Have you heard of Colour Psychology?
Have you ever considered a logo and thought, “Wow, what great colour combinations?” The colour of logos, websites, social media campaigns, and more do not happen by accident. They are carefully thought out and chosen based on colour psychology.
Colour psychology is how behaviour and decisions are influenced by colour. How consumers perceive brands is tied closely to the colours used in content marketing. Choosing colours, tones, and hues that align with your company’s audience and business goals is vital.
Hubspot in a blog about how to use colour psychology in marketing and branding reported that it can influence 85% of customers’ buying decisions. Merchandisers use different colours to trigger emotions to get customers to buy. It is so crucial to pick the tone that aligns with your business’s goals and target audience.
These tips below will help you improve your colour choices in content marketing.
Using the Colour Wheel
The colour wheel is the tool you use to choose the colour palette. It represents the tones of the colours selected and the relationship between primary, secondary, and tertiary colours. The key to getting the most out of the colour wheel is understanding how to use it. Let’s start in the middle of the colour wheel. Here you will find the softest tones of colour represented, otherwise known as pastels. As you work your way to the outer edge, the tones become increasingly more vibrant, with the most vibrant tones being on the outermost edge.
As you click your mouse on different points around the wheel, a colour code for the selection appears at the bottom. This is the hex code. Each colour has a unique universal hex code that allows you to easily duplicate chosen colours on any application to ensure consistency across all platforms.
Keep in mind that colour wheels can represent different colours. For example, one may represent the tones for brighter colours such as blues, pinks, reds, oranges, yellows, and greens. At the same time, another represents darker colours such as black, grey, brown, and earthy greens.
Choosing the Right Colour Alongside Text
Choosing the right colour starts with understanding that each colour has a specific influence on consumers. Here is a list of the most common colours and the emotions they evoke.Â
- Purple – imagination, wealth, wisdom,
- Blue – trust, respect, security, loyalty, serenity
- Orange – confidence, creativity, courage, energy
- Red – hunger, excitement, passion, urgency
- Green – prosperity, hope, freshness, health, closeness to nature
- Yellow – happiness, innovation, optimism
- Black – elegance, power, authority, security
- White – cleanliness, simplicity, innocence
- Pink – passionate, caring, creative, imaginative
- Brown – ruggedness, reliability
You want to choose colours that evoke the emotions you are seeking from your audience. For example, black is a good option if your brand is all about elegance and sophistication. On the other hand, if you are selling off-roading vehicle equipment, brown signifies ruggedness.
Ensure Sufficient Contrast
No matter how good your colour choices are, if your text is not easily readable, it will miss the mark and fail miserably. The key is to choose the right tone of a colour that provides sufficient contrast between the text and background colours. Adequate contrast ensures your content works well in different lighting conditions and can be read by those with visual impairments.
Using Colour to Guide Readers to Take a Specific Action
The purpose of every piece of content marketing is to persuade readers to take action:
- Make a purchase
- Subscribe to a newsletter
- Download a free trial, etc
Properly using colours, tones, and hues alongside the right text is how you evoke the emotion needed for your target audience to take action. To do this, you must understand the impact each colour has on human behaviour as well as the goals, values, and mission of your brand.Â
Colours are incredibly powerful and affect human emotions and behaviour in the most profound ways. It is one of the best weapons content marketers have in their arsenal. The tips above help you to understand colour psychology and how to choose the right colours to create a powerful message that resonates with your target audience.
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