Last Updated on January 22, 2023 by Arif Chowdhury
As we humans are naturally attracted to various colors, color has a more significant impact on our purchasing decisions than you may think. In this guide, we will discuss color psychology in marketing and branding.
Companies research color psychology to see which colors on banners and CTA buttons work best. For example, according to HubSpot, red CTA buttons outscored green by 21% in a button color test.
Optimizing the CTA colors is needed to enhance your website’s conversion rates. In the world of marketing, the power of color psychology is undeniable.
Using a few words and visual illustrations, let’s look at how color psychology affects marketing.
Definition: Color Psychology.
The impact of color on human psychology and purchasing decisions is of particular interest to psychologists. There are several ways in which a brand’s colors may influence its perception by its clients, for instance, how specific colors may evoke emotions of hunger.
Visual marketing, emotional branding, product packaging, and color associations play a role in color symbolism. The color wheel can be a helpful tool in understanding how different colors can evoke other emotions and reactions.
The following infographic clearly explains the reasoning behind specific colors in various logos. Look around and observe the impact color has on the emotions, behavior, and purchasing decisions of the people who use it.
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What do you need to learn about color psychology?
One of the tidy little boxes we try to place things in is the assumption that a specific hue always evokes an emotional response.
That was the essence of everything. This kind of color chart has appeared many times throughout the years.
They might, however, be deceptive.
Many things affect our responses to color, including our personal experiences, upbringing, cultural variances, and even our current mood.
A color change from green to yellow will not result in an immediate boost in traffic or conversions.
However, there is more than meets the eye.
You’d be wrong if you thought color doesn’t matter.
Unquestionably, this is the case.
For consumer product evaluation, “colors alone” account for anything from 62% to 90% of the final score.
It has been shown that color may affect people’s emotions, and as a consequence of those feelings, their views about specific things may differ.
When determining whether or not to buy a product, 70 percent of buyers say that color is an essential consideration.
So it’s clear that colors play a vital role in marketing.
In other words, a multidimensional strategy based on known scientific concepts is often required to get results.
Color psychology may help you make your website more appealing to your customers; therefore, some facts are based on the study.
So, let’s take a closer look.
Quick Note: A/B testing is the perfect method to identify your audience’s best color. There are many social media management tools exist you may use to conduct automatic A/B testing within your customer base.
Color relation with demographics.
Your demographics are the most crucial consideration when choosing a color palette.
For instance, website X may benefit significantly from customers’ attention. However, the performance may be different if we use the same color on website Y.
The truth is different customers like different colors, so you have to choose your color based on your customer’s liking.
Remember who you’re attempting to target when choosing a color scheme to make an informed decision.
Gender-specific color choices should be the first topic of discussion.
Recent research was done by Joe Hallock on how humans react and favor color based on different races and gender.
One of his most significant conclusions was that men and women had different color preferences.
A look at men’s wardrobes reveals that blue is the most popular. Green represents the second in the distance, while black represents the furthest point on the horizon.
Females were equally fond of the color blue. However, purple was the most popular color, while green was the last.
Regardless of a person’s gender or other characteristics, this is what Hallock discovered about the most popular colors in the world.
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What is the use of color psychology in digital marketing?
It is possible to determine a target audience using color psychology. According to research, brand colors are responsible for around 90% of quick product judgments.
“The color theory implies that you may acquire an advantage over your competitors, allowing you to successfully explain your message, satisfy your customers’ expectations, and develop your brand,” says digital marketing expert Neil Patel.
When it comes to understanding consumers’ psychology, marketers may turn to color psychology to boost sales.
It is easier for an advertiser or marketer to forecast how their potential customers will react to marketing communications if they are well-versed in consumer psychology. For example, they may use the color of banners, text, background, and CTA buttons on their website to make these predictions.
Color helps to boost brand reputation.
As a branding tool, color is essential. Company logos are instantly identifiable because of their distinct color schemes and patterns. For example, observe the red color shade of Coca-Cola.
Color Persuasion, a backdrop color, may evoke strong emotions.
As soon as people are exposed to advertising, these sentiments impact their behaviors and interactions. It takes an average of two minutes for an audience to create an opinion about a brand.
Color had a significant role in determining the majority of people’s choices. Therefore, choosing the wrong color might harm a customer’s initial impression.
Colors help to increase the conversion rate.
Color evokes powerful feelings within us due to the way our brains work. For example, red lights necessitate that drivers come to a complete stop before advancing. Therefore, advertising may use color to entice and convince customers to buy a product or service.
An increase in conversions has been seen in A/B testing by changing the CTA color. For example, a conversion rate boost of 21% was seen in a HubSpot test using a different button color.
A rise in conversion rates isn’t because you optimize the color of your CTA button. Still, it helps you identify what color should be considered when building a website.
Quick Note: Color psychology is subjective. It doesn’t have any definitive rule. Thus, you must conduct various research and testing within your audience to find the appropriate color.
Color can affect the customer’s purchasing decision.
There are several ways that advertisers utilize color in marketing and advertising to convey the value of their products.
McDonald’s red and gold logo has been replaced with a green and natural-toned color scheme.
Why?
To raise awareness about how much better their burger is than any other brand.
Color psychology may be an effective marketing tool for companies who wish to boost their brand image.
Choosing the right color can help you to stand above the crowds.
The perfect color combination in marketing and advertising may allow companies to provide something unique. You may stand out from the crowd if you choose a distinct color scheme from the rest of your competitors.
According to ING Direct, they changed their color from blue to orange after several other banks had done the same.
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Inappropriate colors can harm a brand’s reputation.
The brand’s reputation may suffer if an advertisement uses an offensive color scheme. In addition, a company’s website could be more challenging to read and comprehend if it uses improper colors or fonts.
When a company’s advertising uses colors similar to those of its rivals, the chance of being ignored by the audience increases; however, not every client has the same reaction to colors. In addition, colors may profoundly affect people based on their culture and gender.
There is a range of psychological effects that colors may have on people. For example, people’s memories, cultural beliefs, and geographic location all have a role in determining how they see color.
There may be differences between men and women as well. Joe Hallock conducted psychological color research on both genders, mostly from Western cultures, to discover their preferred colors.
9 Males and females both like the color blue, with 23% of women preferring purple, even though men expressed no preference for purple. Brown was well-liked by males (27%), whereas orange was well-liked by women (27%).
Conclusion.
Color theory has been proven to substantially influence human behavior throughout the research series. This guide has discussed how color psychology is useful in business.
Emotions, messages, and customer purchase choices are all influenced by color in a successful marketing campaign.
Social media allows consumers and prospective customers to get to know the personality of a company.
Choosing a color is a subject; there are no hard and fast rules. However, with color theory, we can see that individuals see colors from their perspective, and a color that one target audience enjoys may not resonate with another’s preferences.
Using colors that reflect the brand’s personality and testing various portions of a site will help to increase the overall conversion.