B2B Marketing & Scientific Research: How the Brain Interprets Online Relationships

The internet has given us a new type of relationship we never would have had without it: online relationships. And though they occur online, our brains understand them the same way as offline relationships. BtoB Magazine recently presented a webinar that spoke to this phenomena, called, “From Caveman to Customer: What the Evolution of Storytelling Means to Marketer.”

Online or Offline – It Doesn’t Matter!
According to the webinar, our brains process online and offline relationships the exact same way. This means that, even though online relationships exist over the internet, they can be just as significant and personal as those that exist offline.

MLT Creative President and Sr. Creative Director Billy Mitchell is a perfect example. His online relationships are just as important as his offline ones and, when he does meet online contacts face to face, he is always nonchalant about it because, in his mind, he knows them already. He sees their pictures and reads their thoughts, and with Skype and video he hears their voices as well. These relationships are real and meaningful.

Social Capital
Even more importantly, online relationships can be vital to building your social capital. Social capital bridges social ties you never would have had — and thus provides you with opportunities to access information, resources and, of course, prospects!   

Relationships Can Motivate Buying Behavior
So when you are trying to talk the C-suite into a social media plan, include how your target audience’s brains process these online relationships the same as offline ones — and how that can help you motivate their buying behavior. After all, they will feel like they know you and, as we all know, people want to do business with someone they know and trust.

 

Vann Morris is the Director of Buying Behavior Studies with the Atlanta B2B advertising agency, MLT Creative. She is a Social and Behavioral Scientist who is currently working on her PhD in Communications, and uses her strong theoretical background in order to show how scientific theory should be used to develop strategy and effective B2B marketing campaigns.