Three core psychological factors in marketing (and how to integrate them)

The choice of color in marketing materials, logos, products, and ads can impact everything from user perception to user interaction. Colors can be associated with an item often found in that color (Think: green with money or plants, yellow with bananas, blue with water, etc.) or with an emotion. Here are some general examples of how colors are thought to influence emotions:

• Red: Passion, excitement, urgency, energy, aggression, danger, love, and intensity.
• Orange: Enthusiasm, creativity, warmth, fun, youthfulness, and approachability.
• Yellow: Happiness, optimism, caution, brightness, cheerfulness, and energy.
• Green: Nature, growth, tranquility, health, freshness, stability, and wealth.
• Blue: Trust, calmness, professionalism, reliability, serenity, and intelligence.
• Purple: Luxury, mystery, spirituality, royalty, sophistication, and ambition.

Even the absence of color, in the form of black and white, can influence user perception:

• Black: Power, elegance, formality, sophistication, strength, and mystery.
• White: Purity, cleanliness, simplicity, innocence, minimalism, and peace.

How to use color psychology in marketing

There’s no one-size-fits-all application when it comes to choosing a color. Just take a look at these app icons across a variety of verticals. Each vertical represents the entire rainbow of colors.

For example, a lot of fintech apps, including American Express, Chase, and Venmo use blue to convey trustworthiness and reliability. However, apps like Bitcoin have chosen a stark contrast in the form of orange–the color opposite blue on the color wheel–to visually stand out among the crowd.

Brands will have different personalities, as well. One e-commerce app may have a brand centered around elegance and sophistication, while another may focus on vibrance, youth, and energy.

The psychology behind color preferences can vary across different cultures and demographics, making it crucial for marketers to consider their target audience when choosing colors.

Social proof harnesses the human tendency to be influenced by others' actions and opinions. When used effectively in mobile app design and psychology-based marketing, it can significantly increase installs.

Incorporating elements of social proof can be as simple as adding user ratings and reviews prominently throughout the user experience and/or marketing materials, like testimonials on a campaign landing page. Showcasing high ratings and positive reviews from current users can immediately elevate the perceived value and trustworthiness of the app to potential new users.

Let’s look at a few examples from real apps.

1. Sleep app Loóna launched a campaign where existing app subscribers could give one free month to five people of their choosing. This form of social proof is the most potent because potential new users are being influenced by someone they already know and trust the opinion of. It’s also a great way for these new users to try out the features of the app for themselves before committing to a paid subscription.
2. Shopping app New Look points out the attention of users on a particular item: “Getting all the views”. It even lets you know how many other users are viewing the same product, driving up the perceived value (and creating a sense of urgency, which we’ll dive into shortly).
3. Gaming app Travel Town takes the influencer route of social proof, leveraging the trusted opinion of celebrity Kylie Jenner. The success of these types of campaigns comes from the user thinking, “I trust that if Kyle Jenner is associating this app with her brand, it’s really high quality.” Or, “I like the other products she talks about, so I’ll likely enjoy this one, too.”
4. Fitness app Bend doubles down on their social proof on their subscription paywall with a figure of over two million existing users, flaunting their average of 4.5-star ratings, and featuring swipeable testimonials from happy users. The message is clear: “Our app has proven itself to be worth the subscription price.”

Scarcity taps into the fear of missing out (FOMO), a powerful motivator in today's digital age. One common approach to implementing this principle in marketing is through limited-time offers, where a deal or a special feature within an app is available only for a short period. This creates a sense of urgency, prompting users to act quickly to take advantage of the offer before it expires. Another method is the use of limited-quantity offers.

Phrases like "while supplies last," "exclusive access," or "limited edition" imply scarcity. Visually, countdown timers or stock levels displayed on a product can enhance the perception of scarcity, nudging users toward quicker decisions.

Let’s look at a few examples from real apps.

1. Shopping app Etsy sends marketing-consented users a marketing email when an item in their wishlist drops reaches a low inventory threshold. Not only do they let you know there is only one left, but they also tell you how many other users have the item in their carts–creating an immediate sense of urgency, and competition to be the one to purchase the last product.
2. Education app Duolingo peppers time-limited offers throughout their user journey like this Power Chest, which is labeled as expiring in one day and 23 hours. A countdown timer urges the user to act before the reward is gone.
3. Travel app Airbnb displays a message on popular property listings saying “This is a rare find”. The secondary message lets the user know the property is usually booked, tempting the user to act quickly before they lose access to the dates they are looking at.
4. Gaming app Cats & Soup is leveraging three instances of scarcity in the above example. Firstly, they display a countdown timer at the bottom of the event screen, letting the user know they can only access the exclusive mini-game for the next 17 days. Then, they employ limited resources in the form of five ad-skip passes and five free plays, which re-generate each day.