The Fear of Missing Out is a hot marketing topic. If you talk about FOMO, you are current, up-to-date, and you know about a marketing strategy that impacts at least 56% of all social media users.
But FOMO has more than one side. You may already be sceptical of it as a customer, and that would be understandable. But we cannot deny its power. It is a proven strategy, used by many. Even for the most conscientious of businesses out there, FOMO can be implemented in different ways that gives it a valid place in your marketing strategy.
Let's look at the different ways FOMO is employed; where it is successful, where it depends on short-term gains, and where it has integrity. To put it another way, you don't want to miss out on FOMO.
Short-term FOMO
If you are not a teenager, you have might have heard of Snapchat, given an opinion on it, without a clear idea of what it does or why.
Then what is it? A messenger, social media or photo sharing app? Well, I can't help you there. But I do know one of the key reasons for its success.
Snapchat focuses on expiring content. This, naturally, creates a sense of urgency. So if you have not check your Snapchat recently, you might have missed out on that awesome picture of Joe's cat sitting on his keyboard, with cute heart stickers.
So it turns out that the reason teenagers will not put their phones down is a lot to do with FOMO.
I once saw an interesting study into placebo (a treatment doctors provide that has no active ingredients). There were three groups. Those taking no medicine, another on placebo who believed it was real medicine, and a third on placebo who knew it was placebo.
We have heard how placebo is known to work, because patients believe they are taking real medicine. However, the fascinating part of the results was that even those taking placebo who knew it was placebo had better results than those on no medicine at all.
I had a similar experience on Booking.com when planning a trip out of season.
"ONLY TWO MORE ROOMS LEFT AT THIS PRICE!!!!"
I knew it was a marketing ploy. I knew that I could most likely return tomorrow and see exactly the same message. But inside there was some panic. Should I book now? What if it goes? What if I miss out?
What is curious about FOMO is that it works even when you know it is FOMO.
But, I respect Booking.com a bit less. Why? Because I did not appreciate the fakery. By knowing it is only a marketing tactic to get me to part with my money, next time I might start my accommodation search elsewhere.
So how can we use FOMO in the right way? How can we benefit from its power, urgency and engagement without being fake? What is the right path to credible, trustworthy, feel-good FOMO?
FOMO with integrity
As much as we know FOMO works, we want to keep it real while giving our customers that sense of urgency. Can we do that? Yes, we can. I know this because many clever businesses already do.
So we want to be sure we ride this wave too, and benefit from the power that good FOMO provides.
A moment of reflection first, to validate this new route. Going back to old FOMO and its short-term gains, like similar marketing strategies, people start to see through them. So what we need to include is integrity.
Let's be clear here, marketing people did not invent FOMO. We invented it. We gave it to ourselves. Marketing just gave it the acronym.
Have you been in the situation where you have decided, beyond doubt, 110% certain that you are not going out that evening? Tired, in need of relaxation, and a TV show you are keen to watch. Your friends have given up trying to convince you, with tales of great times and the strong bonds you all have.
Then you learn this could be an epic party, the best yet. What? You might miss that? No way, relax another day, because now it is party time!
FOMO is real and we see it, use it and respond to it often. It is part of human behaviour. It probably always has been. We know that if we do not act, an opportunity could be missed. That is why it is such an effective marketing and sales strategy.
So how are you employing FOMO with your business? How are you doing it while maintaining that important layer of integrity?
The new FOMO
Social proof and testimonials work because they are real. People write reviews about your products and service because they have used them and experienced them. Potential customers who see those endorsements are drawn towards your business.
At the same time the internet is full of distractions. This potential customer wants or needs what you sell, and we want them to make a decision sooner rather than later.
Now is the point where you want your business to create that impact, highlight that your offer is the one, and do that by showing that others already made that choice and were happy with it. But you need to break through the distractions. You have solid testimonials from satisfied customers, so put them in front of that prospective customer, while they're on your website, primed to purchase.
Show prospective customers that by not choosing you over the competition is a form of missing out. Yes, use that fear. If you don't, your competitors will.
So when it comes to social proof and ensuring that your testimonials get the attention they deserve, Endorsal created notifications called FOMO popups. Using a selection of your best reviews or a ratings summary, they have impact no matter where the potential customer is on the page. To further build trust and show the reviews are genuine, they carry a "Verified by Endorsal.io" badge.
Nothing fake here. This is all real. This is smart marketing. This is showing that you're good at what you do through the verified opinions of previous customers.
Every business wants to show the good work they have done before. Given the impact on conversions and trust building that social proof provides, use the power of FOMO popups to ensure your testimonials and ratings are unmissable.
To see how FOMO popups can increase conversions and win more customers for your business, start your 14-day unlimited free trial of Endorsal now.
Collecting high-quality testimonials is important to every business.
But it's always been a long, painful game of back-and-forth.
Endorsal streamlines the whole process by fully automating it, saving your business time and money.
Increase conversions, build customer loyalty and strengthen your brand.
Over 5,000 companies trust Endorsal to boost their social proof. Try us out for free and in less than 10 minutes, you'll see why ⤵︎
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