We are often asked what’s the correct protocol when it comes to using emojis when producing online content for your brand. Content marketing has become much more expressive and personable thanks to the use of emoticons. Many emoticons make your customer 😀, however, if not used correctly emojis can actually damage your campaign.
Email Marketing
If you’re looking to start emojis a great way is to use seasonal emoticons to get the customer excited about certain times of the year. For example, using presents and Christmas trees could lead to an increased open rate during the months leading up to Christmas. 2% of company emails sent to private clients contain an emoji in the subject line. Emojis work much better in the text of emails used in your marketing strategy. So, choose a few very relevant ones and use those.
Adding emojis to your subject line can give you the edge when people are browsing their inbox. Emojis mean you stand out- however make sure you stand out for the right reasons, with tasteful and minimal emoticons!!
Remember that 56% of brands using emojis in their email subject line had a higher unique open rate, so if you think emojis suit your business try and experiment with one or two.
Social Media Marketing
Emojis are much more commonplace in social media marketing and can really create a more personalised, casual experience for customers. Over 5 billion emojis are sent daily on Messenger, so this is obviously a language your customer really understands. However, think carefully about your audience. 86% of emoji users on Twitter are 24 or younger and 57% of all emoji users on Twitter are women.
Think carefully about whether your brand suits emojis, and whether your audience would like to see you use them. For example, if you’re a finance or trust company think carefully about using crude emoticons such as; 💰or 🤑that your audience may find uncomfortable or may tarnish the professionality of your brand.
But Which Ones Should You Choose?
Remember to be loyal to your brand. If you are a professional company conversing with clients try to avoid emojis, unless you want to portray an informal tone. However, if your audience is younger, or you can afford to be silly or colloquial with your customers then here are some interesting facts to consider;
💩 – This got the highest read rate when used in email subject lines! Probably because it really does stand out in your inbox and makes clients curious as to what you are going to say. However, use appropriately!!
❤️ – According to a recent study, the “red heart” generated a positive result across all test regions, garnering a 6% increase in opens. This heart is also the most used emoticon on Instagram, especially in comments in favour of text or words.
😄 – The grinning face with smiley eyes in the most used emoji on Facebook
😂 – Whereas the crying with laughter face is the most used emoji on Twitter!
Remember Localisation Matters
Remember to research your emoticons as well as your audience. Sometimes different cultures and countries see and use these emojis very differently.
For example, the hugging face emoji (🤗) is actually seen as a funny shrug in Ireland and Canada! Also the “neutral face” emoji, 😐, is considered as unamused in most countries, whereas Australia it commonly means content or neutral.
As an international brand make sure you know where your emoji is being seen and by who to understand fully how it will be received.
Here are some of the most popular emojis in different parts of the world;
😩- The United States, Canada and the UK
🎶 – Brazil
💘- France
🙏 – Mexico and India
👍 – Germany and Australia
