Emojis are everywhere. They’re recognisable, simple and eye-catching on social media and even have their own World Emoji Day! (July 17th, if you’re wanting to celebrate the occasion…)
Last year it was estimated that around 5 billion emojis were sent every day on Facebook alone! As they have made their way into daily life, it is still debated if they should be included in business vernacular. Do they have a place in the business world, or should you keep emojis to personal online interactions?
We are looking at the emojis and what to consider before using them in a business setting.
When SurveyMonkey’s recent poll asked both younger and older generations about emojis in the workplace, a few of the young professionals responded with, “Using emojis in the workplace makes work more fun.”
However, the professionals 45 years and older wrote with particular conviction: “Emojis are the height of unprofessionalism.”
But is this a dated view, based on emojis’ more frivolous beginnings, 20 years ago? After all, they have proven to have several benefits in the business world…
Here are just a few facts for you:
- Emojis help drive engagement on all varieties of digital media: email, mobile, and social media.
- Including emojis in email subject lines has been shown to increase open and response rates.
- Push notifications with emojis saw 85% increase in open rates and 9% bump in conversions
So bearing that in mind, If you’re planning on including emojis in your work emails, posts or published work, consider these things first:
Emojis centralises a tone
Emojis appeal to the human side of communication. Establishing a friendly or familiar tone could bring customers much closer to you and provide the opportunity for a relationship between client and business to grow.
Honesty is key – are you forcing them?
Sometimes emojis will just not be appropriate. For instance, sending ?to an angry customer will obviously have an adverse effect! Don’t force them into a conversation just for the sake of it; consider who you’re sending them to first and whether the tone matches the use of emojis.
Will it grab users’ attention in the right way?
Recognisable and bright, emojis can work brilliantly in blog headlines and titles to attract the eye. But use them too often and clients can be bored by them and find both them and your business disingenuous.
The overall message for emojis at work is this. Used sparingly, emojis can be powerful tools for expression and communicating more effectively, but misuse could spell disaster for your professionalism. If you’ve been looking to incorporate more emotion into your communications or to humanize your business, emojis are the way to go!
If you’d like to find out more about how to approach your social media, get in touch with us today!
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