No matter which way you look at it, marketing just isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days of newspaper ads and radio broadcasts; social media has taken hold of brand marketing. Now we have hashtags, memes, and of course, emojis. If you want to stay in the game- and ahead of the curve- you’ve got to keep up with the latest and greatest. It doesn’t matter if you grew up listening to the Beatles or One Direction. Millennials hold the key to success, and you’d better pay attention. As you will see, using emojis in brand marketing couldn’t be more important.
Emojis are massively growing in popularity. Your grandma may even use a happy face 😀 or a heart ❤️ while texting on her iPhone. Even Facebook has added several emojis to their original thumbs-up button. In this age of technology and information, the meaning of what you write sometimes isn’t obvious. People want to express their emotions and make themselves understood. For this purpose, emojis are perfect. They represent a universal language that won’t get lost in translation.
So, what does this mean in the field of marketing? Can emojis actually help you grow your business? Yes, absolutely. Using emojis in brand marketing is one of the best ways to engage with millennials. Generation Z has grown up surrounded by digital information. By using emojis, you can simply, creatively increase brand recognition and improve communication. Emojis are the Ernest Hemingway of content marketing. One symbol can say more than any tweet’s 140 characters. They are simple, expressive, and don’t waste their time getting their point across.
By inserting emojis into your promotional marketing, you will grab millennials’ short attention spans. The benefit of using emojis in brand marketing isn’t just that you’ll look cool doing it (though you certainly will). They are very mobile-friendly, and since most people are glued to their phones, using them is a wise move. In addition, Google rank favors websites that are mobile-friendly. Adding that smiling cat 🐱 or sushi roll 🍥 emoji to your text could actually make your site pop up more frequently.
Now, before you go crazy writing your entire “About Us” page in stars 🌟 and beer mugs 🍻, do some research. Make sure you understand the meaning of the emoji, but also know who your audience is. While using emojis in brand marketing certainly helps you connect with younger people, not everyone is going to be into the same thing.
Look at your demographic. If you feel that using emojis could help you reach them, begin slowly and do some trial runs. Use one or two emojis to expand on the meaning of your message. Start off by testing the waters on social media. This includes calls to action (CTAs), status updates, and responding to clients’ comments. Once you have mastered your strategy, start using emojis in your newsletters, mobile push notifications, and even on your website.
Overall, emojis help to improve communication and relatability. They add a personal, friendly edge to plain text. They are very likely to engage your followers, increasing likes, shares, and comments. Emojis are considered a language- one that is the fastest growing in history. So, if you want to connect with millennials, you have to learn how to speak their language. With websites creating complete urls with emojis and Apple installing an emoji toolbar, it is certain that this is one trend that will not disappear. Don’t let your brand suffer because you’re afraid to throw in that winky face.
