330. IJRM. Color Complexity & Social Media Engagement.
September 5, 2024
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Social media platforms are essential tools for marketers interested in connecting with their audiences, but capturing users' attention and fostering engagement can be challenging. In today’s interview Vamsi Kanuri, the Viola D. Hank Associate Professor of Marketing at Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, shared valuable insights from research he and his colleagues conducted and published recently in the International Journal of Research in Marketing. This work examines how color complexity in images can significantly impact user engagement on social media platforms.
Items discussed include:
How color complexity is defined. Images with higher color complexity have more switches between different colors, making them visually richer and more intricate. This high level of pixel-level color variation within and image can lead to increased engagement as users are drawn to visually appealing and stimulating content.
Two primary modes of information processing: peripheral and central. Peripheral processing is quick, automatic, and requires minimal effort, while central processing involves deeper, more deliberate thought and analysis. Color complexity in images can facilitate the shift from peripheral to central processing, as users are naturally curious and drawn to decode the intricate details of complex images.
Color complex images are more likely to capture users' attention and make them pause their scrolling. This is because these images signal novelty, intricacy, and sophistication, which can pique users' curiosity and encourage them to spend more time engaging with the content.
The influence that posting time has on engagement level. Complex images posted later in the day tend to receive higher engagement than those posted earlier. This is because users' working memory depletes as the day progresses, leading to selective processing where they focus on content that is most important or interesting to them.
The role that image height plays. Taller images are more salient and attract more attention, further increasing the likelihood of user engagement.
How text complexity accompanying an image can impact engagement. While negative sentiment in text can draw attention away from the image, complex text can enhance the effect of color complexity on engagement. This is because complex text requires more effort to process, leading users to focus more on the image and its visual elements.
These findings have practical implications for social media managers and content creators. By strategically using complex images, posting them later in the day, and considering the accompanying text, they can increase the likelihood of capturing users' attention and driving engagement on their social media posts.
Click here for the Research Article
The Up Next podcast’s access to this content is courtesy of the International Journal of Research in Marketing, an international, double-blind peer-reviewed journal for marketing academics and practitioners. IJRM aims to contribute to the marketing discipline by providing high-quality, original research which advances marketing knowledge and techniques. As marketers increasingly draw on diverse and sophisticated methods, IJRM‘s target audience is comprised of marketing scholars, practitioners (e.g., marketing research and consulting professionals) and policymakers.
IJRM aims to be at the forefront of the marketing field with a particular emphasis on bringing timely ideas to market. The journal embraces innovative research with the potential to spur future research and influence practice. Hence, it welcomes contributions in various aspects of marketing. The editors, while accepting a wide array of scholarly contributions from different disciplinary approaches, especially encourage research that is novel, visionary or path breaking.
Vamsi Kanuri is the Viola D. Hank Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. His research focuses on evaluating the performance and consumer welfare implications of digital marketing issues.
Prof. Kanuri’s research has appeared, or is forthcoming, in leading marketing, information systems, operations, and management journals, including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, MIS Quarterly, Production and Operations Management, Strategic Management Journal, International Journal of Research in Marketing, and Harvard Business Review, among other journals, books, and popular press outlets.
His research has been recognized with prestigious academic awards from the American Marketing Association, Academy of Marketing Science, INFORMS, and Decision Sciences organizations for its impact on marketing practice. His research has been featured in several popular press outlets, including the NPR, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune Magazine, Media Post, Subscription Insider, Fox Business, Inc.com, ScienceDaily, Association for Computing Machinery, and Nieman Journalism Lab.
Prof. Kanuri currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Marketing and Journal of Interactive Marketing and Area Editor for the Journal of Academy of Marketing Science. He also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Marketing Research, Production, and Operations Management Journal, International Journal of Research in Marketing, and Journal of Retailing.
Prof. Kanuri teaches in the undergraduate, MBA, and Executive MBA programs. He has received the James Dincolo Outstanding Undergraduate Marketing Professor and Poets and Quants' 40 under 40 Best MBA Professor awards in recognition of his teaching.
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International Journal of Research in Marketing
Vamsi Kanuri