Are you FOMO or JOMO?

If you’ve heard the terms FOMO and JOMO, you’ll find they’ve mostly been used in referring to people and social media usage. If you aren’t familiar with these terms, using my quadrupeds as examples might help to make this subject a bit more interesting.

My black lab, Bosco, definitely suffers from FOMO, while my Great Pyrenees is the perfect summation of JOMO.

Bosco loves life. He just can’t get enough. If there’s a new type of bug on the deck or a creature in the trees or the sound of an engine on the street he doesn’t recognize, he’ll trip over himself to make the discovery and absorb the moment. Basically, he has: Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) —he must be in the know.

On the other hand, Bailey is very happy spending her days in the darkest corner of the farthest room of the house (which we lovingly call her condo). I have to bait and drag her out  to be part of the “family” or to go outside. She has what is known as Joy Of Missing Out (JOMO). Basically, Bailey is not interested and could not care less. Period.

Social media “stories” feed into this topic of discussion. These days, we encourage all of our clients to tap into the  “attention collateral” phenomenon and focus on STORIES in their social media (mostly on Facebook and Instagram). The goal is to engage the targeted viewer and build relationships.

Oddly, this new trend is taking the world by storm and people properly posting the stories are gaining or reaping the goods.

If you still aren’t exactly sure what all of this is referring to, it’s like this: Joan or John has a social media account. They like to talk about their life, what they’re up to, what they’re creating or perhaps the latest transition or challenge they are facing. So they create a video that reaches out to their viewers. In a way, it’s like creating their own reality TV show on social media. People can tune in at any time and if they can’t get enough, they simply rewatch until the person (or entity) posts again.

This trend is baffling—but maybe not? Think about People Magazine, Page Six, ENews or the society section of a newspaper…we humans are nosy and want to see how someone else is living. Someone on TV must be important… right? So we watch. The truth is, they’ve caught our attention or our interest and so, we invest in them. They’ve made a connection.

It’s the new normal.  People (or businesses, etc.) telling their story, hoping you are watching and listening.  Just exactly who is watching and investing their time, energy and resources in the latest scoop on their preferred person or business? That is the mystery.

If you are hoping to tap into or take advantage of this trend, here is the answer: the viewer is someone who agrees with you, likes you, connects with or emulates you or finds you offer something they feel is missing in their life. You fulfill some kind of need. You’re offering something they want.

As I mentioned, we encourage our clients to create these experiences. That means we have to understand truly why they are going to choose to do it, what they are going to say when they do and who they will be talking to once they begin. It’s a strategy. It’s not random… if you want it to be successful.

If you’ve been trying to navigate the social media story waters and want to know a bit more, we’d love for you to reach out to us. We’d be happy to share our expertise. After all, you could be the next big thing to fill the void of that particular FOMO viewer who is waiting just for you and your unique “story.”

— Stephanie

 

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