Should brands foster their Instagram account followers’ fear of missing out by posting ephemeral content?

Abstract

Several blogs and websites with a focus on social media marketing suggest that brands can benefit from fostering their Instagram account followers’ fear of missing out (FoMO) by posting ephemeral content. Relying on an online survey with 550 followers of Instagram brand accounts and a scenario-based experiment with 535 participants, this article shows that content ephemerality triggers followers’ FoMO, which increases brand account engagement and brand account fatigue. Brand account engagement (fatigue), in turn, positively (negatively) relates to brand attitude and brand attachment. Further analyses reveal that the total effect of followers’ FoMO on brand attachment is positive and significant, while the total effect of FoMO on brand attitude is not significant. Moreover, content ephemerality has a negative and significant total effect on brand attitude. A key implication of these findings is that it is not beneficial for brands to foster their Instagram account followers’ FoMO by posting ephemeral content.