According to Macmillan "tap into" means "use" or "get some benefit":
tap or tap into [TRANSITIVE] if you tap something such as someone’s ability or a supply of information, you use it or get some benefit from it : Are you tapping your staff’s full potential?
Several other companies were already tapping this market.
Or tap into can mean "to understand and express something":
tap into something to understand and express something such as people’s beliefs or attitudes : the senator’s ability to tap into the American psyche
Considering the main meaning of tapping as "to touch someone or something gently", where do the above meanings for tap into come from?
Answer
oxforddictionaries.com has this as the first definition of tap (n):
A device by which a flow of liquid or gas from a pipe or container can be controlled.
and for the verb,
Draw liquid through the tap or spout of (a cask, barrel, or other container)
When you tap a barrel of beer, you can get the beer out of it.
When you tap a certain kind of maple tree, you can get fluid out of it that can be used to make maple syrup.
The usage you refer to is based on this literal meaning of tap.
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