Expert Tips for Using Emoji Marketing in Social Media

Emojis can boost engagement when used sparingly. For marketing, make sure your emojis reflect brand personality. If you use them wisely, they can pack a punch!

From Unicode’s first emoticons to the expansive emoji keyboard we navigate today, the use of emojis has transformed how we communicate. These once-simple digital facial expressions have evolved into a universal language of over 3,000 symbols used daily in text messages, social media posts, and digital marketing campaigns. In this article, we uncover the power of emojis and how they can elevate your marketing strategies.

Emojis and Branding

Emojis can be powerful branding tools for your social media strategy. Emojis can evoke powerful emotions and establish brand personality within seconds. But with great power comes great responsibility.

Before starting to leverage emojis in your social media marketing efforts, take some time to contemplate who your audience is and what appeals to them. The better your research at this step, the more effective your strategy will be long-term. It’s also important to contemplate whether or not emojis are an appropriate compliment to your brand voice.

As a society, more people believe that images do a better job of expressing their feelings than words, and 78% of people say emojis can make you more likable. While that number is high, nothing is ever a 100% guarantee, so take the time to determine what’s a good fit for your audience and will also help you reach your marketing goals.

Practical Tips for Incorporating Emojis in Content Marketing

Emojis can be powerful enhancers of your content marketing strategy. Here’s a guide on how to weave them into your narratives:

Substituting Overused Words with Emojis

If you decide an emoji would make a great addition to your content on social media, then you may be wondering, “What’s the best way to use emojis?”

An easy place to start is to pick out some generic and overused words that may be hiding in your copy and replace them with some of the most popular emojis like a thumbs up, smiley, or tears of joy. On platforms like Instagram, where a call to action typically prompts your audience to “Click a link in your bio,” the word ‘link’ can quickly be replaced with the chainlink emoji that effectively communicates the same message.

It is important not to go too crazy with the word replacement. Be careful with your emoji usage—59% of consumers aged 18-34 believe companies are overdoing it. Your goal is not to have a long string of emojis because that can quickly get confusing or overwhelming to the viewer. Make it easy for the reader to understand what your emojis mean.

Avoiding Emoji Overload

If your brand is new to the emoji game, it’s best to start slow. By slowly incorporating emojis into your digital marketing, your audience will begin to accept them naturally and associate emoji usage with your brand.

Doing too much, too quickly, could be confusing and turn off a potential customer if they are not accustomed to seeing emoji marketing in your messaging. In this respect, if emojis are not a staple in your digital communication, they should not take the lead in your marketing strategy just yet. Slow and steady wins the race.

Adding Customer Journey Mapping to your marketing strategy can help you better understand how your audience currently interacts with your brand, and it can help you have a better idea of how marketing emojis can fit into your overall messaging, including social media, physical store, and your home page.

Diversity and Inclusion in the Emoji Universe

While emojis already served as a largely universal language, Apple took this further in 2015 when they introduced more racially diverse emojis to their iOS collection. At first, this move proved to be controversial to some who argued race was being inserted into conversations where it previously didn’t need to be.

In the years since, though, racial diversity, social justice, gender identity, and issues regarding sexual orientation have become major topics of discussion in society. In this respect, using inclusive emojis in your marketing efforts today can be a way to relate to your target audience, boost engagement across demographics, and even set your brand apart when used appropriately and respectfully.

Enhancing Social Media Presence with Emojis

Adding a few emojis can be a quick and easy way to help your social media posts stand out from the rest. The data doesn’t lie regarding the benefits of using emojis in your posts and ads to increase engagement and connect with audiences. This is especially notable on mobile-friendly platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. Facebook posts experienced an impressive 57% boost when emojis were included. Similarly, Instagram content that utilized emojis saw a 48% increase in engagement. When incorporated appropriately into marketing campaigns, emojis work for most audiences!

Emojis were also shown to increase comments and shares by about 33% when present. Stop the scroll with eye-catching emojis that connect and communicate your marketing message to your audience and encourage more authentic engagement.

But it’s not just about adding any emoji. It’s important to know what each one means, especially since their meanings can change over time and in different cultures. Websites like Emojipedia are super helpful. They show new emojis and explain their meaning, helping brands use them correctly in their posts.

Emojis in Email Marketing

Emojis can help an email stand out in a crowded inbox. The visual stimulation can capture attention and prompt the reader to open the email. But the key is to use them sparingly. Overuse or irrelevant emojis can come off as unprofessional or spammy. Some other things to remember when using emojis in your email subject line are making sure they’re relevant to the email content, using emojis at the beginning or end, not in the middle, and avoiding overcrowding. You only have so much space in your subject line. Emojis can help catch readers’ attention, but it’s ultimately the compelling words you use that will determine the open rate for the email.

If you’re curious how your audience will react to emojis in your marketing, A/B testing is a great way to test it out! Here are a few ways you can implement A/B testing into your email marketing today:

  • Subject Line Variations: Create two versions of your email: one with emojis in the subject line and one without. Monitor the open rates to determine which version is more effective.
  • Emoji Selection: Different emojis can elicit different reactions. For example, testing 🎉 vs. 🚀 for a product launch email can provide insights into which emoji resonates more with your audience and boosts click-through rates.
  • Frequency: It’s important to understand how often your audience likes seeing emojis. You can test emails with emojis in consecutive campaigns against sporadic usage to find the optimal frequency.

Pushing the Limits with Push Notifications

Push notifications have also jumped on the emoji train. Adding emojis to these brief alerts can boost user engagement, making recipients more likely to tap in. Whether on Messenger, Android, or iOS, it’s worth seeing how emojis perform and adjusting strategies based on what works best for each platform.

Emojis have evolved from simple smiley faces to powerful tools in digital communication and marketing. As we look ahead, their influence is only set to grow, offering new avenues for brands to connect with audiences. If you’re aiming to transform your social media posts into tangible sales, let First Media’s Social Commerce Solutions guide your way.