Why we’re doing away with “FOMO” marketing
I’ve had enough of my Instagram feed. Yeah, you heard me. ENOUGH. I don’t want to share every dang thing that I’m seeing or doing or experiencing. And while I do care about you, I don’t need to live vicariously through images of your life while I ignore my own.
You know what I want? To be in the moment. Life, with #nofilter.
Are you with me?
Let’s take the “FOMO” out of marketing
FOMO stands for “Fear of missing out.” It is a common social media side effect. When we scroll our feeds, we tend to want everything we see– from that impeccably garnished fish taco, to those cute shoes, to her perfectly decorated living room and his amazing camping trip at Joshua Tree.
FOMO makes us unhappy, and unable to fully appreciate our own lives. How can we wake up to the beauty of the moment if we are busy scrolling feeds full of fake perfection and impossible expectations?
From a marketing standpoint, FOMO is brilliant. We can remind you of our product or experience until your restlessness and discontent wears you down and you finally decide to buy.
In fact, before you even see our product, social media is conditioning you to be a perfect buyer, as you search for the magic bullet to fix your nagging feeling of lack.
It ain’t cool. There’s gotta be a better way.
Marketing for meaning
Groundwork! was founded to improve our members’ quality of life. We are a physical space that fosters face-to-face interaction and quality relationships. From day one, we envisioned Groundwork! as the antidote to social isolation and increased screen time.
I’ve become increasingly bothered by the cognitive dissonance between our values and certain aspects of social media marketing.
It just isn’t right for a business like ours to contribute to the FOMO.
So we’re gonna stop.
What happens now?
It’s going to be a learning process, but from here on out this is what you won’t see from us:
- Photos of happenings and social events that make us look cool and make you feel left out
- Other people’s content (unless it is really freaking awesome and we have an important commentary on it)
- Filler content, clickbait, things intended to go viral
- Anything at all that is a waste of your time and brain power
What will you see from us? Original content that inspires, provokes, and/or informs you. This will include:
- Reporting about the positive goings on in our city and how you can get involved.
- Interviews with our members and the folks with whom we collaborate.
- Thoughtful and authentic essays about the core topics that matter to us, such as coworking, community building, collaboration, tolerance, and others.
- How-to articles that will inspire you and motivate you to do meaningful work for yourself and your community.
Where will you see us?
You’ll find our content primarily on Facebook and LinkedIn. We’re cutting down drastically from Instagram and Twitter. You can also sign up for our newsletter to get monthly blog highlights. We put a lot of care and effort into the content of our newsletters.
Call us out, please.
I’m not publishing this post for a pat on the back. I want you to take note and hold us accountable. Seriously. Send me a personal email if you see us post anything that doesn’t live up to the above guidelines.
We have such a short time on this planet to do work that is meaningful.
We have an even shorter time to appreciate the exquisite beauty of each moment before it passes.
Let’s cut out all the crap. Are you in?
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