With World Emoji Day coming in just around the corner on July 17th, let’s take a look at one of the most pressing questions in advertising – Should brands use emojis as part of their marketing strategy? The short answer would be “yes.” The longer answer needs more details.

Here Are 4 Reasons Brands Should Use Emojis in Advertising

1. Emojis Scale Past Language Barriers
It’s no secret that emojis are universally understood by people everywhere in the world. So, if your brand is interested in expanding into a new state or country, using emojis as part of the initial marketing strategy could be a great way to gain the attention of the local folks.

2. They Improve the Rate of Engagement
Text can quickly get boring. And given the volume of wordy advertising campaigns being churned out every day, using emojis can be a refreshing change for the end user. In fact, using emojis can improve engagement by nearly 48% on platforms like Instagram.

3. They’re Easily Processed by The Human Brain
The human brain processes visuals several times faster than text. Scientists from MIT have found that we can process entire images in as few as 13 milliseconds. Brands can use this to their advantage and convey a lot more with a single emoji than they could with a string of words.

4. Emojis Offer Opportunity for Innovation
Unlike text, which can only be manipulated to a certain extent, emojis offer greater scope for creativity and innovation. There are around 3,000 emojis in use today, and brands can even create their own emojis to convey their unique message to the end users and consumers. The possibilities are endless.

Practical Tips for Using Emojis in Your Marketing Campaign
The next important question is – How do you go about using emojis in your advertising strategy? While there aren’t any rules set in stone, you can benefit a great deal from these three practical tips we’ve listed here.

1. Know How Much Is Too Much
Don’t make the mistake of being too lavish with your emojis. Often, brands tend to err on the side of generosity and use too many emojis when just one would have sufficed. For instance, using a simple party emoticon when you’re announcing a sale or a discount on Twitter can get the message across more effectively than using multiple emojis.

2. Stay Loyal to Your Brand
Many marketing heads worry that using emojis can dampen the seriousness of their brand. While that’s not entirely true, the nature of your brand certainly influences the kind of emojis you can use. For instance, if your company offers financial consultation services, it’s best to stay loyal to your core theme and use smiley faces, the applauding emojis, and the thumbs-up icon.

3. Use Emojis in Multiple Channels of Communication
Most brands tend to limit the use of emojis to social media channels like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Given the informal nature of these platforms, this trend is quite understandable. But did you know that you could also use these little visuals in the subject of an email? Using the right smileys around Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and St. Patrick’s Day improves the open rate for emails.

The Bottomline – to Emoji or not to Emoji?
As is the answer to most questions, it’s best to emoji with moderation. Using them too much can make the novelty wear off, while not using them at all can make your message come across as stoic and unfriendly. The trick is to use emojis sparsely, in the right places, and in the right manner.