a great way to incorporate FOMO into your strategies, and you can even make announcements on your social media accounts.
Testimonials are another great way of showing your customers what they are missing out on. They strengthen your relationships and show that your product is worth it as well as giving you more credibility. Similarly, let your customers know when a product is in high demand and display messages that show what other customers are buying. The phenomenon known as social proof will ensure you get more sales because people are more likely to do something if they see other people doing it. With tools such as WiserNotify, you can create customizable social proof notifications that appear on the product pages. You can add interactive calls-to-action, counter, pop-ups, and more.
Like it or not, social media is a great marketing tool. A lot of people are on it, and it is the best way to share your message. With the rise of influencers, it’s very easy to promote your business that way. When you have an Internet celebrity promoting your product or service, be sure that it will create an immense amount of FOMO. Nowadays, young people especially are more trusting toward their favorite influencer than their friends. When users see their favorite influencer is promoting your brand and using your product, they will also want to use the same thing, resulting in more customers for you and more traffic to your website.
To take advantage of social media even more, try implementing hashtags into your marketing techniques. Simply create a hashtag related to your brand and start sharing it.
If you are doing it the right way, click on your hashtag will lead to users seeing other people wearing or using your product and want to use it. To make that kind of strategy more successful, search trends and see what is popular right now. When you know what is in high demand and what is worth promoting, it will be easier to create your own trend.
Also, leverage FOMO on multiple channels to really take all out of every platform. Different platforms have a different audience, but each audience presents an opportunity for sales, traffic, and conversions. You can let your audience on Twitter know you are releasing something completely new on Instagram only. The thought of not seeing something you will be releasing creates immediate FOMO and brings you new followers or subscribers.
Another way FOMO can benefit you is by promoting product bundles. When somebody buys a product from you, offer them another product that goes with it as well. When they purchase it as a bundle, they will get a discount. To take it up a notch, it’s a good idea to add a countdown or a deadline on the deal. Countdowns are that needed push for the customers to purchase something. Work on improving your messages as well; maybe you need to polish some to get the most out of them. Your words should create a sense of urgency in your target audience and push them to purchase or subscribe.
Final thoughts
Fear Of Missing Out is high these days, with millions of social media account showing vacations, concerts, and festivals. If you are at home, they can make you feel like you are missing out on something extraordinary and like your own life is not good enough. It can be hard, and it can cause you a lot of stress and self-esteem issues. However, it can work wonders for your business. Implementing FOMO to your marketing strategies is one of the best things you can do for your brand. There are many ways you can make FOMO benefit you, such as showing people what products are in demand, what sales are almost over, and displaying social proof notifications. All of that will push your customers to purchase because they don’t want to regret not buying or doing something.
Published on January 17, 2021 under business, marketing, social media. Modified on November 11, 2021.
