5 Reasons Why You Need to Make Emojis Part of Your Marketing Strategy

So many messages get lost in translation when typed or written down. How can you convey your tone of voice or feelings in just 280 characters or less?

According to a report, adding emojis to your social media posts increases engagement and lowers advertising costs. While the marketers of yesteryear would scoff at the thought of emojis, these little smileys can add a ton of personality to an otherwise dull message. And they’re not just for style too.

Why use emojis?

Emojis add real value to your messages. Intercom found that messages sent by a business that contains emojis are four times more likely to get a response from a customer. Adding an emoji to the end of your sentence can soften up an otherwise sales-forward message. Here are more data to convince you:

• Emojis on your email subject line can increase your open rate by 3-4%.
• The more emojis you use on your Instagram captions, the higher number of interactions.
• Adding emojis to your ads can increase your click-through rates and improve overall performance.
• Humans are naturally visual people, meaning they can process emojis faster than they can read and understand your sentences.

Related: What Can Emojis Tell Us About Diversity and Inclusion?

How to use emojis in marketing?

Veering away from the data and adding a smile at the end of your message can also add context and avoid misinterpretation. Emojis can help you say more with less effort and characters. Here are 5 creative ways how to use emojis in marketing.

1. Choose signature emojis for branding

There are over three thousand emojis available. While there’s no harm in using whatever emoji matches your messaging, using too many can make your brand look too casual and unprofessional.

It’s a good idea to rotate between a handful of emojis and use them as branding elements. Think about how McDonald’s has taken ownership of the french fries emoji while Taco Bell petitioned for the taco emoji — which emojis can you make your own?

Using emojis as part of your branding can help your customers remember you better. It’s also a simple and effective way to stand out from the competition.

2. Humanize your tone of voice

Any messages from brands may be received with some skepticism. Don’t let your audience think you’re only reaching out to sell them something (even if you are). Emojis are a great tool to make your brand seem more human and relatable.

While instant messaging and social media cannot replicate the intimacy of face-to-face communication, emojis can fill in essential aspects of communication, such as facial expressions and body language.

Emojis are often associated with happiness, so adding an emoji at the end of your message will show that you’re happy to help and can also make your audience happy.

3. When words aren’t enough

Emojis have a way of driving a point forward when words are not enough to express your message. According to psychologists, emojis can help reinforce a message’s meaning. Adding emojis can help set the tone of your messages, like your manner of speaking.

For example, a simple “see you” can sound so different from a “see you” (smiley emoji). The former sounds like a forced formality, while the latter conveys excitement.

4. Create your emojis

While not many brands have the power and pull of Taco Bell, which officially got the Unicode Consortium to add the taco emoji in 2015, there’s no stopping you from designing your emojis.

Brands like Sephora have created their own emoji keyboard filled with emojis that are patterned after their products. The emoji keyboard allows users to customize emojis, making the experience more exciting and personalized.

Having your own emojis is a great way to strengthen your brand presence and turn your customers into brand advocates.

5. Emoji polls

You already know that emojis can boost your engagement. On top of adding emojis to your captions and in-image text, another great way to integrate them into your marketing strategy is through Interactive stickers on Instagram.

Use emojis to differentiate a “this or that” vote on your Instagram Stories and find out how your audience feels about your products. Combining interactive stickers and emojis can effectively grab your audience’s attention and gather valuable insight in a fun and interactive way.

Related: 5 Etiquette Rules for Using Emojis at Work

But is the emoji for you?

While data may convince you that all those smileys are worth the chances of being off-brand, it’s still important to understand the playing field. If you’re part of a more traditional industry, such as banking, you may want to keep things emoji free. Otherwise, you run the risk of seeming unprofessional.

Like anything, moderation is key. Adding too many emojis can make your brand seem spammy. Consider A/B testing your ads to discover how your audience responds to the change. Emojis shouldn’t be added haphazardly just for engagement’s sake. Always consider context and content, and remember that some emojis may have double meanings.

Now that emojis have become ingrained in our daily communication, it’s about time that brands catch up. Use these tips to guide you and create an emoji marketing strategy that works.