If you haven’t heard of FOMO, then you are definitely behind the curve and I suggest you get up to speed and QUICK!

It’s the latest catchphrase being coined by marketers, and in case you’re scratching your head and wondering if I accidentally flipped the FO and the MO, nope, FOMO = “fear of missing out.”

I first heard this phrase during a talk hosted by JWT at  SXSW and once you’re familiar with the concept you’ll notice it everywhere.

FOMO has been with us since time began. In fact, it was Adam’s fear of missing out that led him to take a bite of Eve’s infamous apple. It’s how cyber criminals persuade us to click on those nasty links they embed in spam messages. And social media companies have been built on it. Go on, admit it: you’ve seen a friend post about a party or gig on Facebook and wished you’d been there.

So now you get the concept. What does this have to do with marketing? FOMO is something that marketers are consciously tapping into to augment the viral effect. It’s in our nature as humans to follow the cool, smart people. So whether it’s a ‘secret’ club night you hear about via text message, or insider deals on hot home design items (think One King’s Lane) – wanting to get “in” when you are “out” – makes us work harder as consumers.

According to JWT’s research, this tactic is especially effective with Millenials with 50% saying they spread themselves too thin for fear of missing out. They say “yes” to everything because they want to stay in the know.

Behind every great concept is a counter-intuitive way to make it work even better. The Road Safety Council, in its bid to stop teens texting while driving, has flipped the concept at Distraction.gov.  Young drivers are urged to ‘miss out’ on the immediacy of reading a text to avoid fatal car accidents.

So as you build your  next campaign, ask yourself whether you’re tapping into the core human trait of FOMO.