What is the ‘Connection Economy’, and How Can Businesses Make the Most of It?

The concept of a Connection Economy suggests that companies thrive if they can foster an emotional reaction in their audiences and thereby create a connection with them.

It can be connected to the idea of the Experience Economy, which suggests that immersivity and involvement with a product can inspire real loyalty and drive conversions because they inspire emotive, personable reactions.

Both come from the same place: the belief that it is the interactions with a brand, and the sensations it evokes, which drive success.

Let’s look a little closer at what that means, and how you can make the most of it.

Why has the Connection Economy Come About?

We live in an digitally saturated world, which affects everything from our attention spans (pardon? who are you again?) to our relationships, and the way we consume (both information and products!)

But people are still people, even if we do all have computers in our pockets now. And being sociable is in our nature.

We like to see the people behind the brand. Put a face to the services. Understand why a human being, somewhere in the world, decided to make this particular product at this particular time. 

For that reason, brands look to create a sense of community, and, to do this, they often drill into consumer psychology. The way we trust human faces and a meaningful backstory more than we trust a faceless checkout page for a brand that’s sprung up out of nowhere. 

That's where the Connection Economy comes in.

BFree, making customer connections at the Allergy and Free From Show 2025

What is the Connection Economy?

It’s all well and good talking about ‘Connection’. What actually is it, though?

Well, Connection, in the economic sense, can be defined by a few key features: 

Relationships

People want to feel that they know your brand; they understand your motivations, where you’ve come from, and where you’re going. Even better if they know the people behind the brand and can put a face to it.

A moment of genuine connection with a waiter at a particular restaurant, for example, might make you more likely to return to that establishment. Similarly, if you speak with the manager at that restaurant, and you start to learn about them, and their life, and what the business means to them, you’ve formed a connection. 

That makes the restaurant more memorable to you. You are, in other words, connected to it.

Trust 

‘Trust is the currency of the Connection Economy... Businesses that lean into trust-through transparent practices, ethical decision-making and reliability-outperform their competitors.’ (Eric Baker, Via Substack)

Moments of connection help to build trust. In the same way that we teach kids about Stranger Danger; because approaching people you don’t know is scary. So, too, is approaching a business you don’t know.

Giving people something to connect with, a moment of interaction and, BOOM, you’re no longer a stranger.

Community

Start with the people, give them opportunities to actually get involved with your brand. Places they can go to get some hands-on experience with you.

Start meaningful conversations online and in-person, where you can. Think about immersivity and intentionality when it comes to your campaigns. 

Exhibitions and events are a great opportunity to connect with your audience

Choice

No one wants to be talked at, or marketed to. Rather, they want to feel that they have discovered a brand on their own, and made conscious choices towards investing in a product/services. 

That happens when you market based on what human beings want to see. Get into your particular audiences’ mind-sets and think about what makes them tick.

Give them personalised offers, and the option of choice and agency. And, give them ways to connect with your brand, so they feel that they are a part of it, rather than a target.

What Does Connection Look Like?

Obviously not all businesses can make those day-to-day connections, like a restaurant can.

Lots of brands are run online, and there are no face-to-face interactions. That’s fine; it’s the world we live in! But you can still connect with people. Show your face in Instagram Reels. Offer some brand storytelling on your website. And, of course, attend events where you can.

That’s why so many professionals take to LinkedIn or Instagram, and hone a personality on social media, which reflects their expertise and interests. These sites also give you a much-needed platform, on which to communicate, and give something back to your audience, creating loyalty, and coming back to that sense of community.  

Connection can also look like accountability. Responding to comments, both positive and negative, and expressing solutions and reciprocity with regards to your work. Show off your human side and build trust like that. 

Connection can also mean those moments of literal, face-to-face, conversations that spark real understanding between you and your customers. 

Meet your audience in-person with events marketing

How Events Support Connection

By including a consistent events calendar as part of your annual strategy, you ensure that you have some tangible touchpoints with your audience throughout the year.

Social media is great for outreach and awareness. 

But variety is also key. The thing is, social media is a wonderful tool for outreach, but it can be a very passive tool in many ways. Scrolling is a way of passively consuming information without exercising much choice. Things are dropped onto your plate via algorithm, and you see what happens. Like we say: a great tool for reaching out, but it won't always go the whole way and form connections.

Events mix it up a bit. They are people-first marketing avenues, where participation is key. That gives people the feeling of active choice and participation.

They’re also fab trust-building moments. Social proof made flesh. People get to interact with your brand, and you get content to share on social media which proves a) we are REAL PEOPLE and b) so are our community!

By the end of the event, you’ve been on an emotional journey together. Whether you’ve leaned into that sense of community or used the trend of nostalgia marketing, whether you made a customer laugh, or shared a meaningful story, you’ve experienced an emotion together.

Connection doesn’t get realer than that. 

What Do You Need?

We can work with you to find those moments of connection which help your brand to thrive.