I want to start this article with wise words from my favourite character from Brooklyn 99: “Hi, Gina Linetti, the human form of the 100 emoji.” If you had to define yourself through a single emoji, what would it be?
Emojis can be a great way of adding emotion or fun to a message. Today, they are an essential part of social media, chat and much more, especially when that message targets younger generations, so making them a part of your marketing content is vital.
A Brief History of Emojis
An emoji is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram, or smiley that is inserted into text and used in electronic messaging. Their main purpose is to fill in the gap that text-based communication has when it comes to expressing emotion.
The name “emoji,” which originally meant “pictograph,” is a combination of the Japanese words “e” (絵 for “image”) and “moji” (文字 for “character”); the similarity to the English words “emotion” and “emoticon” is totally coincidental. Even though emojis only became widely used in recent years, they were developed in the 1990s by a Japanese marketing firm. They were initially used as a variation on the common typographic emoticons that were used extensively at the time. They provided them with more personality, increasing the level of self-expression that was possible.
Emojis came to prominence in 2011 when Apple made them a permanent feature of their iOS 5 keyboards although the : ) and others had been around since SMS text messaging in the late 90s and even before. The iOS keyboard now supports 1,620 emojis, and new ones are added to the collection every year. The first set of emojis ever made are accredited to Shigetaka Kurita. Back in 2019, he tweeted saying that “The first emoji use in mobile devices in Japan was a pager, but in mobile phones, DoCoMo wasn’t the first, I think it was J-PHONE DP-211SW”.
Emojis in Marketing
Let’s make one thing clear – emojis are no longer “unprofessional”. Emojis have evolved into a sort of universal language, especially for the younger generations. The best part about them is that they are accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or language.
46% of young individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 think it’s acceptable to use emojis in emails and other forms of professional communication like Slack, LinkedIn, and so on. Using emojis at work helps colleagues to perceive us as being more approachable and kinder than solely using text. Since they’re acceptable in a professional working environment, don’t be afraid to use them in your marketing copy.
Emojis are non-negotiable when you’re marketing to Gen-Z or millennials. Plain, boring copy will not fly with them. However, when it comes to the older generations, be cautious with how you use them as people may misunderstand what you are trying to convey. There is also a slim chance that they might find them confusing or annoying. This does not mean you have to avoid using them completely when targeting older generations – instead, use ones that are to the point and easy to comprehend. If you want to know more about marketing to different generations, you can read my article here.
If you’re still not convinced, here are some statistics that will make you start using emojis right away – social media marketers, please take note:
- Tweets containing emojis have 25.4% greater engagement than those without; for Facebook posts, engagement increases by an astonishing 57% when emojis are used.
- Emojis on Instagram boost engagement by 48%.
- Emojis increase comments and shares by roughly 33%.
- An emoji in the subject line of an email boosts open and clickthrough rates by 29% and 28%, respectively.
These numbers prove the importance of emojis in driving engagement, especially on social media. Below are a few tips on using them as a part of your marketing strategy.
1. Humanise Your Brand
There are a million corporate brands out there using the same old boring copy that they keep repurposing, and that same generic mission statement. Don’t be that brand. Instead, build an image for yourself that is out of the box. Adding a few emojis here and there to stand out can make a big difference, giving your brand a youthful vibe. Emojis prove that your company is not a faceless machine simply churning out content to coerce them into buying something. Instead, they help build an emotional connection with your audience. They mimic our day-to-day conversations, so it’s almost abnormal not to include them in our copy. When was the last time you had conversation by text that contained no emojis? Perhaps you can’t recall such an occasion. In that case, why do we do that with branded content? Building an organic, human connection with audiences is one of the secrets to successful marketing.
2. Know Your Audience
Don’t force the use of emojis – if they don’t fit your target audience, don’t use them. If you use them when they’re not suitable, you risk alienating some people, confusing others, and losing supporters. Emojis are not universally understood and in some cases, them might not be acceptable. Try using social intelligence tools to understand your audience’s online behaviour and determine whether this form of communication is appropriate for them.
3. Use the Correct Emojis
What’s worse than not using emojis? Using emojis with the wrong meaning. Everybody interprets things differently, especially when it comes to images that are subjective and could have alternative meanings (for example, certain emojis could have inappropriate or sexual connotations). I would suggest only using those that have one clear meaning and no other possible interpretations. If you’re not sure what an emoji might mean, search for it on Emojipedia or on Google.
4. Emojis in Social Media
Social media without emojis makes the conversation just a bit too formal. I really appreciate it when businesses use a customised set of emojis as part of their branding. Here are a few other ways you can use them on social media:
- Ask your audience how they feel about going to work on a Friday only using emojis.
- Thumbs up or thumbs down to partying on a Tuesday night.
- Decode these emojis to enter the next giveaway.
- My favourite way of using emojis is as bullets in social media copy.
5. Know When to Stop
Don’t go overboard with the use of emojis – know when to stop. Using too many can confuse the audience, especially if you use them on billboards or television ads where people cannot pause and take the time to comprehend what the ad is trying to say. The best place for emojis is social media, followed by print advertisements. Even on social media, take care not to overdo it otherwise you risk your strategy coming off as forceful, annoying, or confusing.
Emojis in Marketing: Examples
1. McDonald’s Happy Meals
Since McDonald’s is a very well-established brand, it‘s interesting to see how they keep themselves relevant. In the example below, they used a simple smiley face emoji to suggest that their meals make people happy. A big part of the fast-food chain’s branding is their happy meals and presenting them in this form keeps their customers engaged. A very simple yet powerful message through the use of a single emoji.
3. Slack Gif Emojis
Slack not only use emojis for their marketing but have also made it a part of their product. All apps come with emojis but not many give users the option of custom emojis. In Slack, users have the capability to add custom emojis to the 2,000 emojis that are already present, which is a powerful tool for making business communication more fun. I can’t believe people calling them “unprofessional” – I have even created custom emojis for my team and clients to keep things fun while working. Check out Slack’s emoji library for more examples.
3. Slack Gif Emojis
Slack not only use emojis for their marketing but have also made it a part of their product. All apps come with emojis but not many give users the option of custom emojis. In Slack, users have the capability to add custom emojis to the 2,000 emojis that are already present, which is a powerful tool for making business communication more fun. I can’t believe people calling them “unprofessional” – I have even created custom emojis for my team and clients to keep things fun while working. Check out Slack’s emoji library for more examples.
Today, it’s hard to imagine the digital world without emojis – they have become an essential part of our day-to-day conversations. Leave behind the idea that they’re unprofessional, and if they’re relevant to your audience, go all out with them. They can help you create a distinct language for your brand that sets you apart from the crowd. You can certainly benefit from the increased engagement that emojis generate if you use them in the right way.
Unsure about what kind of branding to build for yourself? My team and I can help – book a free consultation to get a personalised branding proposal. Happy world emoji day!