Do you remember browsing Facebook after a long night? Only to find pictures of your friends having fun and making you anxious because you are missing out on all the fun? FOMO is something you’ve probably experienced.

FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out, refers to a psychological condition that causes anxiety and regrets. When a person sees something they feel they should have done, this is called FOMO. One example is when a person sees a group of friends going on a camping trip and decides not to go. Later, they regret it. According to research 69% said they had experienced FOMO at one time or another. 33% admitted that they tried to incite FOMO in others.

FOMO is often associated with millenials. However, the desire to belong and be connected to a group dates back to the dawn of humankind. This is why belonging to a group can help you survive in the wild and ward off predators.

While we won’t be discussing FOMO (fear of missing out), this is an area that eCommerce businesses can tap into. Marketing is about helping your audience make the right decisions. Marketing efforts will be more successful if you learn how to harness these emotions.

Here are 30 amazing FOMO marketing strategies that will instantly increase your sales. Let’s get right to it.

What is FOMO marketing?

FOMO marketing is where content is used to appeal to your audience’s desire for an incredible opportunity. The message should be presented in a way that encourages the audience to buy an impulse product to avoid regretting the past.

FOMO is a human phenomenon. We don’t like feeling regret for missing out on an opportunity. Imagine that you are looking for a car, and you already know what model and brand you want.

You may then come across an advertisement by your local auto dealer offering a 30% discount on the car you want. You might be still weighing the options because of financial constraints, but haven’t made a decision yet. You might feel the need to act, especially when the discount is only valid for seven days.

This is precisely the feeling of urgency and panic FOMO marketing aims to create. There are three ways consumers would respond to this fear:

• They fear missing a great deal and make purchases.
• Due to social pressure, they spend more money
• They feel dissatisfied or regret at the missed opportunity. 

Now you know what FOMO marketing is. Let’s now discuss the strategies you can use for FOMO marketing in your marketing campaigns.

30 powerful FOMO marketing strategies to increase conversions

Marketing strategies using FOMO on your website

These FOMO strategies will help you convince your customers to buy and stop them abandoning their cart.

Show off your demand

If you have a product that is in high demand, shout it loud. Tell your customers about it. A store with many customers makes you feel more confident.

Add countdown times

Your customers will notice you when you are urgent. This is how to get FOMO. To show when your special offer will expire, you can add a countdown to your website. There will not be FOMO if there is no countdown timer. Customers will believe that the deal will last forever so they will need to act now. To avoid missing out on the deal, a countdown timer encourages prospects to buy sooner than they think.

Use testimonials

Customers trust others more than sellers. This is why customers leave reviews about your brand and product. Your homepage should highlight the positive reviews that customers have left about your product. This will show customers that others have purchased your product and are satisfied with it.

Display stock levels

To keep your customers’ competitive spirit alive, you can inform them if a product is limited or not available. Your customers should know that if they don’t buy now, someone else will.

Paywalls are a good idea

Although this method may not be applicable to all industries, it might work for you if your industry is content. You might consider charging your readers premium access if you provide valuable content to your website. News companies like the New York Times allow you to read a portion of their articles, which is often an interesting section that can spark curiosity. However, the reader must pay a subscription fee to have full access to the article. They will not be able to access the information if they do not want to pay.

Shipping is free up to a certain limit

90% of eCommerce customers prefer to shop online rather than offline. To encourage your customers to purchase now, offer free shipping for a short time.

Last-minute deal

Offer a discount to customers who leave product pages or remove items from their shopping carts before clicking buy. You can offer the customer a 20% discount if they do not act immediately.

Keep track of your conversions 

You will need to monitor the results of your FOMO campaign to determine how effective it is. Track the analytics of any FOMO campaign you run on your website and compare them with a time when they were not being used.

Marketing strategies for an offline event using FOMO

FOMO marketing isn’t just important for online sales. It’s also vital for offline events (e.g. it’s a great method to attract attendees to an event). These are nine ways to generate FOMO for your next offline event marketing campaign.

Limit the number of RSVPs

A limit on how many people can attend your event can help create an atmosphere of exclusivity. In your marketing materials, make it clear that there is a limit to how many tickets you can sell. To avoid losing your slot, encourage potential participants to sign up quickly.

Tease the event

Instead of telling everyone what you have in store for them, give a teaser to spark curiosity. You could say, “We’re having a surprise visitor who we’re certain everyone will love to meet”, or “Come get our secret giveaway towards the end of the program.”

Early bird discounts

You don’t want everyone treated equally when it comes to offline events. Sign up early to receive a special deal. You could offer a discount, a better seat or a gift. This will encourage people to sign up early and allow you to use the early birds to draw more people. It is more powerful to state that “10,000 people signed up in the first 2 days!” than that “100 people signed up”.

Find your WOW factor

Before you start your marketing announcements, it is important to determine what makes your event different. This is called the WOW factor and it’s what will attract people to your event. If you have Gary Vaynerchukc as a guest speaker at an event for entrepreneurs, people will flock to your event when they see his name. This is the WOW factor for your event. Once you have identified the WOW factor that will make your target audience scream when they see your event you can craft the copy for your promotional campaign to convey the message.

Last-minute tickets available

If you have run out of tickets, or you can make it up, you can offer last-minute buzz by releasing limited quantities of tickets in the days leading up to the event. People can feel left out if they are not able to get their tickets in time.

Encourage participants to bring their smartphones

You can make materials from your event once it has started. It is important that everyone feels like they are there. This tactic is aided by social media.

This is where you can make sure that your events are filled with emotional moments. Encourage participants to share their experience on social media. You can make sure attendees bring their smartphones by allowing them to download tickets or scan tickets via email at their door. You can ensure that your attendees bring their phones with them by allowing them to download tickets or scan tickets via email at the door.

Go live online

To let your followers know what’s happening, show them the event live on social media. During the live event, show your best parts, like special guests or giveaways. In the comments, you can also designate a team to interact with your guests at home.

Make an Instagram-worthy moment

FOMO marketing also involves creating something that is worth sharing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a photo booth, photo booth, photo wall or celebrity appearance. Your event should have multiple memorable moments that are worth sharing on social networks. This is how you can make your event viral and get more people to attend your next event.

Giveaway of valuable prizes

Remember the moment Oprah gave away cars to viewers on national television? You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car.”

This is when everyone who watches at home realizes that they want to be there. Even though you might not be able to afford Oprah’s giveaway budget, you can still give valuable prizes away to your guests. To show everyone who didn’t participate, you can post the winners to social media.

FOMO marketing tips for social media

FOMO can be applied to both the online and offline contexts. But it is also applicable in social media. Many people feel insecure when they see others sharing their compelling experiences on social media.

People are becoming more addicted to online content. A survey revealed that 56% of social media users felt dread about missing their friends’ updates online. If you want to include fear of missing out in marketing programs, social media is an integral part of FOMO marketing.

Here are 9 ways to invoke FOMO (in healthy ways) on social media

Use hashtags

Use hashtags to generate buzz about your product or brand and encourage your followers by offering incentives. Use hashtags in your social media marketing to increase consumer interest. You can then bring all your promotional posts about a subject to one group with a single message. You can also track the engagements of your posts and see who is talking about your brand or your product offerings using hashtags.

Tease a new release

Take a leaf out of Apple’s marketing strategy and announce the new product’s arrival everywhere you can, including on social media. You can create FOMO among potential customers by creating buzz around a new product well before it is launched.

Let your content expire

Some content shouldn’t be kept forever. Snapchat was founded on the belief that great content that disappears would attract people’s attention. Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories can be used to promote special offers only to those who have access for a limited time.

Make a private Facebook group

After a customer has bought a product from you or is engaged in any way with your brand, create an exclusive Facebook group for them and invite them to join. They will get insider information and early discounts.

Tap into influencer marketing

These days, influencer marketing is big. 70% of teenagers trust celebrities more than they trust traditional celebrities. They see these influencers to be more genuine and approachable. Partnering with influencers can help you leverage the power of FOMO marketing strategies. This will allow you to bring in their loyal followers by sharing special offers.

Start a user-generated content contest

In-house content creation can be costly. All the photo shooting and video production can be very expensive. You don’t have to create new content in-house every time. You can create programs to encourage customers to contribute user-generated content, since social proof is one the most trusted forms of advertising. It is a great way to get participants to participate in a contest. Participants will be rewarded or given incentives.

Send your special offers

You should promote any discount, special offer or promotion you have in-store and on your website on your social media channels. Your followers may be the ones who engage with your content, and help it reach a larger audience.

Promote your loyalty program offerings

Your loyalty program can be promoted on social media to remind followers what they are missing. Your customers might not have joined your loyalty program when they last purchased with you. However, it’s possible to remind them by posting on social media about your program offers.

Offer limited product samples

By offering limited-edition samples, you can increase your followers and build a sense of exclusivity around the product. Customers will need to interact with your social media account to get the code and access the product.

Here are some other tips to help you improve your FOMO marketing campaigns

Bundles of Market Products

Bundles are a common way to upsell products across industries. When a customer purchases a product, you may offer them other complementary products. The customer will receive a discount if they purchase the complementary product along with the original product.

When customers buy bundles, brands offer discounts or other rewards to them. This can be combined with FOMO marketing by adding a countdown clock to the bundle page. You can encourage customers to buy these deals by putting a deadline. 

This approach is well-known by Groupon. These companies offer huge discounts on their product bundles but they are only available for a short time. The discount will only be available if you buy the package within the time limit. You will have to pay the full price otherwise.

Enhance Your Messaging

How you communicate your message to customers can make a big difference in FOMO. Your message should inspire urgency and motivate your audience to act. You must craft messages that make prospects feel like they are losing out on the offer. Your messages can be enhanced by strong adjectives and verbs to create FOMO in prospects’ emotions.

It is possible to use phrases like:

• This is a great deal that you are missing!
• This is your last chance!
• Only 2 minutes remaining!
• There are only 2 remaining seats!

Highlight missed opportunities

You can increase FOMO marketing by highlighting all opportunities missed by customers to create an even greater boost. They will become anxious if they realize they have lost a great deal because they didn’t act quickly enough or were late.

The feeling of FOMO (fear of missing out) is a form of anxiety. It can make it difficult for them to make quick decisions so they don’t miss other deals. Sometimes all they need to open their wallet is this.

Booking.com uses this strategy to its advantage well. You can see how they leverage FOMO by adding “You missed it!” as a comment to their booking offer.

Last words

FOMO marketing is about creating urgency in your prospects’ minds to sell your products. This article should have given you the information you need to apply FOMO marketing to your company.

You don’t need to employ all the strategies in this article. You can choose the ones that will work for your business. Have you tried any of these methods and had the desired results? Comment below to share your experience with others!