To Emoji or Not to Emoji
That is the question.
There’s something magical about emoji’s. We use them to communicate happiness, laughter, and appreciation whether we’re messaging friends, family, or coworkers.
As messaging enters our workplace and business, one might wonder, “To emoji or not to emoji?” That is the question. And the answer is… absolutely!
People are more direct and more expressive when they have the latitude to use emojis. Friends don’t always explicitly say, “you made me happy” or “I love you” but they do say exactly that with smiley faces and hearts. When you’re not face to face, a customer can’t pick up on nuance like a smile or chuckle so it’s important that you don’t leave them guessing. Emojis are perfect for conveying emotions and tones.
There’s an entire science to emojis but the short of it is that when a customer sees a smiley face in a message, their brain is activated in the same way as when they see you actually smile at them. And customers engage with you when you make them feel good, when you laugh with them, when you show empathy with their needs. Emojis are a perfect indicator that your conversations and relationships with your customers are more personal.
A few stats:
- Emojis in a message lead to an 85% increase in open rates (1). People click on messages that make them feel good.
- Open rates for messages with emojis even outperformed messages with images by 9%.
- Emojis in push notifications increased next-day user retention by 28%.
- Using emoticons like :-) and :D increases engagement on Twitter by 67% (2).
We’re assuming you already use emojis (92% of people do). They’re modern shorthand that will allow you to bring more emotional and personal engagement to your customer relationships. The great brands (Nike, Disney, Starbucks) do this through massive investments in their brand and customer experience. Make your customers feels the same dopamine rush and delight by messaging them.
1. 2017 Leanplum/AppAnnie study
2. Leadsift Twitter Guide, 2015
And just for fun, here are the emojis that had the highest open rates (1).
