How to use FOMO in marketing

Did you know that 56% of people on social media experience FOMO or the ‘fear of missing out’? You may be familiar with this feeling of missing an excellent experience or opportunity. All of us feel it at one point or another.

Knowing how to use FOMO in marketing will help you build brand awareness and covert attention into earnings. You’ll just need to establish a sense of urgency with limited-time offers and exclusivity.

To convert your audience, they’ll need a reason to act now. 

Plus, social proof your business by building a positive reputation and winning valuable recommendations. 

With that, you won’t experience FOMO on marketing that leads to new customers and business growth. But where might you begin?

This guide will discuss how to use FOMO in marketing. We’ll cover:

• What is FOMO?
• How to use FOMO in your marketing  
• How to make a powerful FOMO marketing campaign 

FOMO can come from anything you miss your chance on while others get to enjoy it, such as social events. 

It also influences behaviour. People want to experience something more because others are. Because of this, they make more impulsive decisions so as not to miss out. 

Have you ever said yes to an invitation because it seemed like everyone was going? That’s FOMO doing its work. 

But, FOMO often comes into play with consumers too. No one wants to miss that big sale or fail to buy a trendy product before it sells out. 

The core feeling of FOMO is ‘what if?’ and ‘if only.’ You can harness these feelings to use FOMO in your marketing and draw in customers. 

Incorporating FOMO into your marketing strategy will help you make the most out of your audience. The more desirable your brand seems, the more you can earn for your business. 

Let’s go over a few FOMO marketing techniques you could try, including: 

• Limited time offers. 
• Customer reviews.
• Exclusive deals.
• Influencer marketing.

To create a sense of urgency, consider offering deals for a limited time only. For example, you could hold a spring offer to buy one get one half off (BOGO) your products. 

You might post about a giveaway or competition on your social media channels. 

Alternatively, email marketing is a great way to update people on new products and offers. Using call to action (CTA) in these emails will help get people moving. 

A big part of FOMO is what ‘other people’ think. So, you might collect positive customer testimonials and post them on your social media, website, and other marketing materials. 

Reviews that focus on the usefulness of your business can convince others to buy from you. 

Investing in influencer marketing will help you build brand buzz. If a popular influencer says they love your business, they’re followers will turn their heads to you. Plus, they can offer their followers limited time deals. 

For example, say you offer your free hairdressing services to a beauty influencer. That influencer can post the final look on social media channels for followers to see.

Since these followers want to look like the influencer, they’ll flock to you. If the influencer offers a limited time promo code to her followers, they can get that same look for a deal. But only if they act now!

You could offer deals or rewards exclusive to certain people, such as subscribers and rewards members. 

For example, rewards program members could get free shipping. Alternatively, you might give email subscribers a limited-time 20% discount. 

Send these people a promo code so they can access your special offer. This code will set them apart and make others want to join in. 

Since FOMO often guides people’s decisions, you can use it to steer them towards your business. 

The best part is most FOMO marketing techniques can be free or low cost with high rewards. 

To make sure your FOMO marketing is powerful, ensure it uses: 

• Compelling urgency.  
• Time-sensitivity. 
• Social proof.
• A sense of losing out. 

You’ll need to show your audience that they need to take action quickly. If people don’t act right away, they might miss their chance.

To do this, you might show your product or service is essential, popular, or low-stock. 

Example: Superdry is known for offering quality products attached to an appealing brand. They create urgency by offering great discount opportunities – like 50% off– for short periods of time with limited stock.  

Establishing a time constraint for your marketing will help you build urgency. Time-limits make the opportunity exclusive and fleeting. They often draw attention to the clock with deadlines or countdowns. 

For example: Urban Outfitters often sends emails about limited time offers with a countdown. As the time diminishes before peoples eyes, they feel a need to take advantage of the discounts. 

If you want to ‘social proof’ your products or services, you’ll need to show that other people are loving them. People often look to friends, family, or celebrities before buying things.   

Have you heard of the game Wordle? It’s a daily word guessing game that lets you message your score to friends. The more messages you receive, the more it seems everyone’s doing it.  

The core of FOMO is missing out. People don’t want to pass over a unique opportunity, especially if everyone else takes advantage of it. 

Example: The clothing brand SUPREME runs on this motto. They have small, limited-edition releases, which quickly sell out. As a result, there’s a buzz of people who want to be exclusive product owners. 

As you bring in more money from your FOMO marketing, you’ll need to keep up with your finances. 

Countingup is the business current account and accounting software in one app. It automates time-consuming bookkeeping admin for thousands of self-employed people across the UK. 

Save yourself hours of accounting admin so you can focus on growing your business. 

Start your three-month free trial today.