A big trend right now in the marketing world is FOMO Marketing — as if you needed yet another acronym to remember! Just as it sounds, FOMO Marketing builds upon consumers’ FOMO, or fear of missing out, to boost sales and achieve other positive business outcomes.  

Now that we’re in the season of fall, perhaps a good autumnal example would help explain FOMO. If you open Facebook or Instagram one night and see that your best friend visited a pumpkin patch that day, and you wish you could have been there too, you’re experiencing a classic case of FOMO. 

FOMO affects everyone, but it’s felt particularly strongly among millennials and other young people. According to a survey by the event management and ticketing website Eventbrite, 69% of millennials experience FOMO. That number is sure to rise as social media becomes more prevalent, and information becomes more readily accessible. What’s more, 33% of millennials say they have purposely tried to elicit feelings of FOMO among their peers. 

And FOMO isn’t going anywhere. The psychological phenomenon goes back to our earliest days as humans when resources were scarce and, because of that, survival was tough. 

That presents a unique opportunity for your business. You can capture consumers’ FOMO — and the jealousy, envy, or sadness that accompanies it — and draw their attention to your business. 

When presented with feelings of FOMO, consumers can internalize the social pressure and spend where they otherwise wouldn’t or even make purchases out of a fear of missing out on a deal. 

You can use FOMO Marketing at events that your business hosts. Try capping the number of attendees and making sure that those who do attend promote the event widely on social media. Also, experiment with going live on Facebook as you’re giving away prizes at your event. Those at home will likely feel like they’re missing out on a good time and want to check out your products. 

FOMO Marketing can also be applied when you promote your products on social media and build your website. You can let your content expire, experiment with using influencers, or even show stock levels to create a sense of urgency. 

Check out this infographic created by Fundera that explains the best ways to incorporate FOMO Marketing into your business.

Use this infographic on your blog:

<p><strong>Please include attribution to fundera.com with this graphic.</strong><br /><br /><a href='https://www.fundera.com/blog/fomo-marketing'><img src='https://assets-blog.fundera.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/03151659/X-ways-to-use-fomo-marketing-to-boost-sales.jpg' alt='How to use FOMO Marketing in your business ' width='720' border='0' /></a></p>