While analyzing the Scrub Daddy brand for an assignment, I noted their use of emojis in responding to customers on social media, especially Facebook.
Now, this is especially clever given that their brand is “The Smile Face Sponge,” but what about for other brands? Are emojis always an appropriate way to communicate with your audience? Does it depend at all on the brand, the channel, the content?
While every brand has to remain true to its voice and keep its content relevant, it would seem that, when done well, emoji use can benefit any company or organization. That’s because 92 percent of Internet users utilize emojis, and so when any brand uses them, they’re speaking their customers’ language.
From http://neilpatel.com/2016/01/05/emoji-marketing-how-to-use-emoticons-to-increase-your-conversions/
That high usage stems from a variety of reasons, including people’s short attention spans, preference for images over text (especially among millennials) and the emotional appeal of those little icons. As marketing expert Neil Patel cites, “Emoticons are effective in improving enjoyment, personal interaction and the perceived information richness of our messages.”
Emojis not only increase interaction among people but also among people and brands, as evidenced by this Facebook stat:
Emojis work well on Facebook. From http://neilpatel.com/2016/01/05/emoji-marketing-how-to-use-emoticons-to-increase-your-conversions/
Of course, there are some general emoji marketing do’s and don’ts, including limiting the number of emojis you use in any single communication, keeping them authentic and relevant to your message, and using them only in light-hearted/humorous rather than serious content.
So go ahead and give emojis a try in your next social post, app push notification or email. You’ll show your human side to your audience and still be considered legit by your colleagues. After all, industry stalwart Ad Age took the time to recognize the top 10 emoji campaigns of 2015, and if you start now, there’s still time to make their 2016 list. 🙂
619 and beyond 
What a fun post! I admit, I probably overuse emojis when texting or writing on a friend’s Facebook wall. Heck, I might even reply to messages with no words at all and instead use emojis only. Their shorthand use is increasingly popular across emerging media platforms and I agree that brands should use them sparingly when communicating with consumers. As brands continue to maximize mobile marketing efforts, emojis are increasingly important for marketers to use in campaigns. Consumers are bombarded with an abundance of information these days. Because of this, brands have to connect with consumers using emotional images, or emojis. According to The Guardian, emojis “are just the next evolution of communicating. Plus, emojis can transcend even language barriers. A smiley face is universal, and now there are literally thousands of emojis that are gaining worldwide acceptance and allowing en entire generation to communicate across borders.”
http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/jan/26/rise-emoji-brand-marketing
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This really is an awesome post! But what about the development of bitemjois? At the end of March, Snapchat bought Bitstrip for $100 million. With the acquisition, Snapchat gains Bitstrips’ Bitmojis emoji-creating mobile applications on both iOS and Android. “Emojis enable marketers to appeal to specific emotions in a way that other content may fail to do. They are also short and expedient — a perfect resolution for mobile messages and distracted consumers on-the-go.” Checkout this article from MediaPost. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/272155/emoji-marketing-on-the-rise.html
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I too love emojis and am guilty of overusing them. 🙂 Beyond social, another platform where marketers can use emojis is email marketing. Bath and Body Works and Best Buy do an excellent job of this. Out of the hundreds of emails I receive each week, these two retailers stand out because they use emojis in their subject lines. It’s been found that “if you’re sending a time-sensitive email, special characters in your subject line will naturally draw your subscribers’ eyes and create a sense of urgency” (https://blog.aweber.com/new-features/where-words-fail-emojis-speak-how-to-use-special-characters-in-your-email-marketing.htm). Of course this won’t be as effective if every marketer began doing it but it’s still a fairly unused tactic.
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Great post! Emojis are definitely a great way to humanize your brand on social media and connect with your audience. Their use should definitely be determined by the content and sentiment of your post. If you are responding to a customer service complaint, a smiley face might not be the right move. But if the post is responding to a glowing review or recommendation of your brand a thumbs up emoji might be the perfect addition to really connect with your target demographics.
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