Using FOMO for your association’s next member engagement campaign

How can Fear of Missing Out help your organization attract and engage with members?

Read on for tips on how to use FOMO to get prospective and current members more involved and connected with your organization.

By Michelle Schweitz, Marketing Manager, Community Brands

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is the slight anxiety we feel when we think we’re being left out of an amazing experience. What does FOMO have to do with your association’s members?

Like all of us, your members want to be a part of can’t-miss events and activities – especially in their industry. Your organization can capitalize on this social phenomenon in today’s social media-driven, shareable world. It’s just a matter of giving your prospective and current members something enticing to read and share online.

Here are some ideas for adding FOMO elements to your member recruitment and engagement campaigns:

• Make it exciting.
  One FOMO tactic is to simply put forth your most compelling offerings in an appealing way. For example, promote your most captivating offerings, such as industry information, advocacy activities, educational opportunities, and events. Add an expiration date to key content to add a sense of urgency. Share inspiring testimonials from members. Offer up promotional videos from your most popular event speakers.
• Make it seem special.
  Nothing inspires FOMO like making an event, activity, or content seem limited in its availability. For example, add some exclusivity to your next event. Release early registration only to those who have attended the year before and those referred by past guests. This can work for in-person and virtual events.
• Ask your members to help.
  Another way to use FOMO tactics is to ask your members to lend a hand. Using user-generated content lets potential members share vicariously in the experience of being part of your association, so they will want to be a part of the real experience, too. Create a hashtag for members to use in social media posts, and then prompt your most active members to share specific positive experiences they’ve had with your organization.

Learn more.
Discover more tips and tricks for getting prospective and current members more involved and connected with your organization. Watch the on-demand webinar, Small association best practices to increase member engagement digitally.