How to Use FOMO to Increase Conversion in Social Media Marketing

Published on 13.09.2025 by Chizoba T

Social media has emerged as a powerful tool for attracting your target audience’s attention and increasing your brand's visibility. However, getting your brand noticed is only half the battle. You also need to decide what to do with the attention generated. A good social media campaign should increase engagement and translate into sales.

One way to convert your social media audience into sales is to use the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). By using FOMO and psychology to increase your social media engagement, you can inspire your audience to convert. This article will guide you on using FOMO in social media copywriting to convert your audience.

What is FOMO in Social Media Marketing?

FOMO is a short form for the “Fear of Missing Out,” a psychological phenomenon where you get anxious when you see other people enjoying a fantastic experience that you missed out on. This is not common on social media, where people share their amazing experiences on the internet.

You probably encountered this phenomenon when scrolling through Instagram, where you saw your friend enjoying a holiday at a top destination. Alternatively, you came across a new TikTok dance challenge and felt as if you were the only one missing out. Finally, you might have seen your friends flossing with the latest iPhone, which made you feel like you were the only one missing out. All these instances suggest two things: getting anxious about being left behind.

As human beings, we feel the desire to belong. This is precisely what FOMO taps into, making us make impulse purchases instead of regretting acting later. According to a recent study, 40% of millennials ended up overspending in their bid to catch up with their business. That also means that FOMO can be an effective strategy for brands to convert their social media audiences. In fact, you will realize that most viral campaigns use a kind of FOMO.

Benefits of FOMO in Social Media Marketing

FOMO social media marketing leverages human desires and emotions to make people act. It has many benefits, such as:

  • Creating a sense of urgency. One way that FOMO works is by making consumers believe that a product is only available for a short and limited time. This makes them want to take action, such as buying fast.
  • Higher engagement. FOMO is a good choice for increasing engagement. For instance, brands can use flash sales to keep their audience checking their social media page. Similarly, they can use exclusive offers or limited-time promotions to pique people’s curiosity and create a buzz, increasing the interaction rate.
  • Increase sales. FOMO also adds a sense of urgency, prompting consumers to act immediately. When consumers want to take action because they fear missing out, this can help increase conversion rates.
  • Better brand perception. Customers who feel that a brand is providing something valuable have a higher opinion of it. Strategies such as exclusive access or deals can improve your brand’s perception, making it look more valuable. 
  • Higher customer loyalty. Going by our last point, when customers have a high opinion of a brand, this can help to increase loyalty, even turning them into valuable brand advocates.
  • Greater social proof. When you use FOMO strategies that show other social media users enjoying your product or service, this can act as social proof that makes other people not want to miss out.

Key Drivers of FOMO on Social Media

Studies indicate that at least half of social media users suggest they have experienced FOMO, especially among millennials. Another study indicates that 40% of people buy something just to show off on social media. That means delivering relevant content can also increase social media engagement and profit.

According to a Trust Pulse report, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest are the top social media platforms for provoking FOMO. Outside the platforms, certain activities, such as traveling, activate FOMO. If you browse a travel website searching for your next destination, it could be because of FOMO.

Parties and events are also key drivers of FOMO. When social media users see interesting stories and pictures from those who attended a party, they feel they are missing out. Finally, food is also a major driver of FOMO, with people often wanting to try out excellent or new food.

This means that the above industries are among the best for using FOMO. However, even if you aren't in these industries, you can use FOMO to explore new trends, which can help you remain relevant.

How to Use FOMO in Social Media Marketing

While FOMO became popular after 2010, the strategy has existed for some time. Here are several ways to use FOMO in your social media marketing:

Creating a Sense of Urgency or Scarcity

While creating a sense of urgency has always been an effective marketing technique, it's now even bigger when used on social media with FOMO. That's why brands use flash sales on social media to make customers buy products they don't need. They make them feel fear of missing out on the best deals and instead take action as soon as possible. When customers are enticed with scarcity and urgency, they purchase more.

A good way of creating a sense of scarcity and urgency is by using:

  • Limited-time offers. The limited timer offers tend to put an end date on a particular sale or deal. It creates a deadline that stirs customers to act before a specific date or miss out on the deal. When they emphasize that the offer isn't available forever, it makes the decision-making process shorter and encourages the customer to buy. 
  • Flash sales. It consists of time-sensitive or unexpected deals with unique offers and great discounts for a short period. Since these are usually spontaneous and provide significant savings, they increase sales and cause customers to look for new deals.
  • Countdown timers. These usually display a limited time for a promotion or offer, encouraging customers to purchase or perform a desired action so they don't miss out.

When you provide buyers with a limited purchasing window, they are triggered to take action.

Create a Sense of Exclusivity

Humans love being part of exclusive groups; therefore, this is one way of activating the fear of missing out or creating loyal customers. You can make your customers feel more valued by making them feel like they are part of an elite club. On the other hand, those who are yet to join the club experience the fear of missing out. Having a loyalty program can be a good way of promoting the benefits members will enjoy by being part of a loyalty program. 

Exclusivity and scarcity can be combined well. You can hasten people's signing up by making it look like the exclusive deal is running out soon. You can also offer special advantages to specific customers, such as product samples, for those who join quickly.

Add Social Proof

Social proof is also an effective social media marketing strategy that exploits the fear of missing out. This is because social proof leverages the need for people to feel like they belong in a group, which is also connected to FOMO. When you realize that other people are buying, sharing, or talking about the product, you want to join in so you don't feel left out.

One way of building social proof on social media is by encouraging conversation and engagement, which enables other prospects to experience FOMO. You can ask your previous customers to leave reviews of your product or service. You can also encourage user-generated content through product reviews or unboxing videos on social media in exchange for exclusive discounts.

You can record short interviews with your customers, asking them to discuss their first and after-experiences. This will provide you with a more compelling story for your FOMO marketing.

You can also ask, "Which of our products do you exclusively love?” Such a question can inspire satisfied customers to share their experiences. Running social proof ads is also a great way of leveraging FOMO. When people outside your current audience demographic see a celebrity endorsing your brand or a user testimonial, their interest is piqued.

Final Thoughts

When people discover something amazing is happening, they do not want to miss out. That is one of the reasons why social media trends are big, with millions of people participating. Brands can leverage this phenomenon to make their target customers act fast and increase their sales and conversion rate. Reading our detailed guide can make it easier to do that. We recommend you also read our guide on building a content strategy that works for both organic and paid.