Why Colours are Important for Branding

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Humans are exceptional, visually receptive beings. We make sense of our surrounding environments through the things we experience and feel with the different shades of colors we see. Our decisions and moods are swayed toward colors and lights. Harnessing this has become vital to launching businesses and enterprises, maintaining a sustainable brand image, and driving purchasing, especially in the age of new media and social media.

Today, there is such an influx of content that readers and viewers have the attention spans of hummingbirds. A typical internet user has a viewing span of 2.8 seconds, browsing through millions of bits of content. You strike gold if you can hold their attention. That is when the importance of visual content comes into the picture. A great deal is decided by visual cues on the Internet, the strongest and the most persuasive being color.

The Emotions of Color

Colors can work to manipulate an initial emotional reaction, whether they are present in an advertisement, clothing, or on a wall. It’s thought that neutral colors are for rational focus, while bright colors create an exciting and fast-paced experience. How colors interact is also essential when designing an advertisement, website, or personal network profile. Using an emotional color chart can help identify colors that are contrasting or supportive of each other, as well as what perceived emotional impact they could have on a customer/client.

Here are some numbers showing the effectiveness of colors and tints on Social Media

· Brand recognition increases by 80% with a stable color scheme on social media pages.
· Photos on Facebook get 53% more likes and 104% more comments
· Images on Twitter get 150% more tweets.
· Instagram images with blue as the dominant color could generate 24% more likes than images that are
primarily red.
· Images with multiple dominant colors get 3.25 times more repines than an image with one dominant
color.

I have always been drawn to media content with a neutral color palette and soft earth tones such as taupe, tan, beige, sage, and cream. These colors give me the feeling of calm and safe, like my personality, as I am a truly born introvert who feels the best working on my own or with close friends with whom I’ve built strong relationships. Neutral tones also give me a sense of class and grace. As for bright colors, it makes me feel like I have to put on a show for people, be unauthentic, and be the center of attention; it makes me jumpy and uneasy.

Purchasing intent is greatly affected by colors, due to their effect on how a brand is perceived; colors influence how customers view the “personality” of the brand. While certain colors broadly align with specific traits, purple with royalty, nearly every study on colors and branding will tell you it’s far more critical for colors to support the personality instead of trying to align with stereotypical color associations.

So when considering colors for your marketing and branding, ask yourself (or better yet, collect customer feedback): “Is this color appropriate for what I’m selling?”

What color/s do you think your brand personality portrays?

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Facebook: Please check out my latest Blog Post, Why Colours are Important for Branding. An insight into how color can manipulate your brand. https://wordpress.com/post/algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/126091
#emotion, #personality, #branding

Twitter: Tweet, Tweet! New Blog Posted!
https://wordpress.com/post/algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/126091
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References

Social Samosa. November 21, 2014. How Colours Play An Important Role In Creatives On Social Media
https://www.socialsamosa.com/2014/11/influence-colour-social-media/

Ciotti, Gregory. August 12, 2020. Color Psychology in Marketing and Branding is All About Context.
https://www.helpscout.com/blog/psychology-of-color/