But what is it that gets the perpetual scroller to stop in their digital tracks?
We spoke with a neuroscientist, a top designer, and a visual psychologist to find out.
Whats science got to do with it?
In 2017 Dr. Tedi Asher became the first neuroscientist in residence at the Peabody Essex Museum.
In Daniel Kahnemans award-winning bookThinking, Fast and Slow, he explains that we have two systems of thinking.
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The most valuable thing that almost all brands and products on Instagram are currently fighting for is attention.
So how can we combine psychology and design to get attention and grow followers?
Lets take a look at color as an example.
Variations on the headline Want more likes on Instagram?
Use blue started popping up.
Bad news for Coca Cola, McDonalds, and Santa.
Butstudiesalso showed thatredwas better at getting peoples attention on Facebook ads.
Color is a very powerful tool for attracting the users attention and perception at the deepest unconscious level.
As Derek Jarman said: Color glows in its surroundings, Kruglov explained.
So, in the end, the battle between blue and red is irrelevant.
But after getting our viewers attention, how do we keep it?
New filters, masks, effects, all this is quickly picked up and replicated with incredible speed.
Emotions stimulate memory
Professor John Suler of Ryder University is an expert in photographic psychology.
He presented a slideshow of 200 random photographs, including landscapes, architecture, abstracts, and portraits.
Each was shown for only five seconds.
What message might this photo be giving you?
If you want togenerate likesand shares you might want to focus on positive emotions like humor or tranquility.
But if you want to raise awareness of a social issue, other emotions will be more effective.
In one experiment, subjects were shown two different websites for a couch.
One had a blue background with clouds to prime the perception of comfort.
The other featured a green background with pennies, priming subjects to consider the price.
Visual priming allows you to bring different design elements together to tell a story.
Consider what your values or key features are and the emotions you want to show.
Use priming that communicates those aspects.
So how DO you take a good Instagram photo?
And what does the audience care about seeing?
past experiences, focuses on education, mood, environmental context, etc.
These two sets of influences interact to create our very diverse visual perceptions.
you’re free to also do some research about your target audience: What are their interests?
What are they already looking for or primed to notice?
What would catch them by surprise?
Capturing and successfully expressing the currently prevailing emotions in society is what makes an image great.
