With over 900 million emojis sent every via Facebook messenger, it is no doubt that they are the new way to communicate your emotions. But what do we know about them so far? How is it helpful with marketing our brand?
What is an emoji?
Emoji is a digital pictograph of faces, objects, and symbols. They are of modern invention but their history can be traced back to the early Egyptian pictographs. In the 1880s, a magazine by the name of Puck, an American humor magazine made up punctuation marks that convey emotions like joy, astonishment, melancholy and more. The predecessor was called “emoticon” and was categorized as typographical art. It wasn’t until the 1990s that it became known again thanks to the emergence of the internet.
The invention of emojis is often credited to Shigetaka Kurita in 1999, a part of the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. But they actually released their first set of emoji set wayback in 1997. Inspired by Japanese manga art and kanji characters, Kurita’s emojis were just first targeted to the Japanese market. Shigetaka Kurita made a 176-character emoji set for Japan’s main mobile carrier DOCOMO.
They are a hit in Japan and they caught the attention of DOCOMO’s competitors. To penetrate the Japanese market, tech-giant Apple placed an emoji keyboard on the first iPhone in 2007 and the North American market was so quick to take notice of it. It was in 2011, that Apple officially added an emoji keyboard to iOS.
Nowadays, emojis aren’t only exclusive to Apple users. It is now translated across platforms because of Unicode. Before when you are not an Apple user, you can’t receive the emoji as how it appeared from the sender. But now whatever device you use, you see them as they really are.
How are emojis relevant to your business?
More than self-expression, they are used to stir up emotions. Here are some tips you can take note of in using emojis for your business.
Think about whether should you be using emojis at all.
According to research, Facebook posts with emojis have 57% more likes and 33% more comments. But you should consider your brand as well. If you are working in retail or in anything related to entertainment, you can use emojis to engage clients. However, if you are more inclined to a serious, more scientific venture, you might want to rethink incorporating emojis in your marketing strategy.
Do not overuse emojis.
Yes, I know it is fun to look at. However, the message might not come across to the audience if you put too many of them in your post. People might not take your brand seriously and you might miss potential clients.
You should know what they mean.
Do not use them recklessly. As previously said, they convey emotions and messages. Make sure that the emojis that you use does not have any alternate meanings.
Do not let emojis confuse your message.
Use emojis in moderation. Use text to convey important ideas to the audience.
Find emojis that match your brand.
Try looking for at least 5 emojis that relate to your brand and use them frequently. This way the audience will be able to associate them with your brand.
Most used emojis of 2022
Here are the most used of 2022. You might want to consider using them. Just make sure that it resonates with the message of your brand.
1) Face with tears of joy 😂
2) Loudly crying face 😭
3) Red heart ❤️
4) Rolling on the floor laughing emoji 🤣
5) Fire 🔥
6) Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes 😍
7) Pleading face 🥺
8) Smiling face with hearts 🥰
9) Person with folded hands 🙏
10) Sparkles emoji ✨
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We hoped we helped you use emojis better in relation to your brand. Anyways, see you on our next blog!
Sources
https://www.hackreactor.com/blog/the-invention-of-emojis-a-brief-history
https://www.collecteurs.com/article/a-brief-history-of-emoji
https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-emoji-and-emoticons
