How to Ethically Use the FOMO Effect to Boost Your Business?

The fear of missing out (FOMO – Fear of Missing Out) is a powerful driving force that can either launch a business campaign to incredible heights or completely destroy it.

This psychological phenomenon stems from the fear of missing something important, limited, or rare, and therefore falling behind the “rest of the group.” Smart marketers know how to implement FOMO into their business activities and awaken an almost primal desire in consumers. Let’s learn a few of their tricks.

What is the FOMO Effect

FOMO is an acronym for Fear of Missing Out, which is the anxiety or worry that we are missing out on something amazing. It is an unpleasant feeling driven by the fear of losing an opportunity. For instance, this fear compels us to constantly check social media.

At the end of 2023, marketer İrem Çilingir wrote an article explaining how the FOMO effect works. “This concept can be traced all the way back to our ancestors. Innate instincts dominated by the desire to survive when facing danger compel us to always choose the best option available to us. This ancestral heritage influences our critical decision-making, which, in the context of marketing, translates into consumer behavior,” she explains.

When speaking about business, we can describe this emotional reaction as persistent, even invasive, but always a highly unpleasant feeling that we experience as consumers when we think we are missing out on something essential.

That we will miss out on a limited-time offer, exclusive content, or a highly sought-after product or service.

However, there is a second, much more dangerous dimension in which FOMO affects us, and that is its connection to social media. We will use social platforms to demonstrate how FOMO triggers anxiety, jealousy, anger, insecurity, and fear. Is it even possible to use this concept in marketing ethically?

FOMO 1996 vs. 2024: From “Keeping up with the Joneses” to the inability to put our phones down

To begin with, it must be noted that FOMO is a live wire. There is a very fine line between an ethical call to action and unacceptable manipulation of unsuspecting customers. Therefore, I strongly recommend using this technique only when you are fully confident in your business practices.

The term Fear of Missing Out was first used by marketing strategist Dan Herman in 1996. A 2018 article by strategist Marina Milyavskaya states: “Before the boom of the internet, people experienced a phenomenon known as ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’.” This phrase originates from the animated comic strip of the same name, in which the middle-class McGinis family attempts to “keep up with their neighbors, the Joneses, who can afford what they cannot.”

FOMO generalized and intensified this phenomenon with the transition into the digital era, where most of human life is publicly documented and easily accessible. People are unable to put their phones down and routinely post updates mapping positive experiences (e.g., photos of brunch at a great restaurant) much more often than negative ones (e.g., a first date ending in a disaster). In the context of purchasing decisions, fear of missing out is linked to another negative feeling – the worry that we are not “enough.” That we are failing to “keep up with the Joneses.”

Examples of effective yet unethical uses of FOMO in marketing

Marketing campaigns by world-renowned brands amplify FOMO in consumers through well-thought-out (bordering on cunning) business strategies. Good examples include campaigns that capitalize on a fundamental human fear – falling behind other members of the “tribe”:

• The American telecommunications company AT&T launched the campaign “Don’t be left behind”.
• The Duracell brand, a part of the Procter & Gamble conglomerate, published the campaign “Stay in charge”, which plays on a double meaning-staying in control while also staying powered up.
• Heineken trumped them all when it released a single-word campaign, “Sunrise”, which in the context of FOMO implies staying awake and active so you don’t miss out on the party.

Do you see the obvious attempt by these companies to induce fear in consumers?

1. AT&T leveraged FOMO to push customers into purchasing access to its 4G network so they would “never again miss posts from their friends”.
2. Duracell’s “Stay in charge” campaign featured four dead mobile phones, warning viewers that by not using Duracell charging technology to power their devices, they were missing out on the latest updates and, figuratively speaking, “failing to keep up with the times“.
3. Heineken’s “Sunrise” campaign encouraged responsible drinking by portraying excessive alcohol consumption as a way to miss out on the best part of the party, rather than as a habit detrimental to human health.

The Impact of FOMO on Consumer Purchasing Decisions

In a 2023 article, İrem Çilingir stated that the main reason FOMO is so actively used in marketing is urgency, which significantly influences buyers’ decision-making. “Up to 60% of people who experienced FOMO made a purchase within 24 hours,” she explains. “Consumers find an impulsive purchase better than later regret for not acting immediately.”

Human beings are risk-averse. This is why they often avoid purchases for a long time – to escape the risk of investing money into products/services that fail to meet their expectations. However, when a situation arises where they might regret missing an opportunity, they instinctively want to avoid that risk instead.

In the context of FOMO, two marketing concepts have the greatest impact on buyers:

1. Social proof and
2. Limited-time offers.

Social proof in connection with the Fear of Missing Out

I wrote about social proof in more detail in my previous article, so I will keep it brief this time.

Let me illustrate this with an example: You have just moved into a new apartment and are looking for a coffee table for your living room. You visit an e-shop and find a suitable piece. You click through to the product details page, you like it, and you decide to buy it later. If you leave the e-shop at this exact moment, you will probably never return to it and will end up buying elsewhere.

However, imagine that during your visit to the e-shop, you come across a banner stating that there is only a limited number of these coffee tables left in stock. You also find out that within the last 24 hours, 5 people have viewed the product and 35 people have bought it. If you leave the page now and postpone the purchase, you run the risk of the table no longer being available. You choose not to underestimate this risk and decide to buy the product right away instead.

Here you can see that social proof is one of the most powerful tools that can be used in the context of FOMO to increase website conversion rates.

Limited-time offers

Limited-time offers are closely linked to social proof. Let’s assume there is a time-sensitive, exclusive offer, a countdown timer until the end of a campaign, or a discount reserved only for a specific period. In such a case, the buyer will be driven to make a purchase before this period ends.

The marketing concept of FOMO takes many forms, such as push notifications, personalized emails, WhatsApp campaigns, social media ads, etc. Now, let me show you the most effective ones.

How I personally view limited-time offers in business:

I find it highly unethical to use limited-time offers for evergreen courses where the time pressure is artificially created. Often, a countdown timer is used on the sales page, but if you visit later using an incognito window, the countdown starts all over again from the beginning.
That is why I only use limited-time offers when they are genuinely time-restricted for instance, when the presale ends 10 days before the course starts, and it ends for everyone.

How to Use the FOMO Concept Ethically and Skyrocket Your Business?

In 2024, marketing strategist Greg Roth gathered interesting statistics on the impact of FOMO on marketing:

• 69% of Americans have experienced FOMO.
• 69% of millennials experience FOMO, and 60% of them make impulsive purchases.
• Applying FOMO tactics increases email open rates by 22%.
• 67% of people booked a vacation based on FOMO.
• 60% of online service buyers stated that FOMO influenced their purchasing decision.

Now you know just how powerful a tool FOMO can be. How can you leverage it (ethically) in your own business?

Charles Lange, a consultant, mentor, and team leader-answered this in a 2023 article titled The Power of FOMO in Marketing: How to Leverage the Fear of Missing Out on Your Brand. “Every business owner or marketer should incorporate FOMO into their marketing strategy,” he states.

#1 – Create an aura of urgency around your product

One of the most effective ways to leverage FOMO is to create a sense of urgency around your product or service. You can achieve this through limited-time offers, flash sales, or countdown timers directly on your website. “By building a sense of scarcity, you create a feeling of urgency and a fear of missing out, which can drive customers to make an impulsive purchase,” Lange explains.

How I use the aura of urgency:
From time to time, I create an extra opportunity in the Facebook group Společně nahoru (skupina pro růst vašeho podnikání), and it lasts for one day only. A year and a half ago, I did this for my birthday. The year before that as well. On my last birthday, I didn’t hold any “sale” or promotion. Now, in a few days or weeks, a special offer will come along with the celebrations of reaching 5,500 group members.

#2 – Leverage the power of UGC (User-Generated Content)

Another effective way to leverage FOMO is to show how others are benefiting from your product or service. You can achieve this through customer testimonials, social media mentions, or reviews on your website. Social proof shows other “Doubting Thomases” that your product or service is popular and successful, thereby triggering a sense of FOMO in them.

You can find how I personally use UGC in my article on social proof.

#3 – Emphasize the exclusivity of your product or service

Highlighting exclusivity is a powerful FOMO tactic. “People love the feeling of being part of an exclusive club or group,” Lange assures, so by offering limited-edition products or services, creating a VIP program, or hosting invite-only events, you create a sense of exclusivity that can boost customer loyalty.

#4 – Do not underestimate the power of storytelling

Storytelling is an effective way to leverage customer emotions and create a sense of connection with your brand. By telling stories of real customers and how they benefited from your product or service, you create a sense of community and belonging that works in your favor. No one wants to miss out on the opportunity to be part of “something big.” By tapping into customer emotions and creating a sense of shared experience, you build a strong emotional bond that elevates customer loyalty.

However, it is important to realize that FOMO is not a magic bullet for marketing success. Even though it is undeniably a powerful tool, it is just one piece of the marketing puzzle. Focus on creating a holistic marketing strategy that incorporates FOMO, content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing – only then will you build a strong and sustainable brand that resonates with your customers and delivers real value.

(JOMO) Joy of Missing Out – The pleasure of missing out on what passes you by

Throughout this article, you have seen how manipulation through fear and pressure pours in on us from all sides. I see this quite frequently with business beginners. There is simply so much they are expected to know and master. As a result, they buy all kinds of courses, only to leave a third of them unopened and another third unapplied in practice.

Take a look at this post in the Společně nahoru (skupina pro růst vašeho podnikání) Facebook group, where I discussed this topic.

Recommendations from the post for beginning entrepreneurs:

• Does this particular thing align with your current path?
  
• Do you need to deal with this right now?
  
• Will it help you generate income, stabilize your business, or acquire your first clients?