Missing out on bargains is great motivation
A little fear goes a long way by attracting anxious customers
From baby’s first steps to irresistible bargains, no one wants to miss precious moments and deals. The unknown is overcome by the enticement that good things await.
Online and off, businesses thrive from consumers’ fear of missing out. This is the centerpiece of emotional purchases, the triumph of wants over needs. These are marketers’ best days.
May King Tsang has masterminded many such days as she bridges the gap between social media and public relations. She talked with marketing expert Madalyn Sklar about how to create fear of missing out for live and virtual events.
Jen Cole of Social Media Examiner noted that Twitter is a powerful tool for post-event social media strategies.
“Twitter is great for follow up,” she said. “No only do you stay in contact, but the rest of the world can see how you stay in contact and might be enticed to follow you as well.
“The platform is a place where we can post memories, quote-retweet quotes from speakers and keep our community connected long after the event,” Cole said. “Twitter makes it super easy with hashtags, tagging and other tools.”
Fear of missing out — or FOMO — should be a prime concern for business owners. It instills a sense of urgency into consumers.
“FOMO is a feeling that can creep up whenever you feel anxiety over missing out on an event or experience,” Sklar said. “Because people so often share their lives on social media, FOMO is often triggered by the content we consume.
“Business owners should care about FOMO because they can create this same feeling for their community, which will make them want to be at the events — either live or virtual — that you hold,” she said.
Missing out is no joy
This makes buzz about a product irresistable.
“You don’t want clients to have joy of missing out,” Tsang said. “So, use social media to create that excitement.”
Rather than use marketers, business owners can take the initiative to create anxiousness. One way is to offer limited-time bargains, as long as those bargains are truly limited. Businesses need to maintain credibility.
“FOMO can easily be triggered for your community through those short-time treats,” Sklar said. “Consumers know they’ll miss out altogether if they don’t attend your event or purchase your offering now. Time sensitivity can really inspire action.”
Tsang said FOMO centers around showing what happens behind the scenes for the business:
- At a client meeting
- As an attendee of an event
- A speaker, sponsor or exhibitor
- Conference organizer
“Most businesses take a photo and post that they had a great day or just spoke at an event,” Tsang said. “Before and during events are what I call pre-FOMO and live FOMO. Write more than one post about your meeting or event that you’ve attended, spoken at or sponsored. This is where FOMO begins.
“Most people market for an event,” she said. “Then on the day of the event, they breathe a huge sigh of relief. But if they were smart about it, live FOMO is the best time to market next year’s workshop, masterclass, summit, conference, festival or experience.”
If virtual events are recorded, there is less fear of missing out. Just hit Play later to see what you missed. That makes the call to action for virtual events even more important.
“Both live and virtual events can provide tremendous value,” Sklar said. “But when it comes to in-person events, really focus on the connections people can make by attending, whether that’s new friendships or potential clients.”
Put in virtually greater effort
Different types of events require greater efforts to succeed.
“At virtual events, you have to work harder at FOMO, but it’s still possible via Facebook Live, using StreamYard to stream to more than one platform,” Tsang said. “Technology-wise, you take screenshots, not photos. The impact is still the same. Go deep on behind the scenes.”
On social media, be sure fear of missing out is legit, and don’t jump into conversations and emphasize fear. You’ll get lost in the fear swirl.
“If you want to create that feeling of FOMO for your community, spread the word about your offering,” Sklar said. “It also helps to share behind-the-scenes content that hints at what you have going on. Leave viewers wanting more.”
Tsang said it’s easy to create FOMO on social media:
- Repurpose your blog post, video, podcast as content expert Amy Woods tells us.
- Use the artificial intelligence app Lately to use lots of content from a blog post or video.
- Don’t have time? Hire a FOMO creator.
Know your audience’s pain points and how you can provide a solution — the best one, urgently if need be.
“When trying to land clients, you want to focus on the transformation your service can provide for them,” Sklar said. “Tell them how different their lives could be if they take action now. Create FOMO by describing how their lives will stay the same by inaction.
“Again, it also helps to create time-sensitive offerings,” she said. “If you can only take on a limited number of clients, make that clear. If they need to book by a certain date. Tell them.”
Being consistently available also catches people’s attention.
“Like social media — to get clients by creating FOMO — you need to do more than schedule one post,” Tsang said.
In for the duration
Fear of missing out or not, clients will come when they are ready. Marketers’ jobs are to keep themselves top of mind when prospects decide to take the plunge.
“Getting clients won’t happen overnight because you need to establish trust first,” Sklar said. “But if you’ve really created this feeling of FOMO, they might be compelled to take action right away.”
It’s not unusual for Tsang to spend anywhere from hours, months or a year and a half to land clients, relying heavily on behind-the-scenes content on social media before she prospects.
“There’s an incredible story by Rachel Spencer, who’s a media consultant and coach for pet brands,” Tsang said. “She signed up two members onto her pet business membership from one Instagram post.
“I was interviewed by Rachel on her podcast,” Tsang said. “If you want to listen to that, search for ‘publicity for pet businesses.’”
Fear of missing out can fire up the grapevine if the business delivers on its urgent promises.
“Encourage your community to share their own user-generated content,” Sklar said. “This generates more exposure for you because you’ll reach their communities. You can provide incentives by sharing some of your favorite posts.”
That combination will help entrepreneurs become known.
“I returned to the U.K. in 2016,” Tsang said. “My branding of #TeaPuns and knowledge of tea got me known as the go-to tea person. When a journalist asked for an expert on tea, I was recommended by others. If you build relationships, others can recommend you.”
Without being blatant about it, listen to what your competition says. Then without referring to them, say what you do well now without having to wait. Remedy those pain points. Use testimonials.
Tsang had more tips to stand out from competitors:
- Remember that FOMO creation is bridging the gap between social and public relations. Go deep on showing behind the scenes.
- Use more video, which I learned from author Neal Schaffer.
- Create content for the lurkers.
About The Author
Jim Katzaman is a manager at Largo Financial Services and worked in public affairs for the Air Force and federal government. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
