📅 Ever wonder why the calendar emoji’s set to July 17?
It’s the day Apple launched its iCal app, way back in 2002… And now, all these years later, it’s also World Emoji Day! 🎉🥳🎊
I sent my best friend this text a few days ago: “I’ve sunk so low I’m stress eating pudding cups.” At face value, it’s a toss-up whether this was a cry for help, or an invitation to poke fun at my life choices. Lucky for my friend, I ended my text with “🤣”, signalling she was safe to laugh along with me. (And she did.)
What’s the root of emoji? Emotion. A well-placed emoji can foster connection, generate empathy, and provide important emotional context that’s often missing from text-based communications like texts, IMs, emails, and social posts.
If you’re thinking about using emojis with your audience, consider these best practices.
✅ Do keep the medium in mind. A technical white paper probably isn’t the right place to start experimenting with emojis. But including them in social posts can increase engagement by 25.4% on Twitter and 48% on Instagram. When it comes to email, an emoji in the subject line can increase your unique open rate by 29% and your click-through rate by 28%.
✅ Do use emojis for emphasis. Emojis draw attention to key information. Whether you’re making an exciting company announcement or trying to generate fear of missing out on a major opportunity, there’s an appropriate emoji. Don’t limit yourself to the hundreds of facial expressions available either…when paired with the right words, a “⏰” or “🚨” emoji can create a feeling of urgency just as easily as a “😟”.
❌ Don’t overdo it. Emojis should make your message clearer. Limit yourself to a handful of emojis that do this job well. Overdoing it can leave your audience feeling like World War II code breakers, struggling to decipher a top-secret message. 🤔
❌ Don’t take emojis at face value. Sometimes an eggplant isn’t just an eggplant… 😳 Take a few minutes to investigate all the meanings of the emojis you’re planning to use. If there’s any room for misinterpretation, err on the side of caution and leave that emoji out of your communication. At the end of the day, your efforts still need to reflect well on your brand.
Keep these tips top of mind when crafting your next customer communication and you’ll be 🤣 all the way to the 🏦.
