Small business secrets...

Emojis in email - should you be using them?

Posted by Suzannah Hale on Apr 17, 2018 9:41:25 AM

emojis-in-email

A picture is worth a thousand words – and an emoji can show your emotions through the internet. Emojis are based on symbols from Japanese comics and express emotion through digital communication. The idea is to provide a reaction when emailing, texting or messaging someone who can't see your body language.

Today, nearly every messaging program and even those used in business applications offer a variety of emojis. But, just because they're available doesn't mean you should use them! There are some concerns with emojis in the workplace, especially if they should be used in your external communications.

In this article, we’ll go through the things to consider before you start using emojis in your business emails.

They grab the attention of your readers

Emojis grab the attention of your subscribers and increase open rate in a way that text subject lines just don’t! In an inbox full of text, a small yellow smiley brightens it up and draws attention to your email. And the better your reader sees your email, the more likely they are to open it.

Emojis help to increase your brand awareness

Believe it or not, being noticed in the inbox can also increase your brand awareness. This is also true if your emails aren’t being opened. They help attract attention, ensure instant recognition, provide opportunities to be creative with your brand and reduce print space. Brands can also use them to increase brand awareness by creating their own unique emoji which customers will come to expect and enjoy.

Do emojis fit your brand?

Emojis don’t fit every brand, and that’s down to several factors: customer age and attitude, your communication tone, and the way you approach your customers. Emojis are fun, playful and youthful. If your brand is nothing like this, they are probably not for you, and it could confuse your customers. A good way of validating whether the use of emojis will have a positive impact on your results is to test them.

They might not even show up

All your email contacts (using Gmail, iOS Mail, etc.) show emojis slightly differently. In addition to this, some emojis are not supported in Outlook, and will just show as a blank square ▢, instead of your intended icon. To get around this, ensure your content makes sense with or without the emoji showing up.

They make you seem less competent

According to studies, using emojis could actually appear less competent! It’s important to make sure if you’re using them, you input them correctly and don’t use them out of context or overuse them. The last thing you want is for your customers to think you’re incompetent or unprofessional.

Final thoughts

Consider all the pros and cons of these small and funny icons and use them wisely. Emojis will spice up your email subject lines and help to get more attention from your subscribers. But be careful not to appear unprofessional by using them out of context or using them too much.

 

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If you have any questions or comments about this post, please fill in the comment box below. Or send me an email: shale@bonline.com. To find out more about bOnline, please visit our website.

 

Topics: Small business tips, Latest

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