The power of emojis: how to enhance the emotional impact of advertising

More than 10 years ago, emojis took over the online world: without them, posts on social networks, conversations in messengers, blog publications, and marketing in general, lose their vibrancy. The communication tool in the form of tiny images and pictograms encourages action, evokes emotions, and associations.

Emojis captivate and retain almost any audience, eliminating communication misunderstandings and making interactions lively and engaging. Let's figure out whether popular emojis hinder or assist marketers, enabling them to be on the same page with potential customers.

Emojis are an integral part of online culture

The first symbols appeared on Japanese mobile phones and gained popularity in the early 1990s. Users found it easier to “package” their thoughts and impressions into a concise 12x12 pixel image rather than writing long sentences. In 2010, Unicode translated the images into code, granting access to them for every user. The first collection of emojis can be seen on Apple's iOS 6-based iPhone in a hidden keyboard. 

Emojis really boost statistics. Their appearance provokes:

• A 25% increase in reactions to posts on Twitter
• An 85% higher opening rate for push notifications with graphical symbols and a ~10% increase in conversion
• A 33% increase in the number of comments and nearly a 60% increase in likes using emojis across all social networks.
• Увеличение количества комментариев на 33%, а лайков — почти на 60% во всех социальных сетях эмодзи

According to conducted surveys, today 59% of companies worldwide use emojis in tweets, and 40% include them in Facebook posts. Around 10 billion emojis travel through the network daily: in conversations, posts, and comments. It's expected that by the end of 2023, the number of such symbols will approach the 3500 mark.

Emoji marketing shortens the distance between the brand and the customer

Ad posts with emojis grab readers' attention and significantly increase engagement metrics. What goals does emoji marketing pursue?

1. Establishes an emotional connection, helps brands visually convey feelings about the product or service, and increases customer loyalty.

2. Implements a universal language that is understood regardless of cultural and linguistic differences, proving useful in working with an international audience.

3. Creates attractive visuals to stand out among competitors.

4. Promotes conciseness, particularly relevant for social media platforms like Twitter with limited character count.

5. Keeps in trend, enhances the brand's image in advertising and promotional campaigns.

Emojis in social networks and beyond

Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and other social networks are used for informal, friendly communication, so emojis are more common here than usual. For instance, on July 4th, Bud Light created a post on Twitter in the form of a graphic representation of the US flag. The attribute consisted of fireworks instead of stars, American flags, and a beverage in place of the red and white stripes.

NASCAR, on the occasion of World Emoji Day, posted a tweet on Twitter and created a photo mosaic. The portraits of the most famous racers were composed of hundreds of emojis that were impossible to look away from.

Smileys in applications

Domino's Pizza managed to reduce the time it takes to order food to just five seconds using emojis. Customers can order pizza in the company's app using a chatbot feature. After sending an emoji with an image of a pizza slice, they can immediately expect their delivery.

Email newsletters

In email marketing, the chances of email readability increase by 30% if they include emojis. This trick is often incorporated into the subject line, sender's name, or email preheader by internet shops, e-commerce companies. Even more “serious” niches such as banks, travel agencies, educational centers, B2B companies, and conference organizers also use emojis.

The main rule is to choose emojis that match the theme of the newsletters. 

In emoji marketing, the following are widely used:

Branded symbols, aiming to capture the attention of potential clients on social media. For example, Burger King does this quite ironically.

Content projects and emojis aimed at enlightening society and drawing attention to issues. For example, the #EmojiScience project by GeneralElectric educates about chemical and physical phenomena/problems through informative experiments.

Meta tags with emojis. Symbols in descriptions and titles make a website's presentation in search results more appealing, better convey the essence of the description, and increase CTR.

Emojis in advertising campaigns. It's important not to overdo the creativity: for a wedding agency, a cake icon would suffice, while for a tour operator, emojis with a suitcase or airplane would do.

In conclusion

With a measured dose of emojis in the advertisement, all metrics instantly increase (clickability (CTR), engagement, views, reactions, comments, conversions, etc.). Trust this approach to enhance the effectiveness of advertising and set the right emotional tone for promotion!