This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

FOMO Is Essential for Brands to Attract Millennials

For a generation that values experiences above results and marketing claims, brands need to continue to implement a marketing strategy that embodies FOMO factors and the experience their products can provide. By doing so, millennials will continue to purchase the very products brands are selling.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
shutterstock

It is safe to say that all of us, or a good majority, are out to achieve and want the best in everything life has to offer. This is most true for the millennial generation -- a generation driven by the concept of FOMO (fear of missing out). It is this very notion that makes millennials among the most optimistic of generations, one that always question how they can improve themselves and their lives, what their true potential is, and how much they can achieve. However, FOMO has also impacted the way millennials can't live without that immediate need to be in-the-know. Put this in hand with social media, and you have a pairing that is more impactful than any other.

If you look around you, it is as evident as the sky is blue. Millennials document every moment of their lives from the most mundane to the most important of experiences. Updating every social media status known to mankind goes without thinking in today's society. Millennials want to be the first to post a status update, and more importantly, the first to receive the latest news. Life experiences are of much more importance to this generation than anything else.

This constant need for having and sharing the latest experience and living by the concept of FOMO has also shed light on how millennials have significantly impacted marketing.

Today, more than ever, brands need to understand and implement FOMO marketing in order to satisfy and maintain their biggest consumers. Documenting brands on social media has automatically placed brands in a position of marketing the very experience their products provide. Prior to social media, brands and their products were all about how they benefit consumers. Today, while the benefit still plays an important role, it is the experience and feel of the brand and its products that takes first place.

Millennials enjoy brands that offer them an experience. So, how can brands tap into FOMO and the experience factor that millennials crave? And more importantly, is it even possible to do so? The answer is "yes" and an absolute must-do if brands want to continue to target and connect with millennials. Brands today need to design marketing strategies that create that "experience" people are in search of. The numbers speak for themselves. A study by Citizens Relations Canada found that 68 per cent of millennials said they've made a spur-of-the-moment purchase due to FOMO within hours of seeing someone else's experience with the product. This statistic in itself demonstrates how millennials have impacted the purchasing cycle.

Some of the biggest brands out there have already implemented FOMO marketing and the experience factor to sell their products. A good few have even successfully done so without the millennial consumer even realizing it, because the company's DNA is built on the experience they provide, not marketing its product benefits. The number one brand that comes to mind is Apple. The brand and their products are all about the experience it provides and they know exactly where to start to build up the hype -- social media. Creating a marketing campaign that often targets emotions and capturing life experiences is what Apple does best.

For a generation that values experiences above results and marketing claims, brands need to continue to implement a marketing strategy that embodies FOMO factors and the experience their products can provide. By doing so, millennials will continue to purchase the very products brands are selling. Experiences are after all, priceless, for everyone involved.

MORE ON HUFFPOST:

10: Johnson & Johnson

Canadians' Most Trusted Brands

Close
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.