Madalyn Sklar

Creating FOMO For Live and Virtual Events

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Creating FOMO for live and virtual events - #TwitterSmarter chat with May King Tsang - June 11, 2020

You know when you’ve been away from Twitter for a few hours, and come back to a set of steaming trends but have no idea what they’re about? So the next time you’re away, you try and sneak in some social media time, just to avoid being surprised afterwards. That’s FOMO—the fear of missing out.

Businesses can use FOMO to generate interest among their audience. And to learn how, we invited May King Tsang, a social media and live PR strategist and FOMO Creator to our weekly chat. Here’s a summary.

Topic: Creating FOMO For Live and Virtual Events
Guest: May King Tsang
Format: Eight questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.

Q1: What is FOMO and why should business owners care?

FOMO is the acronym for the fear of missing out on social events, offers, and limited time benefits.

And to instil that fear, you’ll have to hype up your product or service offerings to make sure your customers keep returning.

The main purpose of FOMO is to emphasize urgency, prompting people to take action.

A good example of creating FOMO, as Gretchen said, is to promote a conference during the event, encouraging people to register for subsequent events as well. You can also go a step further and offer special discounts for people who register right away. That way, if you’re hosting an annual conference, you can sell a reasonable amount of tickets at least a year in advance.

Q2: How can business owners create FOMO for their own business?

Most people only talk about conferences they’ve participated in or events they run. But as our guest pointed out, you can create FOMO in more than one way. For example, you can talk about your offerings during one-on-one client meetings, introduce your business when you do speaking slots, and spread the word amidst an event’s organizers.

What’s more, FOMO doesn’t start and end with post-event promotions. Our guest explained that even before and during the event, you can show your audience what it all looks like behind the scenes. For example, if you’re exhibiting in a conference, share live videos, images, and experiences while you’re setting up your exhibition booth. If you’re checking out your stage a day before your speech, perhaps share a picture of the auditorium. All these can help build FOMO in your audience.

Another way to create FOMO is to share content about your customers and successful service implementations. As Tim said, this will help people understand your offering better and seek you out.

Q3: What is the difference between live and virtual events when creating FOMO?

As you can probably guess, live events are slightly more easier than virtual ones. But that’s largely because we didn’t have that many virtual events until COVID struck. It’s still a relatively new kid on the block. That said, you can still use a range of tools like live streaming to generate FOMO for virtual events. If you’ve got a virtual speaker, you can take screenshots of their presentations to share on social media. Just be sure to get the presenter’s permission first and to credit them on your post.

The more you show about what’s happening behind scenes, the more FOMO you create.

As email marketing duo and #TwitterSmarter regulars, Rob and Kennedy said, one of the good things about virtual events is that you can always be selling.

Our friends from Cosmitto Digital beautifully outlined the difference in messaging when creating FOMO for live and virtual events. While live events are more about the travel and physically meeting and engaging with peers, virtual events can lean more towards accessibility and breaking borders.

Q4: How do I get started with FOMO on social media?

According to Madalyn, the key is to leave them wanting more. To do that, start with repurposing your major content assets. Aside from reposting old blogs, find other ways to use them. For example, you can convert a text-based article into a video using stock images. Or take snippets from a lengthy video or blog and create smaller ones.You can even use tools like Try Lately to automate generating social posts from a single content asset.

Another simple tactic is to create a social media campaign, as Sarah explained. Post examples, testimonials from previous events or happy customers, and use hashtags to catapult your content to the right audience.

Be cautious, though. As Jim reminded us, you shouldn’t intercept conversations to emphasise and instil fear. That could end up negatively for you. Instead, have a genuine strategy to create FOMO with your content.

Q5: How do I get clients by creating FOMO?

There’s no secret, really. It’s the same tactic we’ve been talking about over and over on our chat—build relationships with prospects, but keep it genuine. Watch the video our guest tweeted—she explains how she spent almost a year developing a relationship with her first client before she even asked them if they wanted a live social media manager for their event. And it worked! Throughout the event, our guest says, how she tweeted, did live videos on Instagram and Facebook by interviewing attendees, and ended up selling over 400 tickets in one week. Now that’s how you get sales and clients by creating FOMO.

Our friends from Media Frenzy gave us another good idea: put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Do your research so you can talk to them about their competition and educate them about how they might be missing out. Prioritize their advantages and share how you can help them stay ahead of the game.

Q6: How long does it take to get clients when creating FOMO?

There’s no steadfast timeline for this. It can range between a few hours to years. And in some cases, like our guest explains in the video, you don’t even have to take the first step. You never know who’s watching your work, and they might reach out to you by themselves.

The one thing we know for sure, however, is that you have to consistently create content to be known and seen on social media. Create excitement about your work, and always make sure your tone is geared towards making people see how you can help them.

All that said, remember that social media is a long-term game. Like Madalyn reminded us, even for people to take immediate action based on your FOMO post, they have to know you well enough and trust you. Building that credibility takes time and consistent effort. Social media success doesn’t happen overnight.

Q7: How can I use FOMO to get more publicity for my business?

Again, focus on your relationships. May explained how her passion for tea got her media publicity. As she built a reputation for herself as an avid tea drinker and expert, people noticed and remembered. And so when a journalist put out an open call on Twitter for a tea expert, someone who’d engaged with May recommended her.

And to achieve that level of popularity, you have to establish yourself as a credible source. Twitter chats are a great way to start developing your brand.

Chris suggested that FOMO is a bit like SEO, noting you have to remain relevant and constantly show up on social media to create a brand for yourself. Once you have, you’ll start getting returns every time you create a FOMO post.

Q8: Share some tips for using FOMO to stand out against my competitors.

May’s top tips include:

  1. Develop genuine relationships.
  2. Share more video content, including personalized video replies.
  3. Don’t forget the lurkers on your follower list—identify what they want and respond accordingly.

Aside from our guest’s top tips, the most common advice is to share more behind-the-scenes content. Tell your audience what you’re up to, explain how your event’s panning out, talk about what went wrong and what went well, share your lessons and experiences from hosting an event. All of these can help your audience relate to you more, and wish they were there to share the experience with you.

Finally, don’t forget the most important thing: be yourself. Masooma highlighted the importance of putting yourself out there as a real human. After all, everyone wants to engage with a person. Be that person.

Well, folks. That’s all from this week. Thanks for reading, and for more great insights from our chat with May, check out this Twitter Moment that Joana put together. And if you’ve got some time to spare next week, join us on Thursday at 1pm ET for our #TwitterSmarter chat.

 

About me, Narmadhaa:

I write all things—technical and marketing copy to fill the pocket; haiku and short stories to fill the soul. A social media enthusiast, I’m a member of the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and always happy to take on writing gigs.

Say hello: Personal blog | LinkedIn | Twitter

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