How to use psychology to improve your marketing.

It’s no secret that colors can affect people. Whether it be a personal connection or just the moment in which you are in your life, color is a powerful tool if used correctly. Think about your favorite app or maybe your favorite outfit. There’s a special feeling you get when you interact with these things. These lifeless items begin to breathe they’ve come to life.

Same can be said for your business!

The colors you choose for your brand can and will have a tremendous impact on your customers. It can say so much about your company, your values, goals, and sometimes can even inspire loyalty. So naturally, this isn’t a decision for you to take lightly, but don’t worry, that’s why you’re here. We’re going to take a look at some colors and how they can help you.

RED

‍Let’s begin with what I believe is the most powerful color. Don’t worry, the most powerful doesn’t always mean the best. Red is a dangerous color as it is often used to give warning.

Did you know that RED cars are more likely to get pulled over than any other color?

Red can symbolize anger, passion, love, danger, and many intense emotions. It’s scientifically proven to get people’s blood pumping and increase your heartbeat more than any other color. It demands attention and respect, and in eastern cultures it goes hand in hand with luck.

Many food brands tend to go with this one as the color of choice.

BLUE

I wanted to do everything not to put this color first, Blue is the safest color. So common in fact that this is a topic commonly brought up with clients.

Facebook, Twitter, IBM, DELL, American Express, Ford, Philips, Hp, PayPal, Walmart. Sears. GE, GM, and countless more (too many to name) all use a shade of blue. It’s used by so many huge corporations that clients assume that blue is indicative of success.

Well, I’m here to say it’s not. But it can be.

Blue gives off a feeling of calmness and serenity, it symbolizes truth and loyalty in many cultures and is synonymous with professionalism.

The problem with blue is that, every company knows this and it’s becoming overused to the point that it’s become boring. Your company will never stand out with blue, but if it does make it big, it will be heavily respected.

YELLOW

Probably one of the more fun and versatile colors on this list.

Happiness, laughter, energy, and optimism are all associated with yellows. With a little bit of darkness added to it yellow becomes Gold which imply royalty and high standards. It’s a very fun color and with many possible use cases.

Yellow is also the color most likely to make a person hungry. If you my previous examples in red, you’ll see that a lot of those brands also incorporate some sort of yellow. That’s why on topburgernj.com we decided to use those colors as well. The red made people excited and the yellow makes you want to order.

GREEN

MONEY TIME!!!

Green is often associated with money, especially here in the US. But to most people this color symbolizes so much more!

Growth, renewal, abundance, and health are all feelings associated with the color green.

That Kale smoothie that you love to drink along with all those healthy snacks you definitely buy at the supermarket😉 are all green. Even if you aren’t healthy, there are some brands absolutely taking advantage of the positive spin connected to this color (I’m looking at you Starbucks).

There’s so much positivity involved with the color that it ‘s synonymous with doing good, that’s why it’s called…

“GOING GREEN”

PURPLE

Now we’re getting to the bold choices on this list. Not many companies or brands decide to go with this color, which is a damn shame.

Royalty, creativity, imagination, as well as luxury, sophistication, and wisdom are all correlated with this beautiful color.

Throughout most of human history, purple was one of the most expensive colors to produce, which is why it was exclusively reserved for royalty, that’s why it carries this mantle until this day.

A company choosing to go with purple is definitely taking a stance in one way or another. You’re not being safe, you’re being confident, you’re being creative, which is why I support the use of this color to it’s full potential.

ORANGE

Orange is a mix of both yellow and red, so it’s only natural that can give you some of the same feelings that both those colors have. The good thing is that it’s not as intense as those two colors, so look to use this to be more subtle than them.

Happiness, excitement, friendliness, warmth, and youthfulness are all attached to this color, that’s why Fanta and Nickelodean use this color to great avail.

It’s a playful color to use and great if you’re marketing to kids.

BLACK/GREY/WHITE

Anyone who ever told that these aren’t colors is a liar and shouldn’t be trusted. One could argue that these colors all deserve their own category and they’d be absolutely correct. The reason I’ve classified them together is because they can be interchangeable and flow beautifully if properly executed. Look at Apple for example:

These colors are powerful and if you’re able to execute them correctly your brand is legit. But don’t get it twisted, these colors do have their own purpose.

Black is power, elegance, and sophistication, think fashion brands.

White is purity, innocence, cleanliness, and health care but a lot of brands that use black only, also use white only depending on the background.

Same can be said for Grey (Silver). It’s another form of showing your black logo but also signifies coolness, timelessness, practicality, and modernity. A lot of car companies tend to go for this option (Nissan, Toyota, Mercedez Bens).

Color to me is one of the first things I consider when tackling a company and brand guidelines. From a personal stand point, once the colors are figured out a lot of the rest comes naturally because the feeling is there. But you can’t just throw any color together, sometimes they don’t mix well. That’s when color palettes come in. But hey, that’s a topic for another day.