SMS marketing can be an effective way to engage customers and prospects. The use of emojis can help to capture a customer’s attention and make business texts stand out.
Emojis help to convey emotions and create visual interest. They can also be used to break up long messages and make them easier to read. When used correctly, emojis can help to create a fun and engaging experience for customers.
So, in this article you'll learn:
Curious to know all these things? Let's dive in!
What are emojis?
Emojis are small digital images or icons used to express an emotion, idea, or feeling. They are commonly used in text messages and social media posts to add a fun visual element to communication.
Should you use emojis in SMS marketing messages?
It really depends on the type of business you have, the target audience you are trying to reach, and the tone you are trying to convey. In general, emojis can add a fun and friendly touch to your messaging but should be used sparingly, and with caution. If you're unsure, it may be best to avoid using emojis.
People use emojis for various purposes. According to Statista, here are the top reasons for using Emojis according to internet users in the USA.
Best emojis to use in text marketing campaigns
✅ - A heavy check mark in a text message means something is approved or confirmed. You can use this emoji in text messages as a bullet point too.
✉️ - Envelope emoji helps the text recipient that there’s an unopened text message in their inbox. So, they will actively open the message to read it. It will help to improve the text message open rate in your SMS campaign too.
📱 – Mobile phone emoji is commonly used to concerning mobile phones, technology, and communication.
🤩 – The star eyes emoji represents excitement, fascination, or speechlessness. Best suited for discounts and promotional SMS campaigns.
😊 – Smiley face is used in text messages to express positive feelings and to show gratitude. Can be used when collecting feedback from your customers.
💌 – Love letter emoji is used to express affection, romantic love, positive vibes, etc. It’s a great emoji to be added to your Valentine’s Day business text messages.
📢 – If you’re sending announcements to your audience, put an emoji of a megaphone or public address loudspeaker to easily grab their concentration towards your SMS.
🎉 – The party popper emoji expresses the feeling of surprise, celebration, achievement, and happiness. Can be used in many SMS marketing use cases.
👍🏼 – Thumbs up emoji is ideal to use when sending appreciation text messages to your staff. It also indicates agreement, approval, encouragement, or assurance, an equivalent to “Awesome!” or Great job!”.
🔔 – Even though the Bell emoji is used in general SMS notifications and reminders, some businesses are using it to send Christmas text messages, and seasonal greetings since it looks like a Christmas bell.
Benefits of using emojis in SMS marketing
1. Increased Engagement
Emojis can help to boost engagement by adding visual interest to your message and making it stand out from other text-based messages. Emojis can also add an emotional layer to a message that helps to increase engagement. They draw attention to the message and can be used to express feelings and reactions that words cannot.
They can also be used to create a more personal connection with the receiver, as they can be used to convey tone and humor that a simple text message might not. In addition, emojis can be used to break up a long message, making it easier to read and understand.
2. Improved Brand Recognition
Emojis can help to strengthen your brand identity and make it easier for customers to recognize your brand. Emojis can be used to create a unique visual logo for a brand that can be used in all of its marketing communications.
For example, a coffee business can put a cup of coffee into their text messages, while a pizza restaurant can include an emoji of a slice of pizza in their SMS campaign.
3. Connect with Your Audience
Emojis are a great way to add emotion and personality to a message and help you to connect with your audience on a more personal level.
4. Increased Open and Click-Through Rates
Emojis in SMS can help to increase open rates and CTR by providing a visual element that draws attention and catches the eye of the recipient. Studies have shown that including emojis in SMS marketing messages can lead to higher open and click-through rates than messages that don’t include emojis.
5. Increased conversions and sales
When a customer receives an SMS from a brand that contains an emoji, it can help to create a sense of connection between the brand and the customer, which can lead to more conversions. Emojis also make messages stand out, which can help to grab the customer's attention and increase the chances of them taking the desired action.
Why should you use emojis in SMS campaigns with caution?
Limited compatibility: Not all users have the same level of support for emojis, as different devices and operating systems may not be able to read them. This could lead to unintended results, such as distorted images or even blank messages.
May have different interpretations: Different users may interpret the same emoji in different ways, making it difficult to ensure that your intended message is received.
Over-reliance: Using too many emojis in a marketing campaign could lead to a lack of clarity and engagement, as users may become overwhelmed or bored if the message contains too much imagery.
Inappropriate use: Emojis can be unintentionally misconstrued or even offensive, so it's important to use them appropriately and sparingly.
Lack of professionalism: Using emojis in SMS marketing campaigns could be seen as unprofessional and be off-putting to more serious customers.
How to properly use emojis in SMS Marketing (best practices)
Emojis can be used to convey tone in any kind of text message. Therefore, use them sparingly to add a bit of personality to your message. And be wise to choose only the emojis that are relevant to the conversation. For example, if you’re sending a message about an upcoming event, you might add a 🎉.
Make sure you’re using the right emoji. Some emojis have different meanings or connotations in different cultures.
Overusing emojis in SMS is also not a good thing. Remember that a few well-placed emojis can add a friendly touch to your message, but too many can be distracting. Be careful when sending emojis to your clients or customers. Sometimes, emojis can come across as unprofessional, so be sure to use them with good sense, and professionally.
Emojis are a great way to add some fun and emotion to your business texts. They can be used to show excitement, express gratitude, or simply lighten the tone of a conversation. So, don’t forget to incorporate emojis and emoticons for your SMS marketing campaign.
Wondering how to get started with business texting? Talk to us and the Falkon SMS team is always there to help you.