In the latest Easypromos design update, we’ve added an essential feature: emoji support. Now you can brighten up your promotions and viral messages with a touch of creativity! So in this short post, we’ve shared our top tips for using these adorable little images. And if you’re currently staring at your screen like this: ?⁉️… then click here for a quick explanation of essential terms.
Emoji were first designed by a Japanese company, to help people express themselves in mobile messages. Today, we use these tiny pictures as a digital shorthand for emotions, ideas and even objects. For casual users, they’re a fun and spontaneous way to chat. But as a brand, you should think about using emoji strategically. You can use them to liven up your campaigns, attract attention, and increase participation. Take a look at all the possibilities below.
How to use emoji in your marketing campaigns
- Communicate directly. Emoji can act as a visual shortcut that gets through to your followers faster than text. So use them to grab attention, highlight your brand or announce the promotional prize.
- Increase engagement. It’s simple: emoji are fun! Adding them to your posts will make your brand seem more relaxed, friendly and approachable. Then your followers will feel welcome on your promotion pages.
- Highlight your most important messages. Use emoji as visual triggers to highlight and organize content. Add them alongside keywords, and use them to break up paragraphs or introduce bullet points.
- Make your content more attractive. Emoji add colour, life and comedy to a page. So use them to make your content stand out, instead of showing your followers a black-and-white wall of text.
- Speak your followers’ language. You’ve probably heard people say that English, maths, or even music will be the language that unites the world. But in 2018, it looks like emoji might be the answer. They’re popular, easy to understand, and a completely integral part of online communication.
- Boost your brand. Think about your different target markets and how you segment your online campaigns. Depending on the audience, you’ll want to use more or fewer emoji in your promotions. Showing young and tech-savvy followers that you’re fun and up-to-date can only benefit your reputation.
- Give visual clues. Use emoji to make a clear design link between your brand and the promotion type or event. For example, add a camera ? to highlight a photo contest, or a tree ? for a Christmas promotion.
Emoji errors to avoid
- Make sure you know what they mean. Welcome to the internet, where not everything is what it seems. Some emoji can be unclear. Some have double meanings which could make your brand seem a little… er… unprofessional. Depending on what device you’re using, they might just be too small to see clearly! If you’re not sure what you’re looking at, use a site like Emojipedia to confirm your choice.
- Avoid over-use. Yes, we get excited about emoji updates too. But even if you’ve found a really cute set of images that go perfectly with your brand, make sure you’re not going overboard. Tailor the number to your audience, and remember: use pictures to highlight and organize written content, not replace it.
- Choose your moment. Think carefully about the channel you’re using, the topic you’re discussing, and the prize you’re offering. Sometimes it’s just not the right occasion for a cutesy emoji.
- Know the difference between emoji, emoticons, stickers and gifs. Yes, there is a difference! Set up rules or a style guide to make sure that you’re using them appropriately, and not saturating your posts with a million images.
Feeling lost? Here’s some vital vocabulary
- Emoji are images or pictograms. They’re used to show emotions, ideas and objects in digital communications – for example, on social media, or in your mobile messages. The Unicode Consortium makes sure they’re standardized around the world and across different devices ?️??
- Emoticons are made from punctuation marks, strung together to look like a human face. For example, when you read fun Easypromos posts like this one :-))
- Stickers are larger, colourful illustrations that you can send to friends. They’re a great way to share updates, express feelings, or summarize ideas.
- GIFs are like silent videos, usually just 3-5 seconds long. You can use these mini film or video clips to illustrate your emotions, share a joke, and more.
Now you’re an expert…
… it’s time to try the Easypromos emoji for yourself! Log in to the Control Panel and start drafting your promotions for free.
