Understanding the Psychology of Color as It Applies to Your Marketing

Color has a tremendous effect on the behaviors of your webpage visitors, and we need to take a look at how we can better use this in our marketing. Rather than just think of it as some sort of NLP, or mumbo-jumbo, we need to take a look at the data available and then start to test what this means for our particular audience.

The psychology of color provides us a wealth of data to digest. This data shows us specific choices we can make regarding colors for our web pages, marketing pieces, buy buttons and more. While this information is valuable, it is still incumbent upon us to test what works the best for our particular audience.

So what is the psychology of color?

Basically, the psychology of color is the study of what colors evoke response in people, and what those responses are typically. There are differences in every single sex, age group and other demographic you can identify. For example, women love purple, while men can’t stand it. Brown can mean a rugged, outdoorsy feeling, while for others it symbolizes warmth. Red can be found on stop signs, but also suggests a level of excitement. Green means money to many, and calm to other people. One interesting fact: the favorite color of both men and women is blue.

So how do you use this information in your marketing?

So how best to take this data and apply it to our businesses? The first step is to realize that testing is mandatory, and that the colors you see working well on one site may not apply to yours.

• The first step is knowing who your audience is. Is your audience mostly male, female, young or old? The colors are different, and speak different things to each set of people.
• Know which parts of your pages are the most important. For example, any calls to action on your pages should be made to stand out with a bolder, while at the same time complimentary, color.
• Think of the overall feeling you are attempting to convey, and test accordingly. Color evokes mood, and you’ll want to think about this when determining exactly what you’re trying to say with color.
• Make your colors consistent, in order to keep your message consistant as well. Also, try to keep any hyperlinks blue if at all possible, as this has been the link color since the Web was born, and there’s a case for familiarity.

The most effective way to use the psychology of color in your marketing is to use the data to test for your own best results, and then proceeding from there.