Emojis and How They Impact Marketing

Email Marketing Emoji Marketing Marketing Strategy Social Media Marketing

Love it or hate it, emojis are cemented in regular digital conversation in today’s world. They always add a dash of personality to your typical message. Sometimes, even a single emoji can convey your overall thoughts to your message buddy. In the marketing world, emojis aren’t just helpful tools you can use to make your […]

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Love it or hate it, emojis are cemented in regular digital conversation in today’s world. They always add a dash of personality to your typical message. Sometimes, even a single emoji can convey your overall thoughts to your message buddy.

In the marketing world, emojis aren’t just helpful tools you can use to make your content quirky—it can actually affect click-through rates, engagement levels, and other important elements in a marketing strategy. Knowing how to use emojis in your marketing plan can make a huge difference in its success.

On this blog, we will discuss what emojis are, how they’ve impacted marketing, and how you can use them to benefit your overall marketing.

What are emojis?

Emojis are small icons that display a variety of everyday objects. Although often thought to come from the English word “emotion”, emoji actually comes from the Japanese e (meaning “picture”) and moji (meaning “character”). 

Common emojis include yellow smiley faces, food, and hearts, which you can find on your device’s messaging app(s). These little images play a big role in digital communication as they’re commonly used in emails and social media. 

How have emojis changed social media?

In this day and age, emojis and social media are inseparable. Many social media posts, whether a caption or a hashtag, contain at least one emoji—this gives users a chance to amp up their content. As emojis have become prominent in daily online conversations, various corporations have adopted their use in creative ways. 

On Twitter, for example, the earliest use of emojis on a corporate level came through specific hashtags. Hashtags like #MaytheFourthBeWithYou or #LoveWins are often featured with their very own emojis to help compliment it. Some brands blend in their services with emojis such as Domino’s Easy Order feature, where users can tweet a pizza emoji to @Dominos and place an order without leaving Twitter.

Emojis are also common on visually-based platforms like Instagram. In fact, Quintly reports that more than half of Instagram accounts include at least one emoji in their posts. Users are also able to use emojis in their hashtags on the platform, giving businesses a way to be a little extra in their marketing tactics.

How have emojis changed email marketing?

Email is often thought of as a “formal” form of digital communication. In recent years, however, email marketing tools have advanced to accommodate the emoji craze. MailChimp and Constant Contact, for example, allow users to place emojis on subject lines, helping emails stand apart from the competition. Email engines like Gmail even have their own set of emojis for their users to include in their daily email content.

Before you begin using emojis in your email marketing strategy, be sure that your email clients are able to view the little images on their devices. Do a little research on what tools your subscribers use, and if they are normally on mobile, they should have no problem viewing emojis. 

How can I use emojis in my marketing strategy?

You may be tempted to fill your future marketing campaigns with emojis, especially since they seem to be the secret for increasing engagement levels. Before you begin planning out your strategies, there are a few rules you need to know when using emojis. Otherwise, your brand will end up looking out of touch among competitors—and you definitely don’t want that!

  1. Consider whether you should use emojis. Always take a step back and consider your brand identity. Emojis usually give off a playful or cheerful vibe in one’s content. This can work for companies in the fashion, sports, and entertainment industries but it falls flat for others. Companies that offer serious services like funerals or financial aid should reconsider using emojis. 
  2. Avoid overusing emojis. When it comes to emojis, it’s highly important to use them in moderation. Too many emojis on a post or subject line can be irritating, spammy, and just confusing to your audience. The last thing you want is for your brand to come off forced or desperate in reaching your strategy goals. 
  3. Learn the meanings behind each emojis. Some emojis have a different meaning or context when used in regular conversations. One example is the peach emoji, which takes on a completely inappropriate meaning in digital communication. If you don’t know what an emoji means, avoid using it on any content you put out. We recommend using tools like Emojipedia or just plain old Google to research on each emoji’s meaning. 
  4. Do not confuse your brand with emojis. Never let emojis replace your marketing message. This includes using emojis instead of text in advertisement or email subject line—more often than not, you will obscure what you’re trying to convey to audiences. Emojis should be used to decorate or emphasize your message. 
  5. Choose key emojis for your brand. One of the best ways to avoid misusing emojis is to choose 5 brand-related emojis and use them consistently. This allows you to keep a consistent brand voice, and users may start associating your brand with those emojis. You can think of this tactic as “emoji marketing” as you’ll have consumers thinking about your brand when you’re not marketing to them.

Emojis have impacted marketing in various different ways, and marketers are learning how to best use them. Knowing about emojis and how they’ve changed the game gives you a head start against your competition. The more you use emojis to help your brand stand apart from the others, the more your audience will remember you—just make sure you know the rules first. With enough consistency and research, you will be able to take advantage of the branding opportunities emojis have to offer!

Check out our 5 Effective Engagement Strategies for 2019 to learn more about how to increase your engagement levels on social platforms.