When Using Emojis, It's Not Enough to Smile

Ahead of World Emoji Day tomorrow (July 17), Emplifi has found that the smiley face emoji is no longer the go-to emoji for marketers on Facebook and Instagram.

Surprisingly, the sparkle emoji was one of top ones used by companies for the second consecutive year. "This emoji is used for positive sentiment, and no doubt with the pandemic, brands have wanted to uplift the spirits of their audience.” explained Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief of strategy at Emplifi.

"Emojis are a form of non-verbal communication, fulfilling the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. Emojis add feeling and emotions to what can be plain (perhaps even boring) text and should be part of the broader human conversation. On social media platforms, no one wants too much text or even too little. You need to strike the right balance. From a brand’s perspective, an emoji helps communicate as it can add tone and clarity to the written post," Ben-Itzhak said.

"Face-to-face communication has been limited during the pandemic, and with greater engagement on social media platforms, brands need to be personable and conversational. Brands should use sentiment analysis that evaluates emojis to better understand their audiences and reactions. Consumers respond well to emoji use, but don’t go overboard. The ideal number of emojis per post peaks at three, after which interactions tend to go down."

The top emojis from Facebook and Instagram are as follows: