10+ Inspiring FOMO Marketing Strategies You Can Use To Boost Conversions (With Real Life Examples)

The phenomenon of FOMO taps into a powerful emotional trigger – our innate desire to seize exciting opportunities before they slip away. This sense of urgency can dramatically enhance engagement and elevate sales for your membership site.

However, if you’re new to this approach, you might not know how to implement FOMO into your marketing campaigns.

Fortunately, there are tons of ways to use FOMO to drive action and generate more revenue.

For instance, you can create a sense of urgency with limited-time offers. Or, you can leverage your customers’ competitive spirit by displaying visitor counts on your product pages.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at FOMO marketing, and explore its pros and cons. Then, we’ll discuss the best FOMO marketing strategies, with real life examples to inspire you.

After reading this blog you'll be equipped with the tools and knowledge to start leveraging this powerful phenomenon for your business. Let’s jump right in!

What Is FOMO Marketing?

FOMO (or fear of missing out) is a psychological response that causes feelings of apprehension, anxiety, interest, or excitement.

It's triggered by the belief that others are partaking in rewarding experiences (that you're absent from).

Typically, FOMO is associated with social activities or events. However, the concept extends far into the realm of marketing.

By integrating FOMO into marketing strategies, businesses can evoke a feeling among customers that they're on the verge of missing out on valuable opportunities to purchase their products or services.

In turn, this can lead to more spontaneous behavior and quick decision-making, driving engagement and action on your websites. For example, limited edition items can make products appear more exclusive (and therefore induce feelings of FOMO).

Additionally, time-sensitive offers encourage shoppers to claim deals while they still can. As such, FOMO can be used to add more perceived value to products/services and trigger a sense of urgency in customer buying behavior.

Why Use FOMO Marketing?

As we've discussed, the effects of FOMO generally lead to shoppers acting very quickly. Therefore, it's a great way to increase conversions, drive sales, and fulfil a range of other business goals.

In the end, FOMO marketing is so successful because it adds perceived value to your product. This is because it suggests exclusivity. For example, the deal may be time-sensitive, or a new product may only be accessible to VIP members.

It's important to note that FOMO is a relatively new concept, but it's proven to be particularly prevalent among millennials. In fact, 69 percent of this demographic experience FOMO, and 60 percent make impulsive purchases as a result of it.

The Pros & Cons of FOMO Marketing

We've touched on many of the advantages of FOMO marketing. But, here are some additional benefits to consider:

• FOMO increases the perceived value of products/services.
• The resulting spur-of-the-moment behavior can lead to more conversions and more spending.
• If successful, FOMO can create a buzz of excitement and curiosity around your products and brand.
• The exclusivity of FOMO marketing can lead to more customer loyalty since shoppers can experience a strong sense of belonging.

However, it's important to avoid the negative effects of FOMO. Mainly, the sense of regret that customers can experience following impulsive purchasing decisions. As such, you can take measures to minimize this, or be prepared for the possibility of returns and refunds.

10+ FOMO Marketing Strategies to Boost Conversions (With Real Life FOMO Advertising Examples)

Now that you know a bit more about FOMO marketing, let's take a look at eleven ways to implement it, with real FOMO marketing examples to inspire you.

1. Create Limited-Time Offers

The first way to use FOMO marketing is to show customers that your offers aren't going to last forever. Therefore, you can create limited-time deals that have a firm end date and make this clear on your website.

Many web hosting providers use this technique to enable users to get free or cheap web hosting for a limited period of time:

This creates a sense of urgency around your promotions and can lead to immediate buying decisions, since shoppers have to claim the deal while they can.

There are tons of ways to execute this, but it can help to use floating bars/banners, popups, and countdown timers to increase pressure on customers.

2. Highlight Limited Stock Items

Another way to use FOMO marketing to make your campaigns more effective is to show customers when there's a limited number of items available. This way, they know they'll need to act quickly if they want to secure the deal.

Amazon makes for one of the best FOMO marketing examples when it comes to this technique. It makes it very clear, by listing exactly how many items remain on the website:

It's also a strategy used by many ticket and booking websites, such as Booking.com, to entice future vacationers to snag the last rooms/apartments available:

The scarcity of the product can make the offer appear more valuable, which is a huge incentive to buy.

The easiest way to set this up is to display low-stock notifications on your product listings. Or, you can go one step further and include “while stock lasts” messaging in your campaigns.

3. Offer Exclusive Access to Top Resources, Sales, and Special Events

A mailing list can be a great way to build stronger customer relationships, drive traffic to your products, and maintain an active online presence. However, besides providing valuable content to your subscribers, you can also offer exclusive access to sales and events.

For example, the Nomadic Matt blog provides free resources for travelers. But you can also subscribe to the mailing list to receive expert travel tips and other perks:

This is a great way to encourage people to sign up on your website.

Plus, it enables you to reward existing followers with exclusive content. For instance, you might give members access to new products first, or create exciting deals and discounts that aren't accessible to your general website visitors.

4. Use Social Proof

Another way to implement FOMO marketing is to highlight real customer experiences, which act as social proof for your company or product.

In fact, 94 percent of consumers state that positive reviews make them more likely to use a business.

It's a great way to increase trust among new customers (especially since these comments are often unbiased opinions).

As you can see, the SeedProd homepage features a prominent “What People Are Saying” section where you'll find snippets from the best customer reviews:

What's more, if shoppers can see that people are discussing your products, it creates buzz about your brand, which can further illicit feelings of FOMO. This is especially true if you link your website to social platforms.

For instance, you can add a social feed to your pages like Lucy & Yak, and even configure separate hashtag feeds to see what real customers think of your products:

Or, you can use social tools, like Mention, that scour the internet for any mentions of your business and present the data on your website for customers to see.

5. Make Exit-Intent Offers

Generally, customers might feel as though they have all the time in the world to browse your website.

Even if they're interested in a product, they may leave and re-visit your site various times to put off making a purchasing decision.

That's why it's a good idea to present your promotion as a visitor is about to leave the page. This is called an exit-intent offer. You can use tools that detect this activity and trigger the campaign before they leave your site.

The Chemical Guys website uses this technique by propositioning departing visitors with a 20 percent discount if they subscribe to the mailing list:

Similarly, you might provide a discount if the customer completes an action. Or, you can use messaging like “last chance to buy” if you're promoting a specific product.

Additionally, you can trigger these offers after shoppers have spent a certain period of time on your site (or scrolled to the bottom of the page).

6. Set Up VIP Memberships

We've already discussed the value in offering exclusive access to your subscribers. But, you can go one step further and create different membership tiers on your website.

In this setup, you can still make some of your content accessible for free. Meanwhile, you can charge a subscription to people who sign up for a VIP membership on your site.

For example, Pianu provides a free song library and blog posts for everyone. But, you can also purchase a paid plan to access more songs, lessons, and challenges:

This way, members can get access to premium content (like recipes, blog posts, online courses, or videos). Plus, you can also provide early access to deals or offer discounts on products.

Again, this creates a sense of exclusivity for the VIP membership level. And, with the addition of early access to deals and restricted discounts, FOMO may be the resulting effect.

7. Partner with Influencers and Experts

The global influencer marketing market size has more than tripled since 2019. In fact, it's grown from $1.7 billion in 2016 and is predicted to reach $24 billion very soon.

As you may know, with influencer marketing, your company partners with affiliate marketers (and other content creators) with an audience that matches your ideal customer. Then, you can have influencers post authentically about your products across multiple platforms:

This works in a similar way to social proof, as the constant talk about your brand can create FOMO in people that aren't familiar with your business (or aren't using your products).

And, if influencers aren't the best fit for your brand, you can get expert opinions from reputable professionals or organizations in your niche.

8. Display Visitor Counts

One of the easiest ways to use FOMO marketing in the early days of your business is to display visitor counts. This way, you can notify customers about how many people have viewed your products (or even purchased an item within the past hour/day).

For example, Etsy is known for using this technique to encourage shoppers to purchase items. When you browse an in-demand item, you'll be told how many others have bought the product in the past 24 hours:

Sometimes, you'll even be informed of how many customers currently have the item in their shopping carts.

In this way, you can showcase the popularity of your offer and motivate shoppers to take action. And, if you have limited stock, it can also encourage a little competition.

For example, if there are only 10 units left but customers are aware that 20 people are viewing the product, they'll know they have to act fast to avoid missing out.

9. Show Sold Out Items or Expired Offers

While it's a good idea to highlight limited-stock items, it can also be useful to notify visitors about missed opportunities. Although it may seem like a waste of space, this is a great way to cause feelings of FOMO and can result in customers acting fast next time.

ASOS is well known for displaying products that are out of stock, since visitors can sign up to get notified when inventory is replenished:

Meanwhile, Kiwi & Co also uses this method, showing all items (whether they're in stock or not). This can make the remaining items seem more coveted:

It's particularly effective on this website since the “sold out” notice is visible on the product listing page (rather than just the specific product page). This way, customers can make direct comparisons and see that only a few items remain across the whole store.

This technique also works great in conjunction with live visitor counts. For example, if a customer has just seen a sold out item that they desired, when they land on a new product of interest that's being viewed by other visitors, it can urge them to secure the deal while they can.

10. Feature Noteworthy Clients or Create Case Studies

Featuring noteworthy clients is another great way to create a sense of FOMO. You can even create full-blown case studies if your customers don't mind you sharing in detail about their experience with your business.

Although this strategy works similar to social proof, it goes one step further by using well-known clients and brands that customers might already know and love. Therefore, people may then associate these high-profile companies with your brand and feel more like getting involved.

Depending on your website and audience, you may prefer to feature high-profile logos from clients you've worked with that are immediately identifiable (as Smash Balloon does on its homepage):

But, you can also create more in-depth case studies about how your product/service has helped your customers achieve certain goals.

While this works similar to reviews, the content may be viewed as more reliable and trustworthy, since it's backed by hard evidence, such as engagement or ecommerce metrics (more on this topic in the next section).

11. Display Impressive Metrics 

As your business grows, you'll likely track and document important key performance indicators (KPIs) and other business metrics. Therefore, you can display your most impressive ones on your website to create FOMO in new customers.

As you can see, OptinMonster offers one of the best FOMO marketing examples for this specific technique. On the homepage, you can see exactly how many websites are using OptinMonster:

Plus, it also features the ever-changing number of monthly visitor sessions optimized with the tool.

Again, this method highlights the popularity of your business so that others also want to participate. The data also demonstrates the success of your product/service as well as positioning it as “tried and tested,” so that your offering seems more reliable.

The Top FOMO Marketing Tools

At this point, we've covered several effective FOMO marketing strategies and looked at plenty of FOMO marketing examples. Now, here are three of the best tools that you can use to implement them in your online business.

1. MemberMouse

Earlier, we mentioned that one of the best FOMO marketing strategies is to create a VIP membership level that offers exclusive content to those with a paid subscription. The easiest way to achieve this is to use a membership plugin like MemberMouse.

This way, you can set up a dedicated members area, restrict access to premium content, and offer members-only pricing on certain products. You can also enable free trials to attract new customers and showcase the value of your memberships.

MemberMouse also enables you to easily display custom content to your members using SmartTags™.

These clever bits of shortcode open up numerous opportunities to drum up FOMO and drive up sales.

For example, with Member Decision SmartTags™ you can:

• Boost your cross-selling power by displaying personalized recommendations to members based on their purchase history with the purchasedProduct SmartTag™ . Leverage social proof by displaying “people who bought X also bought Y” recommendations.
  
• Display limited-time offers with the daysAsMember SmartTag™. Give new members X number of days to upgrade their plan for less with an exclusive link before it disappears.
  
• Use the status SmartTag™ to incentivize paused or expired members to reengage with teaser content.
  
• Target members on a free plan with glowing customer testimonials and exclusive offers using the isFree SmartTag™.

These are just some of the ways you can implement personalized content on MemberMouse to leverage the selling-power of FOMO.

MemberMouse is particularly useful if you want to create and sell online courses. For example, you can build and offer quizzes, create certification options, provide time-released lessons, and more. Better yet, you can build courses using a drag and drop visual editor.

Price

The Basic MemberMouse plan costs $399 per year.

2. TrustPulse 

TrustPulse is a fantastic tool that enables you to showcase social proof on your website in a range of different ways. For instance, you can track and highlight purchases and signups.

Plus, you can show how many people are taking action within a certain period of time, which is great for FOMO marketing. And, with smart targeting rules, you're able to send push notifications to the right people at the right time to score more conversions.

Price

You can use TrustPulse for just $5 per month.

3. OptinMonster 

OptinMonster is one of the most popular tools available for conversion optimization. With page-level targeting and exit-intent detection, you can present offers at the perfect time.

Plus, you can create floating bars, popups, and countdown timers to build a sense of urgency as shoppers browse your website. You're also able to personalize your campaigns based on your visitor's location and device. And, you can even create different campaigns for first-time or returning visitors.

Price

You can use the OptinMonster popup builder for free, or upgrade to the paid version for $9 per month.

4. Advanced Coupons

Advanced Coupons offers a whole suite of products to level up your ecommerce marketing strategies. For example, you can create a range of discount coupon types and promotions like BOGO deals, special rules/cart conditions, and shipping discounts.

What's more, you can set coupon restrictions based on a range of factors like user roles, shipping zones, payment methods, and more. Plus, you can configure discounts that are only eligible in certain conditions like when carts reach a certain subtotal, when a specific product is selected, or when items from a particular category are chosen.

Price

You can use Advanced Coupons for free, or upgrade for $59.50 per year for more features.

Common FOMO Marketing Pitfalls to Avoid

As we discussed earlier, there are also some common pitfalls that you should be aware of if you intend to implement this technique within your marketing campaigns.

First off, since FOMO is based on human emotions, people will have different responses. While it may cause some shoppers to rush to secure a deal, other customers may be deterred by the pressure of the situation.

For example, if you use countdown timers to increase the sense of urgency, this might be off-putting for customers that need to put more thought into their purchase decision. So, you may want to consider your target audience first, and how they will react to this marketing approach.

But that's not the only possible side effect of FOMO marketing. Fear of missing out can create a cycle in which consumers are constantly in pursuit of the latest products and deals. And, some of them might regret their purchases after further reflection.

In that scenario, you might end up dealing with a higher-than-usual number of returns or complaints. As a result, this can put strain on your business.

To avoid this happening, you'll want to make sure you only use FOMO marketing when appropriate, and not fall into unethical marketing habits. Otherwise, it may backfire and damage customer trust.

While it can be tempting to take shortcuts, it's important to refrain from using misleading information to make your campaigns more appealing. Instead, it's best to proceed with full transparency to retain your brand's reputation and integrity.

For example, if you're using social proof or case studies, find real customers that can vouch for your products. And, suppress the urge to inflate statistics, use fake social proof, or pay influencers large sums of money to promote your brand.

By avoiding these pitfalls, you can use FOMO marketing techniques in a more sustainable and ethical way.

Final Thoughts About FOMO Marketing

FOMO marketing pulls on human emotions to create a sense of “missing out” that can drive quick actions on your site. As such, you can implement FOMO into your marketing campaigns to improve engagement, increase conversions, and generate more revenue.

For instance, you can display sold out products, feature noteworthy clients, or create VIP memberships. Implementing memberships, in particular, is super easy to do when you're using a powerful plugin like MemberMouse which facilitates gated content, members-only pricing, and exclusive member areas.

Plus, it's great if you want to design online courses or offer incentives like free shipping to attract new customers.

Do you have any questions about how to use FOMO marketing strategies to boost conversions? Let us know in the comments section below!

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