Up-to-date research shows that color complexity in social media posts leads to greater engagement

If you work in digital marketing, you don’t need to be told that a picture is worth a thousand words. More than half Content marketers say images are crucial to achieving their social media goals, with research showing that as many as 70% of users prefer image-based posts over text.

But what types of visualizations work best? Although there is much anecdotal evidence, systematic research on this topic is uncommon.

as business professor who knows the problems social media managers face when selecting images for their posts – and who has collected thousands of Facebook posts from two organizations in different industries – I saw an opportunity.

Pigments and pixels

Together with my colleagues Christian Hughes AND Brady HodgesI looked at what researchers call “color complexity.”

Color complexity is similar to vividness, but it is not quite the same: it is measured as the color difference in the pixels of an image, and our brains process it subconsciously. The more the brain has to decipher color differences in adjacent pixels, the harder it has to work.

Fortunately, advanced computer vision technology makes measuring color complexity easier than ever, and biometric eye tracking allows you to see in real time what images catch people’s attention.

We conducted four studies, analyzing both real Facebook posts from two companies and experimental data using biometric eye tracking. Overall, we’ve found that more complicated images in social media posts tend to attract more attention.

However, there were some reservations.

For example, posts published later in the day and those containing images that took up more screen space tended to benefit more from color complexity. This suggests that timing and visibility of posts play a role in maximizing engagement.

Furthermore, when images were paired with negative, unpleasant text, color complexity did not matter much.

We also found that combining images with complicated texts can actually strengthen the relationship between color complexity and user engagement. This surprising finding suggests that more complicated language may encourage people to pay more attention to images.

Color complexity

The importance of color in marketingand its impact on everything from brand perception to purchase intentions has long been well-documented. However, much less is known about the role of color complexity in social media engagement. Our research begins to fill this gap.

Overall, our findings highlight the importance of strategic image design in social media marketing. They suggest that a varied approach to image design, incorporating high color complexity where appropriate, can significantly enhance user engagement.

For marketers and content creators, the implications are clear: investing in carefully curating images on social media, especially those with high color complexity, can lead to better user engagement. Just remember the time and context.