Neuromarketing's Social Media "Buy Button": How It Works
Are neuromarketing and social media connected?
- The science of neuromarketing is helping businesses tap into the customer's buy button.
- Social media is enabling businesses to attract customers more effectively than traditional media.
Is there a connection between neuromarketing and social media? If so, what does it mean to business owners?
The Neuromarketing / Social Media Connection
I believe that neuromarketing and social media are connected at a very fundamental level; social media is the conscious way people are expressing their hard-wired instinct for survival and self-interest. If this is correct, then the growth and expansion of social media we have witnessed in only the tip of the iceberg. The businesses that grasp and embrace this idea will easily outstrip their competition.
Neuromarketing And Our Old Brain
Neuromarketing tells us that we are hard-wired for survival and self-interest by our old brain (450 million years old). Sometimes called the Reptilian Brain because it is the most primitive part of the human brain, it "is a very self-centered entity and general considerations about others do not reach it. Think of the ‘Reptilian Brain’ as the center of ME. Do not assume that it has any patience or empathy for anything that does not immediately concern its survival and well-being." (Source: Salesbrain)
Survival
To survive, our reactions to the world must be instantaneous. And they are, as fast as 5 milliseconds. We react before we think because the time delay of thinking could be lethal.
For example, recall what happens when you hear a loud noise that may be a gun shot or see a movement on the ground that might be a snake. Your body reacts before you consciously think and you are put into a fight or flight mode. You are preparing to survive.
Now, recall what happens when there is no distracting noise, or when the ground is so clear that no snake could be lurking. The fight or flight mode is not triggered.
I believe that the success of social media has to do, in part, with the absence of stimuli that cause us to instintively go into survival mode. Social media simply offers a more comfortable way to live our lives.
That's my hypothesis. Here's my evidence.
Since we are talking about neuromarketing, we'll used examples from traditional marketing methods (for example TV ads, telemarketing, direct mail, and unwanted emails) and from social media today (for example subscribing to blogs, engaging in channels like Facebook, and searching for videos).
1. Traditional media pushes or imposes messages; social media is about attracting messages.
An imposed message is not about "me," it's about the advertiser. The advertiser has its interest in mind, not mine. It's about the advertiser's survival and self-interest, not mine. So, I tend to fight it or flee from it, i.e. ignore it or become irritated that I was exposed to it against my will. With social media, I select what I want to be exposed to and be involved in.
Someone expressed it well when he said, "Don't talk at me, talk about me." Traditional media talks at me, not about me. Social media talks about me.
Traditional media is invasive-it invades my space. The natural tendency, then, is to resist the "invasion." With social media I look for a safe place to enter.
2. Traditional media may contain hidden agendas. Social media strives to be transparent.
We are all too familiar with bait and switch tactics, from the TV commercials to the used car lot. Their intent is to deceive for their own self-serving purpose. What I find attractive about social media is that success goes to those who are most transparent. This means allowing-even welcoming- criticism and responding with sincerity.
Consider, also, social proof.The ability to demonstrate social proof, from online ratings (e.g. Amazon book reviews) to online chat, helps remove the "where is the snake in the grass?" mentality that infects so much of traditional communication. There's no hidden agenda here.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Of course, nothing is so pure that it is without fault. Social media has its issues. But the point is that the appeal of social media may have such deep roots that it will become an even more powerful force in our lives and how we succeed in business. Business owners who dig deeper into neuromarketing and its social media connections may find new and more profitable ways to succeed.
Does this resonate with you? Let me hear from you.
Photo Credit: dierk schaefer via Creative Commons license with photo editing by Don Metznik
Mission: To help small and mid-size businesses sell more.