Using Color to Influence your Customers

14
December
2016

The use of color in marketing has been extensively researched. Similar to how the right color gives a room in your house a certain ‘feel’, colors in advertising illicit different feelings from consumers. For dealerships, this means the way you use color schemes in the images you use can have a significant impact.

Creating and sharing vivid and impressionistic pictures for your dealership whether it be for social media or on your website, you can benefit from the proper use of color. Imagine the instance of a black and lime green Camaro. It is likely that the black Camaro would appeal to a larger market than the lime green one. The black Camaro would likely evoke feelings that the car is sleek, sexy, a great ride. The lime green Camaro would likely elicit feelings of anxiety, distance, and a desire to look away. Consider some of the feelings that are associated with certain colors before you decide to implement them in your online strategy.

While this concept of using a “friendly” or “inspirational” color may seem simple, it’s one that dealerships often overlook when including images in social media posts or on their websites. Here’s a guide to basic colors and the emotions they evoke:

  • Purple = Soothing and calm
  • Pink = Romantic and feminine
  • Yellow = Optimistic and youthful
  • Black = Powerful and sleek
  • Orange = Aggressive
  • Green = Wealth and relaxation
  • Blue = Trust and security
  • Red = Energy and urgency

Using these colors is as simple as understanding your target audience and their goals. Ask yourself who you are targeting specifically. Does your dealership primarily deal with classics? Or does it primarily deal with pre-owned cars? These simple questions can help you with the layout and color scheme you use in website structure.

While a dealer will likely showcase a vehicle when including an image, it’s not the only time he’ll use color in a post. Colors are used to color block text, as design features, and on the background of your website. This doesn’t particularly mean that some colors are off limits, it only suggests that you incorporate the emotions of your target audience before you choose your color scheme.

This is only one aspect of optimizing your presence online. There are many different ways of doing so and if you’re particularly interested in doing so, keep in mind that this is an ongoing process that will require vigilance. Social media is the area where most dealerships fall short of the requirement here. The use of social media can benefit your dealership in numerous ways when the correct color scheme is presented in it.