Brain Games: Small changes make a big difference for a brand

PBJ Guest Blogger: Marcus Reamer

Psychology isn’t just useful for doctors, researchers, and parents; it’s a science that can be used to enhance the effectiveness of a brand’s recognition or next marketing campaign. It may not be wise to go as far as trying to hypnotize your clientele, but you might use some of these subtle changes to yield huge differences in your next campaign:

Show Your True Colors

Believe it or not, color seems to be a staple in the marketing world. A 2012 study showed that compared to a grayscale version of a logo, consumers attributed more positive personality traits to the same logo in its true color scheme. This shows us how visual design details are just as important to your audience as your content or product. If this has you brainstorming how you can better utilize color and design for your company, consider letting our creative design team in on the action.

Shape Up

Thanks to a 2006 study, we know that humans prefer objects that are significantly more curved than sharper angles. Designmodo claims rounded corners are here to stay because the human brain can process rounded edges more efficiently than sharper angles. Rounded corners also evoke subconscious warmth and trust. This is a design strategy that might prove useful when a customer is about to click the “checkout” button on an impulse buy. Disclaimer: Please don’t go directly to your web designer and ask for all of the edges on your website to be rounded out because, just like cologne, it can easily be overdone.

It’s Business and Personal

You probably don’t need science to tell you people love talking about themselves. In the marketing world, a more personal user experience has the potential to yield some pretty impressive results. On one website users were given the option to “Start my free 30-day trial” rather than “Start your free 30-day trial”. Three weeks later the click-through rate to the payment page had risen 90%. Don’t lose yourself in all this talk about others.

Follow the leader

The inherent need for individuals to feel included is what makes social media a fantastic marketing tool. However, with over 1 billion global users on Facebook and almost 500 million tweets posted each day, it’s easy to get lost in the mix if you don’t utilize social media the right way.A concept called social proof states that people adopt the actions or beliefs of people they know or trust. Simply put, people copy others when they don’t know what else to do. So what exactly does this have to do with digital marketing? Everything. One of the simplest yet most effective ways to utilize social proof is by placing social sharing and follow icons front and center on your content page. These icons display how many other users have already viewed or shared your content, and on which social media platforms. With an exact count of how many previous users have engaged with your content, consumers are more likely to keep on sharing to feel included.