Psychology of colour in social media

When it comes to creating a website and interacting with customers via social media, there are many things that we take into consideration. 

For example, you might consider the content of your communication to make sure it is engaging and encourages social media users to share, or you might select a funny or memorable picture that will grab people’s attention.  

What you may not give much consideration to is the colours you use, though this actually has a massive impact upon your target audience. Colour is a very important aspect in communicating with your customers as each colour connotes a different meaning and brings a different feeling to the viewer, therefore, you can use this to effectively influence your customers.

In order to effectively use colours in your social media posts it is essential that you get a basic understanding of what each colour represents and therefore how it can be used.  Here is a guide to help you:

Red: this colour connotes energy, excitement, courage, strength and stimulation, but it can also bring feelings of urgency and aggression.  Red is a very powerful colour, and activates the flight or fight reflex. This is the perfect colour to use to advertise a sale, the urgent feeling the viewer will get will make customers act ore impulsively. 

 

Yellow: this colour brings an emotionally response, helping to boost confidence and raise optimism.  Positive connotations include emotional strength, optimism, creativity and friendliness, negative connotations include fear, anxiety and even depression.

 

Blue: connoting serenity, reflection, calmness, serenity and trust, it can also bring feelings of coldness and unfriendliness. This colour affect us mentally rather than physically like red, it is soothing and helps to calm the mind and help it focus. 

 

Black: sophistication, glamour and security are all positive emotions stemming from this colour, negative connotations include coldness, menace and oppression. 

 

Green: from the centre of the colour spectrum, green brings balance and harmony, peace and restoration, however, it can also connote feelings of boredom and stagnation. Green is a reassuring colour, though it is often considered bland. 

 

Purple: gives a feeling of luxury, truth, spiritual awareness and high quality, though it can also bring feelings of suppression and inferiority. 

 

Orange: positive connotations include warmth, security, fun and sensuality, equally this colour can bring feelings of frustration and immaturity. 

 

Pink: a soothing colour, pink brings feelings of love, nurture and femininity, though it is also seen as a sign of physical weakness and inhibition. Too much pink can leave you feeling physically drained. 

 

Here you’ll find some more information about colour schemes, modes etc. 

When you are selecting which colours to use consider not only how the colour will make your audience feel, but also things like visual impairments.  Avoid saying things like, click the red box which may be difficult for people who are, for example, colour blind,  and try not to use lightly coloured writing that could be difficult to read or fancy scripts that are indecipherable.  You should also consider that every culture has different emotional responses to these colours, for example yellow can connote confidence, but in some places it is associated with being a coward. When you target the audience of a certain country be sure to see how the culture changes from your own. Finally, when you choose a colour scheme always keep your brand image and the message you wish to convey, in mind.  

 

Image Credits:

https://pixabay.com/en/tomatoes-tomato-color-rainbow-1220774/

https://pixabay.com/en/cubes-assorted-random-toys-677092/