Colour Theory & Marketing - An Important Aspect of Marketing You May Ignore

When it comes to devising a marketing strategy, you’ll definitely think about your website, social media, different types of paid advertising, your demographic, and your brand image. However, there might be one really important thing that you’re forgetting about, and that is colour theory.

Although you might think colour theory ties in more with branding (which it does, of course), it’s also incredibly important when it comes to marketing, and if you forget about it or ignore it, you could be pushing away potential customers or missing out on strong engagement with your perfect target audience.

But, what’s really so important about colour theory, which colours should you use, and how should you use colour in your marketing strategy? In this article, we’re going to answer all of these questions, giving you an in-depth insight into the world of colour, and of course, its relationship with marketing.

Why Is Colour Theory Important In Marketing?

Colour theory (and colours in general) is so important in marketing because depending on the colours used, you can influence and persuade customers, or potential customers, to make decisions or feel a certain way. How do you feel when you see a bold red colour used on an ad? What about a green or a blue? If you think about it, colour will have affected not only the way you felt but the way you acted, when you’ve been using an app, seen an add or chosen a certain product instead of another.

Different colours provoke different emotions and suggest different calls to action, and of course, different colours are interpreted by people differently, so can hugely affect the target audience of your brand.

If you’re not using colour theory properly in your marketing strategy, you might not only be losing out on customers, or completely missing your target audience, but you might be stopping people from engaging with your brand altogether.

So, obviously, understanding colour theory and using colours that resonate with your brand and promote the feeling you want to in your customer’s minds is essential if your brand is to succeed.

Common Colours And Their Meanings

Red - Red is associated with powder, urgency, passion, dominance, and action. Red can either be registered as positive or negative, so it’s important to use red in the correct way to make sure it’s not having an adverse effect on customers.

Blue - Blue is associated with relaxation, inspiration, and trust. Since these are often qualities that brands want to convey, blue is commonly used in branding.

Yellow - Yellow is associated with high energy levels, happiness, and confidence. It’s a fun colour that not only brings people joy, but influences people to take action.

Green - Green is associated with nature, health, growth, and good luck. It’s typically used to make people feel harmonious and peaceful.

Black - Black is associated with power, authority, opulence, wealth, and luxury, hence it’s often used by luxury brands.

White - White is associated with cleanliness, innocence, and purity, meaning this colour is often used by brands wanting to appear sophisticated and simple.

Using Colours In Your Marketing Strategy

Logo & Branding

Obviously, one of the main places you want to get your colour theory spot on is on your logo, and the colours that you choose to have on your logo should be the colours across the rest of your branding, to keep everything consistent and smart.

Your logo is something that makes customers recognize your brand instantly, so which colours resonate the most with what you’re trying to say?

Calls To Action

colours are important when it comes to calls to action because they can either make or break someone actually taking action. Whether you have a ‘shop’ button on your site or you’re posting on social media asking people to check out your link, think about the colours.

Your Target Audience

Seeing as different colours mean different things, and certain colours attract certain types of people, it’s important to know exactly who your audience is so that you can choose colours that will resonate with them and keep them engaged.

Social Media

Social media is an important way for you to drum up engagement and grow a community of brand supporters, so using a consistent colour theory that resonates with your brand, and your followers is essential.

Now, Get Colourful.

Now you know just how important colour theory and the use of colour theory in your marketing strategy is, as well as how you should use colours, it’s time for you to take everything you’ve learned and put it into practice.

However, if you’re still not confident when it comes to colour theory, or you’re not even sure you have a clear, concise, and well thought through marketing strategy, get in touch with us and we can help you turn your digital marketing strategy from a struggle into a success.