Social Media Marketing: The Psychology of Colour

Intern-al Issues is a fortnightly blog written by our Intern Claire that looks at the latest issues and trends in digital marketing. Enjoy!

Understanding the psychological effects of colour is vital when implementing a social media strategy.

Colour can dictate how a person thinks and behaves and has a massive impact of the perception of a brand.

Lately, I have been reading a lot about the art of psychology in social media marketing. While there are many aspects that influence consumer behaviour, it’s the use of colour in marketing strategies that has me particularly interested.

Colour plays a huge role in our emotional connection, it evokes sentiment from a young age and is fostered throughout our lives. Colour can be an internal trigger which can both positively and negatively affect the way in which we perceive something.

With Social Media being predominantly visual, an in-depth understanding of the use of colour is important. In fact, according to The Impact of Color on Marketing ‘People make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with either people or products [and] about 62?90 percent of the assessment is based on colors alone.’

To give you a deeper look into the use of colour and some actionable help.  Here is a basic overview from a study called The Impact of Colors on the Psychology of Marketing;

Infographic by Visually.

Red: celebration, purity, passion, strength, energy, fire, sex, love, excitement, speed, heat, arrogance, ambition, leadership, masculinity, power, danger, blood, war, anger, revolution and communalism.

Blue: tranquility, trust, confidence, conservatism, dependability, wisdom, wealth royalty, truthfulness, creativity, productivity

Green: youth, good luck, generosity, health, abundance, stability and creative intelligence.

Yellow: sunlight, joy, earth, optimism, intelligence, hope, liberalism, wealth, dishonesty, weakness, greed, decay aging, feminity, gladness, sociability and friendship.

White: purity, peace, neutrality and tranquility of the mind and body.

Black: absence, rebellion, modernity, power, sophistication, formality, elegance, mystery, style, evil, emptiness, darkness, seriousness, conventionality, unity, sorrow and professionalism.

Gray: elegance, respect, reverence, wisdom, old-age, pessimism, boredom, decay, dullness, urban sprawl, intense emotions, balance, mourning and neutrality.

Orange: energy, heat, fire, playfulness, gaudiness, arrogance, warning, danger, desire, royalty and religious ceremonies and rituals.

Brown: calmness, boldness, depth, natural organisms, richness, tradition, heaviness, poverty, dullness, roughness, steadfastness, simplicity, dependability and friendliness.

Pink: gratitude, appreciation, admiration, sympathy, socialism, health, femininity, love, marriage, joy, innocence, flirtatiousness and child-like behavior.

Purple: nobility, humility, spirituality, ceremony, mystery, wisdom, enlightenment, flamboyance, exaggeration, sensuality and pride.