The Power of Emojis in Marketing

Author: Eileen Boh Category: B2B, B2C, Branding, Digital & Social Media, Marketing, Nonprofit, Retail Date: March 11, 2016

It is undeniable that we are becoming an extremely visually-reliable culture. The use of quick images, videos, meme and emojis have taken over our social communication world. The days of abbreviations and acronyms are quickly becoming a forgotten trend. So…what does that mean? What is the next social communication tool? What trend do I have to educate myself on now?

The answer: Emojis!

Emojis help communicate what previously was unable to be communicated through textual communication, emotions. There are over 1,620 emojis supported in iOS 9.1 (which is the latest iphone operating system). This means you have a variety of over 1,620 emotions and ideas to communicate solely through the use of images… this does not even account for the combination of various emojis used in one text entry.  You might think that emojis are only being used by the younger generations, but in fact there is a wide span of emoji users. Adweek’s research shows that an estimated 92% of the online population use emojis.

How does this effect my business though? What does this have to do with my brand?

You see, consumers are more likely to share an advertisement, promotion or marketing campaign if they have a positive emotional interaction with those various marketing tactics. The positive emotions can be seen through the use of the consumers online interaction. Many consumers associate a positive emoji with an advertisement for many reasons: It is relevant to me, it is interesting, it is important to be, I believe the ad’s message and many more. The more positive emojis that you can generate through consumer/client interactions online, the more social media exposure your brand will gain.

To see the breakdown of the usage of emojis by gender, age and many other factors, click here to read Ad Week’s full infographic article.