As a millennial (someone born during or after 1980), emojis play a large part in how I communicate with others digitally. However, as a marketer, I approach their use differently.
In fact, I could probably have a conversation with my best friend using only emojis and still be able to hold a reasonably coherent conversation.
When you think about it, that sounds pretty crazy doesn’t it?
Whether you like it or not, emojis have almost become their own language amongst young people, and are in themselves also used as a new type of slang. Apple increased emoji size by 300% last year and also finally allowed consumers to enjoy emojis in the skin tone of their choice. They’re certainly not going anywhere.
Instagram found this interesting correlation between the use of slang and it’s replacement with emojis – highlighting further that emojis are fast replacing written word (even though some wouldn’t consider ‘lmfao’ a word – you get the picture).
In hindsight, replacing text with emojis was only going to be a natural progression that millennials would use to maximise on their 140 character world.
At the very least, the inclusion of an emojis can massively alter the way that digital messages are perceived. A similar example of how symbols can affect the way a message is read is the use of ‘x’ in a text message or email. Virtual kisses. Personally, if a friend didn’t include one to me, I’d think I was in big trouble. I wouldn’t necessarily expect ‘xxxx’ at the end of a promotional email – unless that kind of informal communication was part of their brand personality.