The colors of your brand, shop, and online presence have a massive impact on your marketing. It’s no secret that leading brands utilize strategic colors to help achieve their goals. Why shouldn’t you?
In this article, you’ll learn the answers to:
- Which colors are most influential and why?
- Based on my industry, what colors should I use?
- Based on my targeted audience, what colors should I use?
- How can I harness the power of color to increase my conversion rates?
A Word On Color Psychology
Color Psychology is the study of how hues affect human behavior, and it’s been done to death from a wide variety of angles. Artists, interior designers, and even therapists have learned how to use color to manipulate our moods and behavior. Some say that Color Psychology is a flimsy theory with no substantial proof. To that, I say . . .
Maybe so!
But it seems to be working for multi-billion dollar corporations, so take your hard facts elsewhere. Now let’s begin with a breakdown of the most influential colors:
RED
Red is said to have a physical effect on the body. It gets the blood pumping and the heart racing. This feisty color is often affiliated with anger and lust, but when used correctly, red can do great things for your website.
Encourages appetite
Creates a sense of urgency
Associated with excitement
Immediately pulls focus
BLUE
Blue is pleasing to the eye, which makes it a popular color among all types of people – especially men. This color is best known for its soothing effects and trust-worthy vibe, but it can also stimulate productivity.
Invokes trust
Provides a sense of security
Curbs appetite
Stimulates productivity
GREEN
Green is the universal color for healing, growth, harmony, and environmental care. This tranquil color is considered to be beneficial to the body and is said to have a calming effect on the brain and the metabolism.
Encourages self-reliance
Improves creativity
Promotes healing and growth
Enhances decisiveness
PURPLE
Everyone is well aware that purple often symbolizes royalty, power, luxury, and extravagance, but did you know that it can also be used to increase creativity and imagination? This color is said to stimulate the problem solving region of the brain.
Enhances creativity
Encourages free thinking
Invokes feelings of wealth
Represents magic
ORANGE
Orange is considered the fun color and can be used to stimulate physical activity and confidence. Be careful with this color, however, for it can easily overwhelm when used excessively, and can also give off the impression of a cheap product or service.
Encourages physical activity
Promotes confidence
Creates urgency or haste
YELLOW
Yellow is a cheerful, but anxious color. It’s best used as an accent color to capture attention or brighten an otherwise bland color scheme. Although many believe yellow makes babies cry, there has never been any actual proof on the matter.
Invokes cheer
Stimulates excitement
Activates anxiety
BLACK
When used appropriately, black depicts luxury, value, and sophistication. It has also been affiliated with intelligence, power, and authority. This mysterious shade is often used for high-end brands and designers.
Suggests high value
Indicates luxury
Offers power or exclusivity
WHITE
Last, but certainly not least, we have white: most commonly affiliated with purity and cleanliness in the U.S. As you assemble the perfect color scheme for your website, you mustn’t forget the wise use of white space to put your visitors at ease.
Encourages Creativity
Represents Cleanliness
Suggests Purity
What Colors Are Best for Your Industry?
Now that you’re familiar with the major influential colors and how they affect our behavior, you can start planning a palette that will work best for your business goals, based on your industry.
The Food Industry
You’ll notice that the vast majority of restaurants and fast food joints incorporate red into their design. Many also add yellow and green to complete their desired impression of fun, healthy, etc.
Luxury Products or Upscale Brands
You can bet that more often than not, if the brand is expensive, then the logo is dark. To appeal to their targeted audience, these brands use a lack of color to convey sophistication and value.
The Medical Industry
The medical industry is a blend of blue and green, sometimes incorporating red into the mix. These strategic logos suggest trust, reliability, and maturity.
Youthful Products or Services
Toy companies almost always use bright, cheerful primary colors in their logos. This attracts the eyes of their little consumers and suggests fun, creativity, and excitement.
How Can You Use the Color Theory in Your Web Design?
I’ll show you! By structuring your color scheme strategically, you’ll be able to increase the aesthetic of your design, which will invite visitors to stay longer, which will increase your chance of a sale, which will increase your conversion rates!
For the backdrop of your website, use a color that is pleasing to the eye since it’ll take up the majority of your site. Avoid colors that can easily overwhelm or cause feelings of anxiety. Make your visitors feel comfortable with staying for a while.
Bring your website to life with regulated drops of an accent color. By including a vibrant accent color, you’ll be able to easily guide users through your web experience, point them to certain products, and keep their attention where you want it.
When it comes to your call-to-action buttons, use colors that will greatly contrast with your background. Don’t forget the impulse effect that certain colors have on the brain!
When you offer a discounted special, a seasonal promotion, or any other type of limited time announcement, it’s best to use bright colors that encourage viewers to take action.
And when it comes to your sales and clearance items, mark or announce them with bright colors that will stand out in contrast with the rest of your website, as well as create a feeling of urgency or haste.
So there you have it, folks! The power of the color theory and how you can use it to your benefit! I hope you learned something valuable from this post. For more exclusive marketing tips from the experts, join our email subscribers and receive tips and tricks straight to your inbox!
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Luke Heinecke
Founder/CEO
Luke is in love with all things digital marketing. He’s obsessed with PPC, landing page design, and conversion rate optimization. Luke claims he “doesn’t even lift,” but he looks more like a professional bodybuilder than a PPC nerd. He says all he needs is a pair of glasses to fix that. We’ll let you be the judge.
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