October 16, 2024

FOMO in WEB3 Marketing: Turning ANXIETY into Action

In the rapidly growing crypto landscape, the fear of missing out (FOMO) is a significant driver of investor behavior, especially within the memecoin boom and bust cycle. This psychological phenomenon compels individuals to make quick, often rash decisions fueled by the anxiety of missing out on potentially lucrative opportunities. The desire to be part of success stories, particularly in a space as volatile yet promising as digital assets, is powerful. FOMO, amplified by rapid market growth and sensationalized stories of success, shapes investor decision-making and influences market dynamics.

How FOMO Became a Marketing Superpower

The role of FOMO in crypto is undeniable. Social media and key opinion leaders (KOLs) often spark intense periods of hype, driving price surges as investors rush in, fearing they might miss out on the next big thing. During my time at Cake Group, we used this dynamic to craft effective social media marketing strategies. We produced cross-channel and cross-media FOMO content for Bake’s various channels, with the clear mission to unveil trends, inform our audiences, and subtly promote our products—helping users take action quickly. Let me highlight some of my favorite examples:

Clarence's Crypto Calls: Making Trends Actionable

“Clarence’s Crypto Calls,” produced and hosted by Clarence Beh, was a series designed to share the newest trends in crypto, provide valuable insights, and induce FOMO while giving clear action points for viewers on how to capitalize on current events. By presenting emerging narratives and explaining their potential impact, Clarence’s content not only educated but motivated audiences to take quick action—all while positioning Bake’s products as the go-to platform for investing in these trends.

Influencer Shorts: Amplifying the Herd Mentality

Our social media mastermind, Xin Hui, developed Influencer Shorts—highlight compilations featuring KOLs and influencers advocating for specific narratives. This format leaned heavily into herd mentality, amplifying FOMO by showcasing many voices championing the same opportunity. When all of crypto YouTube and Twitter advocates for something, it’s hard not to jump on board. This series was developed with a clear focus on selling Bake’s Smart Bundles, which consisted of digital assets curated around a specific narrative or investment strategy. It was a direct way to leverage influencers’ voices to create FOMO while subtly showcasing Bake’s bundled offerings.

FOMO Animations: Visuals That Drive Action

We also created a series of FOMO Animations that highlighted strongly anticipated events in crypto or showcased the best-performing assets of the week. These animations were designed to visually capture the excitement and drive FOMO through price action. They included simple calls to action like “jump on board before it’s too late.” These animations were quick, engaging, and highly shareable.

Clarence's Invests $100 Shorts: Quick Action, Lasting Engagement

Another favorite of mine was Clarence’s Invests $100 series, which featured Clarence investing $100 into trending narratives using Bake. The concept was simple: induce FOMO with a pressing narrative and ultra-fast investment, while also showcasing the ease of use and sleek UX/UI of the Bake app. The series demonstrated how users could invest in up to 10 assets in less than three simple steps, highlighting the convenience Bake provided. Each episode ended on a cliffhanger, inviting viewers to subscribe and return a year later to see if the investment panned out—an effective way to build ongoing curiosity and engagement. The second part of the series, showcasing the investment outcomes transparently, was planned for release one year later.

The Conclusion: FOMO drives growth

FOMO content is an incredible way to inspire action and draw customer attention. The pieces we created were among our most engaging, partly because of the use of $ticker tagging on X/Twitter and the nature of the crypto community, where everyone wants to promote their favorite projects and bags. Once we featured a specific project, its community took notice, leading to increased engagement on our social channels and conversions to our products.

There are endless ways to leverage FOMO in marketing to drive customer attention, inspire action, and plug your products effectively. By tapping into the innate human fear of missing out, you can connect with your audience on an emotional and primal level.