A digital language that PR experts need to know…

Who said that digital communication is impersonal? Emojis are here to improve communication process and bring people closer ever than before. They represent emotions and objects through visual content. Their use can be very helpful during a conversation or involvement in social media because they emphasize and in many cases clarify the meaning of words.

There are many categories of emojis such as symbols, travel, animals and smileys so that to make words alive. The segmentation of emojis enables users to express their feelings in a better way. As the visual content has proved to be an appropriate way to reach target audiences, emojis tend to engage people and there are more than 2, 500 emojis for them to choose. It is important to note that in 2015 the majority of users and specifically 92% of them were using emojis while navigating on social media or texting with others. Furthermore, there are metrics that show the increase of engagement in social media thanks to them and especially in the platforms of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

There is no doubt that these digital images are here to stay, in order to enable people to express themselves during a distant communication with others. In fact, there is research, which has shown that people’s brain has already formed a connection with emotions and emojis. Moreover, specific emojis usually indicate different personality characteristics. For instance the user, who chooses the octopus symbol, might face socialization issues according to the experiment conducted by Daniel Brill. Many scientists state, that the human brain reacts to emojis the same way as when he meets a person face to face.

As people loved this way of communication, some brands noticed this and incorporated emojis effectively in their campaigns. The case of McDonald’s is among the nice ones. The company created a special campaign by using them and proved that choosing the simple way is usually the right way. Their story ended up with smiles, fried potatoes and burger by using a wide range of emojis beforehand. Through this manner, the company managed to give a playful tone to the campaign and make people feel positive about the brand.

However, PR professionals have to follow specific steps for using emojis effectively. The first thing they should take into account is to clarify the appropriate emojis that fit better with their target audiences. These tiny images are a great tool in PR professionals hands, because they can facilitate interaction and conversation with clients and consequently build loyalty and authenticity. Nevertheless, the overuse of them will lead to wrong messages and therefore there is a probability to confuse their audiences. Additionally, all brands are not the same. There are companies that should use emojis a lot such as fashion or food brands, whereas consulting or accountant companies may have to restrict their use.

Marina Kritikou