Let's talk about FOMO — the Fear of Missing Out — and how it can quickly become dangerous at events if not handled with care.

While FOMO can be a powerful marketing tool, if you lean too heavily on it, your attendees could leave feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and dissatisfied.

We explore the fine line between using FOMO effectively and letting it spiral out of control, ensuring your events engage, excite, and never alienate your attendees.

In this episode, we discuss the risks of relying too much on FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) in your event strategy:

• The Double-Edged Sword of FOMO: How FOMO can drive engagement but also create stress and anxiety for your attendees if not managed properly.
• The Danger of Decision Paralysis: Why too many options at events can lead to overwhelm, disengagement, and a poor experience.
• Avoiding Burnout: Tips on how to create balance in your event, offering engaging content without overloading your audience.
• Practical Solutions: Using event tech, personalised schedules, and real-time updates to make FOMO a positive experience instead of a stressful one.
• The Long-Term Impact: How unchecked FOMO can harm your event’s reputation and decrease attendee loyalty in the future.

Ready to dive deeper? Download your free guide, five ways to elevate your attendee experience without breaking the bank HERE

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Hello fellow event rebels, welcome back. I want to talk today about something that's been bubbling under the surface of quite a few of my episodes and that is FOMO or the fear of missing out. Not that people are getting FOMO from missing out on my broadcasts, but FOMO that people are getting in the events that they go to.

And we actually touched on FOMA I think in about three episodes recently. One with Kelly, the event psychologist, one when I was talking to David, event fit pro. And recently actually as well when I was talking to Lee about trade shows and how we can make them more attendee centric.

So I think I really want to spend this episode talking about FOMO and understanding how it's impacting our events what we need to be doing about it. let's start with the basics. FOMO is that anxious feeling you get when you think you're missing out on something exciting or important. So maybe you're trying to decide which sessions to choose to go to at an event when there are multi tracks. You worry that you're not going to get the most out of your experience. You're going to go

pick the wrong one you feel overwhelmed by the amount of choice that you have on offer. actually it's not just a trendy term FOMO has real psychological effects. Research shows FOMO can lead to increased stress, anxiety and dissatisfaction. I think it's nearly 60 % of people experience heightened anxiety due to FOMO. That's a study I read

from the University of Essex. And this is particularly true, of course, at events where you have the multiple choices and often this fear of missing something valuable. And this can actually translate into something called decision paralysis, when you can be so overwhelmed by all the options that you struggle to make any decision at all. And then even when you do make the decision, you're constantly second guessing, wondering if you've...

missed out on something or you should have done something else and to be better elsewhere. It kind of is a cycle of doubt, leaving you feeling very disengaged and ultimately less satisfied with whatever experience you actually end up doing. A report also by EventMB has found that 50 % of attendees say they experience FOMO at multi -track events, feeling stressed about missing keynotes or sessions that are happening simultaneously.

Now the thing is that kind of psychological stress for your attendee is going to really diminish the overall event experience and lower the likelihood of these attendees returning in the future. The absolute opposite of what we want to achieve. The absolute opposite of what I'm all about, which is the attendee experience.

But of course, FOMO is a little bit of a double -edged sword because it can actually be amazing for event organizers as a powerful marketing tool. You know, that idea that you're going to be missing out on something incredible if you don't sign up for this event because it gives you this urgency, it drives registrations, it builds buzz around your event. So of course, FOMO can really help boost your initial numbers, but of course the catch is...

If it's not used wisely, it can be damaging for your attendees. your event strategy is relying too heavily on creating FOMO, then essentially you are banking on your attendees feeling anxious and stressed, which is really not a very sustainable way to build a loyal audience. If people leave your event feeling overwhelmed, stressed or regretful because they couldn't experience everything they wanted,

they are so much less likely to return next year and even worse, they might share their negative feelings with others and that harms your event's reputation. And if you're truly honest, when you go to events, and I know this, I attend a lot of events, both as an MC, as an attendee, I'm afraid some of those feelings, overwhelmed, stressed and regretful, because I couldn't attend everything, are certainly some of the emotions I have.

And I am sure, and we know from those stats I quoted, that is also the experience of quite a few attendees. if we look even deeper into the actual psychological impact of FOMO, when people constantly fear they are missing out, it actually leads to long -term feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction. And we hear that talked about in social media where we are watching very curated,

pictures of somebody's life and only seeing the highlights and the best bits and therefore thinking that everybody else is having a fabulous existence and we are missing out. And then we often have these long -term feelings of dissatisfaction, and then some people will, that will become a psychological issue, a long -term feelings of dissatisfaction. there are studies that actually show that,

people who experience FOMO are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and even reduced life satisfaction.

events, FOMO will actually exacerbate these feelings. Imagine the attendees spending an entire day in the state of low -level panic, rushing from one session to another, feeling like they're always a step behind. They're not just missing out on content, they are missing out on the experience. And that's what we as event pros

really want to give them an amazing experience, memorable, enriching So the worst thing is that this kind of environment actually will then create a toxic atmosphere where people are feeling they have to constantly prove, no, I'm having an amazing time, I'm getting the most out of the event. If comes to this kind of competition rather than a community, and that is not the recipe for engagement that we all want, it's actually the recipe for burnout. So how can we...

Relieve FOMO for our attendees. I talked, I think it was two weeks ago now in my episode, about content and how if we record the content.

we can actually help reduce FOMO because people can see it later. They can watch the sessions they missed

And of course, if you share that information with your attendees, you let them know that any sessions they miss, they can catch up on, then they are going to have a sense of relief and feel less fomo. But we need to really fomo in other ways. We can't just rely on content. So how could we do it? So there are different ways. One way is to encourage a personalized schedule. So you're really helping the attendees before they come, curate a really personalized agenda for them based on

interest in their goals. And there are tools available and all sorts of AI and all sorts of event tech that will help them do that. You your event app, your platforms that use should help them to filter the sessions and add the reminders so that they're not going to miss things. It's also effective if you organize

smaller focused interactions. So some small group discussions or round tables where very specific topics can be looked can actually provide a sense of exclusivity.

and some depth that you might not get in a larger session where there's a very broader knowledge base. And actually that will ensure that attendees feel they're getting some special value and then that helps them feel better about anything they might be missing out on. Make sure that your event app and your social media is keeping your attendees informed with real -time updates. So let them know about session highlights. Let them know about where the most engaging discussions are going to be happening.

any last minute room changes so people aren't running from one end of a venue to another only to they should have been somewhere else because that is really frustrating. You want to have people feel like you're listening to them, you are seeing them, you know that they'll be anxious about this so you're keeping them informed. And also have some places that really are FOMO free zones and we have talked about this before but it doesn't have to be a really expensive quiet room with massages and gongs and bells and stuff and, bells, you don't want bells, but you know what I mean.

gongs and meditative music, it could just be some quiet places that are easy to see wherever you go. And so people can think, I can stop, I can recharge, I can get some water, can have a coffee, and it's near to that place. Without thinking, I've got to run that way to where the food halls are, then I've got to run that way to where that session is, and back to the other one, and so

If nearby there are easy places everywhere that they can stop and reflect and just think about where they're meant to be.

and have some mindful conversations, quiet places to meet up with people. You don't feel like you're trying to be everywhere at once. And I think you can offer specially curated experience tracks for different types of attendees. So you can put people into sort of buckets of first time attendees, experienced attendees, people interested in very specific topics only. So that way the attendees will feel that they're on a journey that has been tailored really just for them and reduced.

the stress of decision making. of course, people can help you with this. Specific people can be assigned to act as facilitators or connectors, and it's their job to help attendees find the right places to go and the people to talk to, to be introduced to the people they want to be introduced to, or to be suggested sessions that might align with their interests, so they can...

alleviate the pressure of feeling like you need to be everywhere and know everyone. mean, imagine if you went to one of these a personal assistant who knew the itinerary, knew where you were meant to be and what you were meant to be doing and was helping you with that. if you could put something in place using digital tools that helps people feel they're going to be reminded and they're going to be shown what they need to be at, that will really help people feel a sense of relief.

I think also it's really helpful to hold debriefing sessions where people can share what they learnt and discuss takeaways and connect over shared experiences, which will help people not only feel more satisfied with what they've actually chosen to attend, because there'll be something coming off the back of it which they can discuss and go, yeah, no, I forgot about that. I'm really glad I went to this one, as opposed to worrying about what they've missed. But it also helps build a sense of community.

Now whilst I'm talking the dangers of giving people too much choice,

It's also worth considering that if you have flexible session formats, so there are a mixture of different versions of things. So short lightning talks, interactive workshops, panel discussions, that all caters to different learning styles and attention spans. So it means there is something for everyone.

So they might be like, can't make the keynote, but there's going to be a smaller session afterwards discussing aspects keynote. So you can go to that. So you're not completely missing out and you're getting more value. I think as well in your messaging, you want to be emphasizing all the opportunities for collaboration and relationship building.

That can only happen in person at your event and make people feel, this is what I'm here for, I can catch the content later if I can't make it now. So, instead of creating anxiety about missing out, you wanna be creating excitement about what the attendee will experience.

So highlight the unique value of being present, the spontaneous conversations, the serendipity of live events. Use FOMU as a tool to build anticipation rather than anxiety. Just that subtle difference so that it's a more positive environment. If you know as an attendee, you're not gonna miss out on key content, but you're gonna have a really rich and rewarding experience no matter what.

then you are much more likely to feel engaged and satisfied and you will go to the event looking forward to something rather than dreading something.

So let's sum up very quickly Be transparent about what to expect. Set very clear expectations about what's gonna be available during and after the event, whether it's the session formats or the access to content. Promote the unique value of the in -person experience. Emphasize that while content's important, the real value is in the connections in the community that are gonna come by you attending in person or by your attendees attending in person.

Create opportunities to personalize their experiences. Use all the apps and the tools, curate the tracks, help your attendees navigate their own special journey through the event. Offer multiple kinds of formats, Rather than this, too many keynotes, too many plenary sessions, too many panels, mix it up.

So there's something for everyone. Really use that community building idea. Have networking facilitators, have the debriefing sessions, build the connections there. So FOMO is real, but it doesn't have to be bad. you can be very strategic with how you use it, which means you will reduce the anxiety and improve the attendee experience.

and build a stronger community around your events

That's it for today.

I hope this episode has sparked some ideas about FOMO so that you're using it really, really strategically. See you next time.