Step Up Your B2b Marketing Game with Emoji

As we journey through the realms of B2B emoji usage, we'll uncover how these colourful symbols can enrich your marketing efforts, from email subject lines that capture attention to social media posts that foster engagement. We'll explore the psychology behind emojis and how they evoke emotional responses, ultimately leading to more meaningful connections with your audience.

Moreover, we'll provide practical guidance on how and when to use emojis, ensuring that your B2B communications remain on-brand and effective. By the end of this article, you'll not only appreciate the value of emojis in your marketing toolkit but also be equipped with the knowledge to wield them effectively in the competitive world of B2B marketing.

Three Benefits of Mastering Emoji 

• Emojis are great for forming ✨emotional bonds ✨
  Emojis are modern-day facial expressions and body language. They communicate the nuances, the expressions that used to be exclusive to face-to-face conversations. Therefore, using emojis alongside your copy is a clever way to provide people with ‘visual cues’ that help elicit emotive reactions.
  Research has shown that our brains now react to emojis similar to how we react to human faces. This is key for brands and businesses to humanise their image by adding emojis to brand messages in order to deepen their connection with audiences. Emojis help remind audiences of the presence of company staff in a corporation.

• Emojis play up your copy
  It is easy for any written content to look dull. Emojis bring colours and emotions to your audience before they even engage with the content. For long-form content, emojis help break down text walls by dividing them into smaller sections, guiding audiences’ reading flows and highlighting the important keywords. This is especially suitable for social media platforms where audiences engage for entertainment purposes instead of collecting information. 

• Emojis enhance marketing effectiveness
  No matter the content, emojis can give you an instant “relatable click”. Based on a recent survey by Adweek, 58% of respondents stated that they are willing to open emails that include emojis in the subject line, while 64% affirm a keen interest in opening emails that feature their favourite emojis. In addition, when added to push notifications, emojis increase open rates by 85%, and emoji users are 60% more likely to engage with brands through emojis. Considering all these benefits, it is not a surprise that many businesses have started to incorporate emojis into their brand communications.

Emojis In B2B Settings

Do all the benefits of utilising emojis apply to B2B marketing? A survey has shown that among 1,000 Americans, 76% are already using emojis when communicating in professional contexts. We are always expected to use professional and neutral language in the office. However, constant exposure to emojis in the daily chatting environment has somewhat set a new default for digital conversations. We can easily come out as rude and overly serious, emoji can help us build a rapport with our colleagues, clients, and partners. 

Efforts in extending warmth across professional conversations have actually paid off, with research pointing out that adding emojis into email subject lines can increase open rates by 43%. The plight is even brighter for conservative sectors – emojis used in push notifications reveal Business and Finance industries experiencing the sharpest increase in open rates by 128%. The runner-ups are utilities and services, and retail. 

Nonetheless, it does not guarantee 100% success for everyone. In fact, utilising emoji also causes a great loss in click-through rates for entertainment and events, travel, and hospitality industries – reminding brands to handle emoji marketing with caution.

Do It with Care

• Generational gap
  Just like any other marketing language, we need to “speak” emoji like how our audiences like it. Different generations use emojis differently. Consumer research from Brandwatch reveals a divergence in emoji use across generations. Baby Boomers and Gen X uses a lot of happiness and gratitude-related emojis, and Gen Y and Gen X leverage a more diverse spectrum of emojis. Interestingly, ❤️ and other heart symbols are frequently used by all generations.
  On an important note, although emojis help brands speak their audiences’ lingo, they need to be reminded of the brands’ ‘targeted’ audiences and not blindly utilise Gen Y and Gen X’s ‘languages’ in their marketing and communication strategy. Thus, precautions are necessary when crafting emoji-filled messages to different target audiences. 

• Slang and cultural codes
  Despite using the same set of symbols, emojis are decoded differently by different cultures. Thanks to globalisation and digitalisation, people may have embraced a certain agreed use of emojis, however, there are still variations among various cultural backgrounds. Understanding the emoji use of your target regions is particularly critical for transnational or global brands. Therefore, always look up possible connotations for emojis before putting them into use. A simple click on Google can prevent an embarrassing image crisis for your brand.

• How and When are important questions
  You don’t want to get too carried away with emojis. Emojis are supposed to accentuate your texts as they can also deliver simple messages on their own. Choosing to deliver your brand messages solely through emojis is very risky. Moreover, considering how emojis are a huge part of chatting culture, they can have a negative impact on your important messages. If your business has encountered a severe communication crisis, adding emojis to your official statements can cause confusion among audiences and make them think less highly of your capacity to relate and communicate. One bad example of misused emojis was made by Chevrolet, by decided to give out their press release in emoji language for their #ChevyGoesEmoji campaign;

Image: Chevrolet

Although a follow up tutorial with materials to decode their map of symbols was given, the concept ruined the most critical aspects of a press release: straight-forward and accessible information. The failure of Chevrolet was largely due to the lack of understanding of consumer behaviour and poor audience research. Just because emojis have increased in use does not mean that everyone can understand it and is willing to decode a page-long of emojis.

• Testing for long-lasting

A carefully crafted emoji marketing campaign is essential for better results. Do your audiences react better with sarcastic emojis or party emojis? Do posts using emojis as bullet points have better click-through rates? What emojis do your Threads audiences engage with the most? Answer every question you can come up with using A/B testing. Use the data to decide the best strategies for your emoji campaign including the fixed set of brand-related emoji, preferred frequency and format.

Incorporating emojis into your B2B marketing strategy isn't just about adding a playful touch; it's a powerful tool for connecting with your audience on a deeper, more human level. As you've discovered, emojis can convey emotions, simplify complex ideas, and enhance engagement. By harnessing the emotive and visual power of emojis, you're not only strengthening your brand's communication but also forging stronger connections with your business partners. So, go ahead and add that smiling emoji to your next email or social media post – it might just be the key to unlocking more meaningful B2B relationships and driving the success of your marketing campaigns.