How to make the most out of emojis on social media

As a social media best practice, you should leverage the power of emojis to make the most of your paid social strategy. There are several ways your brand can utilise emoji marketing to showcase personality, convey tone and boost engagement. Using emojis gives your business the power to express emotion in a way that text can’t, or even gives your business approachable and honest customer communication.

People can process images in as little as 13 milliseconds, so using image-related content i.e. emojis makes it easier for users to build an emotional connection with your content quickly. The more your audience understands and resonates with your content, the more likely they are to engage with your brand.

To find out how your brand can make the most out of emoji marketing keep reading!

What are emojis?

They are small icons and images used on all forms of online communication, including social media. They were first invented in 1999 by a Japanese service provider, then in 2010 they became available to those outside Japan. There are currently over 3500 emojis that people can use; emojis cover facial expressions, common objects, weather, food, drink, flags and so much more.

Why should you use emojis for your brand?

Emojis shouldn’t be overlooked. They are an effective way to showcase brand personality and boost engagement. Instagram engagement rates increased by almost 50% when emojis were featured in content. 51% said they are more likely to engage with a brand if their posts include emojis. These stats show how powerful emojis can be for brands on social media. Therefore, you need to make sure you use emojis in the right way so you can reap the benefits.

The best way your brand can use emojis

1. Use an appropriate amount of emojis in your copy

We all know how easy it is to get carried away and put emoji after emoji in your copy. However, the more you use them, the less effective they can become. Emojis are meant to compliment your message, not remove attention from it. Therefore, limit your emoji use to 1-3 per post; this way you can add an extra dimension without distracting your audience.

2. Make sure emojis align with brand identity

Not every emoji is appropriate for brands to use. Of course, emojis give some freedom and creative expression but brand values, identity and reputation should remain at the forefront of your mind when creating content. A good idea is to get someone else in your team to glance over your emoji choices and check they fit within brand guidelines. Emojis sometimes have dual meanings so being aware of how your audience could perceive your emojis is important.

Emojis can be a great way to express personality and contribute to your brand identity. Don’t be scared to use them but be aware that they are a suitable choice for a business.

3. Be mindful of the context

Before inputting emojis in your social media copy, take a second to think about the subject matter of the post and which emojis will be suitable. Sometimes including emojis won’t be appropriate at all and sometimes including emojis will help get your message across.

If you misjudge how many and what type of emojis to include copy, your audience may perceive your brand as unserious and unprofessional. This can impact their trust in your brand and ultimately interfere with customer loyalty.

4. Use emojis to help convey your tone

Getting your tone of voice right is essential to ensure you resonate with your audience and build an emotional connection. Emojis can be an effective way to convey your desired tone, especially when wanting to include humour or sarcasm in your post. Sarcasm can easily be misinterpreted by a reader, so emojis can help the audience understand your tone.

Emojis also humanise your brand, so using positive emojis to express thanks and gratitude to your audience adds an extra element that helps your audience connect with your brand.

5. Keep up to date and leverage emoji trends

Depending on current events and social media trends, certain emojis can come and go in terms of popularity. Make sure you watch your competitors and engage with your audience to keep up to date with trends, so you can join any popular trends and boost engagement.

By keeping your brand fresh and up-to-date you will not only increase brand credibility but also build your reputation as being in touch with the latest trends. Win-win!

Emoji trend example: Although the skull face has been around since 2010, it has recently gained popularity with social media users when expressing extreme laughter. This shows the purpose of specific emojis can change and being able to adapt to these changes is crucial for increasing engagement from your audience.

6. Make your copy clear by separating text with Emojis

Emojis can also be used to make your copy easier to read. You want to make user experience as positive as possible so breaking up big chunks of copy is a great way to do this. The easier text is to digest, the more likely your audience will remember your message and brand.

For example, Instagram bios are important as they are the first section of your profile your audience will see. Therefore, you must make a good first impression to ensure they explore your brand further. Bios should be clear and give your audience an idea of who you are, what you do and why you do it. By using emojis as ‘bullet points’ to break up your bio copy, your audience gets all the key information in a digestible, easy-to-read way.

It is also important to note that accessibility is important in marketing. By making your content accessible, by using emojis, you can reach a wider audience and appeal to more.

7. Draw attention to your Call to Action

We understand that one of the main reasons brands use social is to increase conversions and ultimately generate more sales. Therefore, you not only need a strong call to action (CTA) copy, but you also need to make sure your audience doesn’t miss it. Emojis can be attention-grabbing, so using them to highlight your call to action can increase the chances users will engage with your CTA.

8. Be creative with Emojis

A creative way to use emojis is to replace words with them; you mustn’t do this with every word but by doing this once or twice, you can make your social media copy more interesting to read.

Top tip: don’t get carried away – make sure your emoji’s name is the exact same word as the one you want to replace.

Another creative way to utilise Emojis is to spell out words or sentences with emojis and encourage your audience to guess the answer. This is an effective way to increase engagement. For example, Netflix ANZ did this on World Emoji Day:

Image source

… and Oreo used emojis effectively to grab attention and increase engagement: