What is FOMO? Fear of missing out (FOMO) is the thought that other people are enjoying experiences, that one is not. Surveys suggest FOMO is highly prevalent among millennials and more than 65 per cent of millennials experience FOMO.
A 50 per cent discount sale on your favourite clothing brand. Exclusive membership is offered for a limited time frame. Your folks climbing atop a summit and posting pictures from there. And more such instances can evoke a feeling of FOMO.
There are some interesting statistics from 2021 on FOMO compiled by LinkedIn’s ‘Top voice’ & influencer Colin Shaw:
– 51 per cent of individuals visit or log into social media more regularly.
– 27 per cent of people log onto social media first thing in the morning.
– 45 per cent of users couldn’t wait for more than 12 hours to check their social media profiles.
– 20 per cent of users couldn’t stay away from their social media accounts for more than one hour.
Why use FOMO in marketing?
To create a sense of urgency or set a deadline-
Keeping a weekend flash sale or setting a time limit on the sale products, creates a sense of urgency for the customers. The Black Friday sale is a classic and accurate example of FOMO marketing.
Stores offer big discounts and open their stores during pre-dawn hours on this day to attract people. It creates FOMO in the customers and they act quickly before the time runs out on the deals.
Notifications from your shopping app, that the product you had been eyeing for some time is almost sold out, create FOMO too. Letting your customers know if they are running out of time, or if the stock is low motivates customers to make hurried purchases.
The countdown timer on Instagram can create an immediate trigger in the customer to buy the product before the deal ends. If your company can weave this kind of urgency and excitement into the campaign then people will find it difficult to resist the offers made.
To create scarcity and exclusivity-
“The more scarce a product is, the more valuable it becomes to people,” says Adam Alter, associate professor of marketing at the New York University Stern School Of Business. He says, “Scarcity in itself is a source of value because it means you have something that other people can’t have.” Offering a little quantity of whatever you’re selling will arouse a sense of scarcity and encourage speedy sales.
For customers, exclusivity attracts attention and adds value to the product. When Pinterest was first launched, they made their site exclusive to people who got an invite from their friends. Thus people wanted to be part of this special group and quickly signed up even when they didn’t know what was it all about.
Making the selected few feel valued and rewarded infuses FOMO in others, who are not part of that inner circle. Offering deals, rewards or promo codes to the exclusive subscribers or free shipping of products also brings forth the element of FOMO in people who haven’t signed up with the brand. For instance, over 100 million people signed up for Amazon Prime to get deals that non-prime members can’t get.
Use influencers-
A total of 82 per cent of customers are most likely inclined to heed influencers’ advice and recommendations. Influencers have thousands of followers who like to imitate their sense of style.
They influence their followers in such a way that it creates a desire in customers for the goods and products that they advertise. Companies thus, blend FOMO with influencer marketing. Research shows that people find it more authentic when a real person gives a review than if it was done by means of traditional commercials of earlier years.
Encourage social proof-
Social proof is a marketing approach and caters to a herd mentality in humans. It can be in the form of ratings, reviews or testimonials which demonstrates that other people are buying from you, utilising your products and services and enjoying them.
So it must be good. This can increase conversion by 270 per cent as it shows that real people are using the product and this increases FOMO. According to a Podium survey, 93 per cent of consumers claim that online reviews have influenced their shopping decisions.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house. Unless otherwise noted, the author is writing in his/her personal capacity. They are not intended and should not be thought to represent official ideas, attitudes, or policies of any agency or institution.
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