Emojis: How to use emojis in marketing

 Most of today's social media sites are based on written content, which appears primarily in posts, tweets, and emails. And since written communication was limited to showing emotions shortly and accurately, people tended to use emojis in marketing, daily conversations, and much more.

According to Emojipedia, there are over 3,633 unique emoji in the Unicode Standard. And this number is growing rapidly; Due to users' interest in emojis, the daily sending rate of emojis on Facebook reached one billion emojis.

What are Emojis?

At one time, emojis were called emoticons; Because it allows people to easily describe their feelings during their written conversations. Emoji symbols now vary, starting from faces expressing human emotions to symbols of flags of countries, hearts, natural areas, etc.

The origin of the word Emoji is Japanese, as it is a compound of E (絵 ​​meaning image) and Moji (文字 meaning character or symbol); It was created by a Japanese marketing company in the 1990s. Soon, companies relied on emojis in marketing for their various campaigns, and mobile phone systems adopted them in the keyboards of their devices. But is there a difference between Emojis and Emoticons?

The difference between emojis and emoticons

Emoticons are the basis for emojis, but there is a big difference between the two types. You can create an emoticon by typing symbols on the keyboard to show a face with a certain impression, such as writing two colons and an open bracket to the right to denote happiness: + ) = ☺.

As for emojis, they are a group of images consisting of pixels, and users can use them by simply clicking on the desired shape from the emoji list that includes hundreds of ready-made emojis, as it is not limited to facial expressions.

Rather, it also contains the most popular tools that we use and the shapes that we see in daily life, such as food, animal shapes, sports games, means of transportation, household appliances, and flags of countries.

In addition to the possibility of embodying emojis better by controlling the color of the skin, hair, and body, which gives room for the individual to express what he wants more easily when compared to expressions of emotion Emoticons.

Example of the emoji used

The importance of emojis in building emotional communication with the audience

One of the most important benefits of using emojis in digital marketing is that they bring the feeling you want to communicate to your audience closer immediately, which qualifies them to shorten many sentences. And if you are observing the behavior of users on various social networking sites, you will be amazed at their reliance on emojis to express their opinions, whatever the occasion.

You can increase customer engagement with your tweets by about 25% if you use emojis right. The audience also interacts with Facebook posts that contain emojis more than others, with engagement rates reaching 57% and participation rates reaching 33%.

1. Higher engagement

You'll also get more engagement no matter what platform you interact with your audience on, if you're using email marketing or app notifications, you'll see more engagement on notifications/emails with emojis, compared to non-emoji materials.

According to some statistics, notifications associated with emojis were opened more than others by about 85%, and the conversion rate increased to 9%, meaning that your use of emojis will ensure better communication and achieve the goals of your marketing campaigns with less effort on all platforms.

2. Greater engagement

The use of emojis keeps you away from appearing formal, which may not be commensurate with the spirit that you are building with your audience. Many social media users shy away from automated, static messaging, which makes emojis a must in marketing your brand, as they are an attempt to be friendly and a nice signal that you really care about your audience.

Even when you use more professional platforms like LinkedIn, emojis can help you explain your post better, as well as add a distinctive tone to your post through emoji colors and shapes. In general, also avoid overusing it so that it does not turn against it.

3. Better communication

Emojis let you communicate the meaning you want instantly; It clarifies the intent of speech and the feeling that you want to communicate to the audience, and it is also appropriate to use platforms that restrict the size of publications, such as a Twitter platform. In short, emojis are very useful for priming the audience and integrating it with the psychological state of the published content.

How to use emojis in Emojis Marketing

1. Understand your audience

Study your audience well before using emojis in your various marketing campaigns. During this phase, monitor customer behavior and interaction by tracking how they interact with your Pages posts. I advise you to do A tests so that you can identify the opportunities available, to increase interaction and the impact of emojis on posts.

2. Align emoji with your marketing goals

In fact, despite what I mentioned above about the benefits of emojis in marketing, there are exceptions to this rule. The use of emojis may not be appropriate for certain disciplines or situations. For example, if your organization specializes in providing for the elderly, a crutch, old man, or wheelchair emoji might harm you.

3. Don't say everything

One of the reasons we use emojis in marketing is to avoid explaining everything related to the published content, so why write what can be explained with emojis? Therefore, I recommend paying attention to writing good content and grafting it with emojis that are appropriate to the message that you want to deliver to the audience.

4. Don't rely on emojis

Some marketers may make the mistake of relying on emojis exclusively to communicate what they want, and while this method may work in some special cases, for example, posting a tweet that contains only emojis will most likely not lead to any interaction, not mention the possibility that customers will not understand the tweet published. Therefore, always balance between writing good, brief content, and choosing helpful emojis.

5. Don't overuse emoji

It's not the only problem with relying on emojis only, but you'll face a disturbed interaction if you use more emojis, even with writing good, brief content. Think about the audience as you review your content:

1. Do you think using this particular emoji in this color is easy on the eyes?
2. Does it fit the picture posted?
3. Is the number of emojis appropriate?
4. Are emojis well distributed across the piece of content?
5. Does using emojis shorten the time it takes to understand the content and its message?

6. Unite the emoji as much as possible

Your use of emojis may vary depending on the various occasions, but generally, you will find some emojis that you can rely on most of the time, and blend with your corporate/project identity. If you own a flower shop for example, it might help to unify the emoji of a specific rose (for me it would be a sunflower 🌻!).

How are emojis used in social media marketing?

The way you use emoji differs according to the platform. It is expected that emojis will be used a lot on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, while the matter will gradually decrease until we reach the LinkedIn platform, which is concerned with creating a professional environment as possible. It should also be noted here that the shape of emojis differs from one device to another.

Therefore, you must run tests on various mobile devices and browsers, to reach the best visual image that is compatible with your audience. Use emojis in social media smartly, while creating an encouraging environment for the audience to also share your emoji use. Here are some practical ideas:

1. Ask for their interaction

Give the audience a choice between two things and let them vote using emojis, whether by writing it in the comments or by interacting with likes. And you will find this easier on platforms that allow the use of emojis easily, such as Facebook, which provides users to express their emotions through a variety of emojis.

• Practical example

If you are in charge of a publishing house, you can add a post saying: In your opinion, what is the best book written by… (put the author’s name)? Like the first book, and heart, for example (interact with your loved one on Facebook) for the second book.

2. Create games

Communicate with your audience using emoticons by creating ideas for different posts, and then you will find them encouraged to participate using emoticons, which achieves greater interaction and makes your posts reach a larger segment of customers.

• Practical example

You could open a discussion with them and ask them to use Emojis to respond to it, like asking them about the weather in their city today? The answer will be in the form of different symbols.🥵☔⛈️

How do you use emojis in email marketing?

The use of emojis is not limited to social media, but care must be taken when using them in email marketing; Although it can increase engagement and conversion rate, many marketing experts advise against using it when you are sending an email for the first time as a welcome message.

It is also preferable to avoid relying on it with customers who are not familiar with your brand, that is, you have not communicated with them on any of the social media outlets previously. If the email is from a specific person, avoid using it if you haven't met them in person so your message doesn't appear unprofessional.

More than 50% of executives agreed that the use of emojis is never acceptable in official business. A/B tests will help you decide which emojis are best used here. You can delve a little into these experiments until you reach the best emoji that is compatible with your audience and does not violate the principle of formality.

Generally, if you decide to use emojis in your email marketing, make sure that you see your sent mail on different devices; Some browsers/email providers may not display the Emojis as you see them on your screen.

How do you use emojis to reply to messages?

Emojis can help you to create a more endearing human connection with the customer while responding to their inquiries on messages. As I explained, your use of emojis will depend on the type of services you provide. In the message browser, you can add some appropriate icons to serve you to achieve faster and better communication.

But don't just rely on emojis, the icons should go with your brand's message and align with its Brand Voice. You could use a smiley face with the message Hello, we're glad you're in touch! Or use one of the symbols for celebrations, if there is an occasion in which you would like to participate.

When do you use/refrain from using emojis?

It is not appropriate for you to use Emojis if you are in charge of a news page, as they may distract you from describing the event impartially. Also, emojis may not be compatible with the content you want to market; It is unacceptable to be in charge of a mortuary service and use a ghost or crying face symbol.

Also, note that the use of emoji varies according to the gender of your target segment; As women use emojis in much greater proportions than men, this means that in the case of marketing a women's product, you should use the same Emojis that women use to express themselves and are associated with your product.

• The factors determining whether or not to use emoji can be summarized as:

• The type of business you are marketing to.

• The target customer segment (job, age, gender, etc.).

• The channel of communication between you and customers.

• The level of the relationship between you (it is acceptable to use emojis for loyal customers, because this way they will be familiar with them, and they are less likely to misunderstand the intended message).

• The type of event or message you want to deliver.

Disadvantages of emoji marketing

According to one of the studies that tried to find a relationship between the use of emoji and creating more friendly communication, the researchers concluded that the use of laughing emoji does not increase friendliness, but most people see it as a symbol of competition, so you may find that your intention of some symbols differs from the way your audience receives it.

Some people may find your use of emojis unprofessional. And we must not forget the challenges that you may face if you use symbols that are not well-known, or that the client's browser/device cannot read. Choosing the right emoji also consumes a lot of time for the marketer responsible for the writing or publishing process, especially when there is no agreement on some unified symbols.

To avoid this, you must try a lot of tests and analyze the results, in addition to monitoring customer behavior and knowing their expectations of your brand. You can also benefit from analyzing competitors’ pages, exploring ways they use emojis, and analyzing the way your common audience interacts with them.

The 10 most popular emojis used around the world in 2023

Despite a large number of emojis, many are not used, and the least used sections of all are the flags of countries. Perhaps it would be preferable for specialists to study why people use certain symbols over others, but here is the list of the 10 most popular Emojis in 2023 anyway:

1. Crying face of happiness.
2. red heart.
3. The rolling face of happiness.
4. thumbs up (thumbs up).
5. The face was drenched in tears.
6. Folded hands (a sign of supplication, gratitude, or wish).
7. the next face.
8. Smiling face with hearts spread out.
9. Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes.
10. The face with smiling eyes.

Conclusion

Now you know a brief history of emojis and their importance in marketing your brand, whatever platform you will be marketing your products/services on. You also learned what determines your use of Emojis, and what are the best practices to avoid being misunderstood by the public.

Finally, you are now ready to experiment with emojis, which can help you achieve your marketing plan goals. The last piece of advice I can offer here is to have a thorough understanding of your audience. Because understanding them will give you the strength to know which things are more appropriate and what are the best ways in which they would like to communicate with you.