Colours influence our emotions and therefore our choices and brands know this well. In fact, every brand has its own logo with a particular colour, which is the result of studies to ascertain how pleasant it is for consumers. Every company asks itself at least once: "What colours are good for increasing sales?"
And so it works for social networks too. The colour chosen determines the immediate recognisability and identity of the social network in question. Suffice it to say that 90% of consumers consider colour to be one of the determining factors when choosing to buy a product; in addition, it should be pointed out that coloured logos and advertisements attract attention and are read on average 42% more than those in black and white (source: ThePsychologyOfWebPerformances via MarketingArena).
How to increase sales with the right colours
First of all, it must be said that there are no (as far as we know at the moment) colours that clearly out-sell others. Rather, the correct correspondence between colour and personality of the target consumer will allow for a very high margin of success in sales; as if to say that the consumer will be more inclined to buy if he is faced with a colour that encourages him in that direction.
In other words, you have to choose the right colour for the right customer. Hence the need for brands to have a clear picture of their target audience; knowing their customers means knowing their preferences, needs and expectations. And once this knowledge is acquired, the brand will present itself and act in a way that satisfies these needs and expectations.
Here is a list of colours to be used in correspondence with certain salient consumer characteristics:
- red/orange, black, royal blue: impulsive buyers;
- navy blue, teal: non-impulsive budget buyers;
- pink, lilac, sky blue: traditional buyers;
Here is a list of how colours are perceived by the vast majority of consumers (source: ThePsychologyOfWebPerformances):
- yellow: optimism and innovation; often used to attract attention;
- red: energy and movement; often used in sales or sales;
- blue: security and trust; used by large corporations and banks;
- green: relaxation and health; often used to put consumers at ease;
- orange: aggressive and caring; often used in calls to action and sales;
- pink: romantic and feminine; often used in shops and products for women and girls;
- black: elegance and power; often used in luxury and precious markets;
- purple: calm and relaxing; often used in the cosmetics market and to put people at ease.
Hue, saturation and brightness of colours
Hues: studies of Western populations show that adults tend to prefer cool colours (green, cyan and blue) over warm colours (red, orange, yellow).
Saturation: Western adults tend to prefer colours with high saturation over those with low saturation when visual stimuli are devoid of contextual content. However, when saturation is excessive, liking may decrease because the stimulus is judged to be too vivid.
Brightness: Western adults' enjoyment of colour tends to increase with increasing brightness.
Line orientation: people tend to prefer images consisting of horizontal and vertical lines to oblique lines.
Complexity and symmetry: According to Birkhoff's law (1933), preference towards a stimulus tends to decrease as complexity increases; symmetrical shapes are also easier to process perceptually and are better remembered (source: Computational Neuroaesthetics).
PXR Italy is an expert in the field of Brand Identity
PXR Italy uses Big Data to perform analyses that give companies guidance in building a target audience aligned with their objectives and a strong and consistent brand identity.
So, as well as suggesting which colours to use (and where and in what context) to increase sales, PXR Italy provides a consultancy service to provide data-based recommendations to improve the brands and products of companies, bodies and organisations.
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