As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” the same can be said for the use of emojis in your marketing messaging, in addition to other forms of business communication. However, as a business owner, before incorporating these crafty icons to enhance your message, define your voice or promote your business, it is important to ask yourself if your business specifically is a fit for the modern form of language.

Since gaining mainstream popularity over the last decade, emojis were originally brought to the digital world in the 1990s by a Japanese marketing agency where they were used as a derivation of standard typographic emoticons. Not long after its incorporation into digital communications, Apple announced in 2011 that it would be permanently incorporating emojis into its iOS 5 keyboard. Today, there are over 3,000 emojis with new ones being added to the keyboard seemingly every year.

Emoji Cautions

While some reports will tell you that the use of emojis are generally for targeting millennials, we believe that if the use lines up with your brand and your ideal audience’s demographic, there is no harm in incorporating them into your messaging. Although it's more of a preference than a practice, it is dire that if you do decide to further incorporate the icons into your campaigns, social media posts or even emails and other forms of digital conversations, that you educate yourself of each emoji’s meaning and trends. While a picture could save you a few words in conveying a message online, the internet could interpret it as something else entirely.

This leads to another caution when using emojis as well. You have to know that not all emojis are universal, so they might not appear the same way from platform to platform. While one version can slightly differ from the other, there can be instances where a separate operating system hasn’t developed an icon at all.

A final tip would be to not use too many emojis in your messaging. While they can replace certain words or better communicate a thing or idea, you could risk losing your audience in translation or even be misinterpreted as incompetent.

Emoji Benefits

In deciding to utilize emojis in your marketing endeavors, you’re already setting yourself up for increased engagements! According to a study by WordStream, by using an emoji in a Tweet, engagement can increase by 25% compared to messages without. On Facebook, the use of emojis can increase shares by 33% and interactions by 57%.

It is important to note that the use of emojis isn’t just limited to social media platforms either. In both email campaigns, paid advertisements and push notifications, studies show an increase in open rate and engagement as well.

Beyond the numbers, the use of emojis also serve as a display of honesty and personal approach, further humanizing your brand. In creating additional context through the use of these icons, your messages ultimately improve by adding depth and meaning to the written words, too.

Once you’ve done your research and feel comfortable using emojis, take a chance on generating improved engagement and don’t be afraid to get creative!

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