Emojis are often associated with casual social media messaging. But did you know you could use an emoji in marketing and customer service as well? Emojis used in these fields are as effective as they are when used in social messages with family and friends. However, you have to use them strategically to get the best results.
💡 Read Creating a Marketing Strategy that Works: Benefits, Steps, Tools
Here’s a comprehensive guide to using emojis as a marketer or a customer service agent. In this article, we highlight the benefits of using emojis and best practices. You’ll also learn some popular emojis and their appropriate use cases.
Let’s dive in!
What Is an Emoji
An emoji is an icon or image that can be inserted into digital text to convey an emotion or idea. “Emoji” is a Japanese word. The “e” there means picture while “moji” means written character. Emojis come in the form of pictograms, ideograms, smileys, and logograms. They can be used in text messages, emails, and social media.
The Unicode Consortium is responsible for reviewing, standardizing, and releasing the emoji code to corporations like Google, Samsung, and Apple. This is why users can see practically the same emojis no matter the platform or device they use.
Over 3000 emojis have been approved and listed on the Unicode Standard as of June 2024.
It’s worth noting that emojis are not the same as emoticons. While emojis are digitally animated pictures that come with their own code, emoticons are created combining keyboard characters.
Benefits of Using Emojis in Marketing and Customer Service
Now let’s look at how using an emoji for marketing and customer service can help you get better results:
Humanizes the Brand
Just like people, brands have specific personalities. Emojis are a great way to showcase yours. They humanize your brand and make it more approachable and relatable.
Complement use of emojis with AI templates to write your brand messages. You should come up with messages that don’t only showcase your personality but also resonate with your audience.
Breaks Language Barriers
Pictures and pictograms are a universal language. Anyone can understand imagery just by looking at it. Since emojis are pictures too, they help you convey your message where words fall short.
Additionally, emojis help you convey the correct tone of voice to the reader. For instance, consider the following messages:
- “I look forward to it.”
- “I look forward to it 😃.”
You’ll notice that each phrase elicits different feelings when you read it. When talking to a friend, you’d probably use the second sentence since it’s more casual. The first sentence is better used when speaking to your boss since it’s more formal and conveys professionalism.
Ultimately, when you use an emoji for marketing and customer service the right way, you reduce possible instances of misinterpretation.
Enhances Messaging Experience
Emojis enhance the messaging experience, leading to enhanced brand engagement.
Statistics show that using emojis in email subject lines boosts the open rate. It can also increase engagement on Instagram by a staggering 48% and on Twitter by 25%!
Where Emojis Can Be Used
Since emojis are effective in getting messages across (provided you use them the right way, of course), you can use them in any form of marketing and customer service. Let’s explore each use case in detail:
Email Marketing
As stated earlier, emails that include emojis in the subject line receive a higher open rate. They can also be added to the email body for even better results. Don’t overdo it, though. If you use too many emojis, you run the risk of your target audience not taking you seriously. Besides, an email with too many emojis may look like spam to email filters.
We’ll talk about the best practices for using emojis in customer service and marketing communications, including email marketing, later.
In the meantime, here are a few examples of well-used emojis in email marketing.
The general recommendation is to send marketing emails with emojis to customers who already have a lasting relationship with your brand. First-time customers who don’t know your brand personality as much might misinterpret your emojis and get offended.
Social Media Marketing
Using emojis in social media marketing is a great way to boost audience engagement and social media ROI. Since the whole point of brands having a social media presence is to interact with customers, emojis have become a staple on posts published on these social platforms.
Check out this sample post from a watch brand:
On social media, customers themselves sometimes use emojis when interacting with posts published by their favorite brand.
Read Social Media Monitoring vs Social Media Management – Definition and Differences
Advertising
Emojis aren’t as popular in advertising. That’s not to say they aren’t used. In fact, several big brands use them in their advertising campaigns. Here’s an example from McDonald’s.
Apart from traditional ads, you can use emojis in Facebook, Instagram, and X ads. If used strategically, emojis can take your advertising efforts to the next level.
Customer Service
Customer service is every brand’s way of connecting with customers. It basically entails solving any challenges your customers encounter while using your products. That said, emojis are typically used to communicate empathy and add emotion to the customer service process.
They can also be used to request for customer reviews on the service received. Check out the example above.
Popular Emojis in Marketing and Customer Service
You’ve probably come across these emojis in one way or another. Here’s how they look and what they mean:
- Dollar 💲- This emoji is commonly used to highlight sales or services that potentially save the reader money. It can also mean “revenue-generating.”
- Rocket 🚀- This is used to demonstrate growth.
- Smiling Face 😄- This shows delight, understanding, or anticipation. It’s one of the most classic emojis out there.
- Thumbs Up 👍- This is one of the most widely understood emojis. It communicates positive sentiments and indicates approval.
- Fire 🔥 – You can use this to depict hot sales, fast-selling products, or exciting brand news. It literally means “on fire.”
- Star ⭐- This can mean different things in different contexts. It can mean literal stars or star power. It can be used to depict A-class products, highly-rated products or even the customer (the star).
Best Practices for Using Emojis
Emojis on their own can help get your marketing or customer service message across. But you need to still use them the right way.
Here are some best practices for using an emoji in marketing and customer service.
Check for Relevance of the Emojis to the Subject
Irrelevant emojis look misplaced. So, make sure your emojis align with the subject. Review the previous section to see popular emojis in marketing and customer service and their use cases.
In customer service, the timing is key as well. As much as possible, use emojis in your customer service communications only after the customer issue has been resolved. The customer might think you’re making light of their issue if you use them beforehand.
Overall, you should use emojis to emphasize points and make your message clear, not just for aesthetic purposes.
Check for Consistency of Emojis across all Marketing Channels
If you post a similar message across all your marketing channels, use the same emojis across the board. This helps with the memorability of your message.
Additionally, only use emojis that align with your brand’s tone of voice.
Check for Audience Resonance with Emojis
In general, emojis work better when sent to audiences who are emoji users themselves. So, carry out consumer research.
You can also look into how these customers use emojis. Then apply the same emojis in a similar context. That way, you’re sure the emojis don’t get misinterpreted.
Don’t Overuse Emojis
Overusing emojis beats the purpose of using them as attention-grabbing communication elements. Less is always more when it comes to emojis. Use them sparingly to avoid confusing your readers. Here’s an example of emoji overkill you need to avoid:
If you’re using email, one or two emojis in the subject line is acceptable. There’s no hard and fast rule for the maximum number of emojis you can include in the email body. For social media posts, a maximum of four emojis is recommended. You can follow the same rule with ads (although you can go a bit more with traditional ads like McDonald’s if it helps get your message across) and customer service communications.
Overall, the general rule is this: if the emoji you use for marketing and customer service doesn’t add value to your message, do away with it.
Test Your Drafts with Emojis Before Sending
You probably won’t get your emoji game right at the first attempt. That’s where testing comes in. Conduct A/B testing with your marketing channels to see whether messages with emojis work better than those without.
If you’re sending a customer service message, you can ask someone you know to help you with testing. Send them two versions of your message: one with emojis and the other without. Then ask them which one resonates better with them and gets your message across.
Conclusion
An emoji is an icon or image that conveys an emotion or idea. Using an emoji for marketing and customer service is a great way to engage your target audience. But it’s essential to have a strategy when using these characters to truly elevate your customer service and marketing game.
Use characters that resonate with your audience and are relevant to the subject. Also, use them consistently across channels for more effective results. Don’t overdo it. As a final tip, test your draft with emojis before sending it to the intended recipient.
Now you’re all set to incorporate emojis into your customer service and marketing strategy.
Author Bio James Westfield is the Marketing Manager for Writer, an AI writing platform designed for teams. He has over 10 years of experience in the industry. When James isn’t in the office, you can find him on the golf course.
