The Effectiveness of “Fear of Missing Out” Inducing Content in Facebook Advertisements

Abstract

This study aimed to extend previous findings by investigating whether the inclusion of a "Fear of missing out" (FOMO) message in Facebook advertisements improves memory for the advertisements. In all, 200 participants (121 females and 79 males) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In one condition, they were exposed to a simulated Facebook news-feed including a selection of five advertisements which included FOMO inducing content. In the other condition, participants were exposed to the same five advertisements but without FOMO inducing content. It was found that memory overall, as well as recall and recognition memory for the advertisements, was better when the FOMO content was present. Overall memory and recognition memory for advertisement information was better for females than males in both the FOMO and no FOMO conditions. Males had better overall memory and recognition for advertisement information with FOMO inducing content compared to advertisement information without FOMO inducing content. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

More Mobile Connectedness, Less Well-Being?

“…However, prior literature has mainly focused on the consequence of FoMO, without paying appropriate attention to its antecedents. According to a review article by Tandon et al (2021), a few studies have examined the role of deficiencies in psychological needs (e.g., competence, relatedness, autonomy) on FoMO, but only a handful of studies have linked media effects with FoMO (e.g., Liu & Ma, 2020; Weideinger et al, 2021). Although positive correlations were mostly found between social networking site use and FoMO, there are fewer theoretical arguments or evidence of the relationship between social media use and FoMO (Tandon et al, 2021).…”

“…Merchants on social media platforms often use slogans such as “the lowest price of the year.” Such messages are designed to evoke FoMO regarding the opportunity to buy discounted items, potentially leading to a high level of FoMO. Weideinger et al (2021) empirically investigated that adding FoMO messages to Facebook advertisements improved consumers’ recall of the ads.…”

The Phenomenon of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) in West Sumatra PTKIN Students

“…As a new construct there is still no expert agreement on the concept of FOMO (Weideinger et al, 2021). Thompson (2012) defines FOMO as "the uneasy and sometimes all-consuming feeling that you're missing out-that your peers are doing, in the know about or in possession of more or something better than you.…”

The Continued Use of Social Commerce Platforms and Psychological Anxiety—The Roles of Influencers, Informational Incentives and FoMO

“…Thus, advertising content in social media that appeals to missing-out anxiety leads to higher intensity social media use [61]. Weideinger et al (2021) investigated whether adding FOMO messages to Facebook ads improved consumers' recall of the ads. The results found that consumers performed better in both recall and recognition of ads when FOMO content was present [62].…”

“…Weideinger et al (2021) investigated whether adding FOMO messages to Facebook ads improved consumers' recall of the ads. The results found that consumers performed better in both recall and recognition of ads when FOMO content was present [62]. Karimkhan et al (2021) found that FoMO had a significant impact on consumer impulsive buying behavior and was also strongly correlated with collectivism, ethnic identity and culture [48].…”