Social media as surrogate for product.
Speaking of presentations, I watched a brilliant one recently on a flight back from Seattle. An anthropologist, Helen Fisher put people who are in love into MRI machines to see what was going on in their brains.
Both performance and content are brilliant. Helen uses lots of poetry to establish the intensity of emotion surrounding love before diving into the science. It’s a great combo that really worked for me.
But it was one of her findings that really got me thinking…
She discovered that the part of the brain that lights up when we’re in love is one that’s associated with reward. It’s a part of the brain that generates craving, which is why love often becomes and obsession or an addiction. However it’s also the part of the brain that’s associated with new things or purchases. Clearly this explains why lonely people (or lonely countries) go shopping more than others, we look to physical things as surrogates for relationships, we look to stuff to replace love.
While I certainly don’t condone this kind of behaviour, the knowledge that these two things are linked at a very fundamental physical level is, I think, potentially groundbreaking for marketers, especially during times like these. Because it implies that customers, who may not be able to afford the reward of buying something new from you, can be rewarded by human companionship instead. This means that even though you can’t maintain a traditional producer-consumer relationship with your customers, it’s possible to continue the same basic physiological relationship through connecting to them person to person.
So, a smart social media strategy, executed by employees of the company, may actually be a great way to preserve valuable relationships with customers during a downturn. Additionally, companies with strong relationships are likely to be the ones that benefit most when the economy improves. Combine that with the fact that social media may be the most cost-effective way to market right now and the urgency for companies to begin engaging in social media feels overwhelming to me right now.
Cory Hendrickson Says:
November 14th, 2008 at 11:07 amI like this, but I think it’s even broader than what Helen proposes. Love, reward - it doesn’t matter. Social media is no more social than any other form of media. Radio, television and print operated individually and with groups. People would talk about individual media around water coolers. The difference with digital is that it is driven by action. I believe a greater understanding of this space could be gained if we call it what it is - intent driven media. Yes it’s social, but it’s also functional at times. There are a lot of ripples that cross in this pond. These are where the areas of strength are.
Charles Frith Says:
November 14th, 2008 at 11:33 amYou are right Adrian. When i get off the mobile I will share a quasi case study.
adrian Says:
November 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pm@cory, to me the big thing about social media is that it is really personal. It’s so much more powerful when it’s simply about connecting with people rather than messages or ideas. That’s why it isn’t just like another channel to me.
@charles, do share. Very curious.
Helge Tennø Says:
November 14th, 2008 at 6:03 pmVery interesting, love your take on this.
Does it make it even more interesting that the way we learn is also connected to the same brain behavior? We learn by repetition, and we are encouraged to repeat when a chemical is released in the brain when performing the given action. One of these “reward-chemicals” is dopamine. Which is
one of the chemicals Helen Fischer is focusing on…
I’m not sure if it ads to your point, but the whole Dopamine/Brain-thing is quite fascinating and I would say potentially could teach us a lot about communication in marketing.
I’ll link to a post on my own blog on this, because it goes through a lot of the same things you are referencing (albeit linking it to creativity, not social media), and it contains a link to a much recommended article by Rosenfield and Ziff.
http://www.180360720.no/?s=dopamine&x=0&y=0
ocellus | When consumers can’t consume Says:
November 15th, 2008 at 10:47 pm[...] Ho of Zeus Jones connects lower consumer spending to the prospect of using social media to preserve consumer [...]
Ms. Adverthinker » links for 2008-11-16 Says:
November 16th, 2008 at 6:06 pm[...] Social media as surrogate for product. Could explain some of my habits. (tags: social media networking shopping buying companionship relationships love retail) [...]
delade | Kärlek och shopping Says:
November 18th, 2008 at 12:41 pm[...] Zeus Jones redogör för den intressanta kopplingen att samma del av hjärnan också är i högsta grad involverad när vi shoppar. [...]
delade | K??rlek och shopping Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 5:42 am[...] Zeus Jones redog??r f??r den intressanta kopplingen att samma del av hj??rnan ocks?? ??r i h??gsta grad involverad n??r vi shoppar. [...]
ErikJ Says:
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:38 amVery intelligent, I wish I would have known this before my last relationship. I learned that people who collect excessive things have a collection of bad thoughts in their mind it is a direct correlation between the two. Well at least I know now.
michele Says:
December 8th, 2008 at 1:48 pmAm I the only lonely person who doesn’t go buy stuff? It is cheaper to go home and ’self-love’ anyway. This way, I get the love without spending the money.