5 Facts About Human Behavior That Can Help You with Your Instagram Content
Did you know that there are certain things you can do based on how people operate mentally to increase the popularity of your content on Instagram? There are things people are naturally drawn to and like to see, and you can use those natural preferences to optimize your Instagram content. Below are a few simple visual hacks that you can use to make your content even better.
Want people to think you’re trustworthy and cool? Use the color blue.
According to Forbes, blue is a hugely popular color for businesses. Cool blue is perceived as trustworthy, dependable, open, fiscally responsible and secure. Strongly associated with the sky and sea, blue is serene and universally well-liked. Additionally, using the color blue is proven to get you more likes on Instagram versus other colors.
People associate blue with kindess and openness. This color will make you followers more likely to want to stay in contact with you, according to a study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Red, on the other hand, can signal danger and mistakes, the study found.
People process images 60x faster than they process text
One of the main reasons Instagram became one of the most popular social media platforms ever is because it is a visual platform. According to research, our brain comprehends visual content 60x faster than text. This fact can also come in handy when you’re on Instagram Stories. It can be very tempting to use a lot of text to convey your message on Instagram Stories, but whenever possible you should use images so your audiences gets your messaging more quickly.
Keep your images simple
Yes, people process images faster than text, but overall people prefer simple, straightforward imagery. People love the use of one or two dominant colors with simple details. For example, if you are planning to do a flat lay with many products, we recommend color coordinating the products so you only feature one or two colors. That way you can still include all the messaging you want but you won’t overwhelm your audience with a lot of colors.
People use Instagram when they’re bored
Let’s face it, social media is a great time waster. Because of that, people are not on the platform when they are working, on a date (hopefully!), or otherwise engaged with other daily activities. So keep that in mind when you post. It’s better to post late in the evening or super early in the morning when people aren’t working, at happy hour, etc. Avoid posting at 9am or 6pm as people are either just getting to work or school or commuting home, so they are less likely to be scrolling through the ‘gram.
You’ve got 2 seconds get your point across
There is so much great content online that people don’t have a lot of time for one single image or video. In fact, when people are scrolling on their phone, the average attention time, according to research conducted by Facebook, is 2 seconds. So your main job is to make sure your Instagram image is compelling enough to make people stop and engage with your content. You only have two seconds!
Do you use any science-based or human behavior-based stats when you create your online content? Let us know what they are in the comments below!