Five tips on how to succeed with emojis on Twitter

By
Friday, 30 October 2015

Last week heralded the much-anticipated release of a series of snazzy new emojis in Apple’s iOS9.1. It meant that iPhone users the world over could join with those on Android to express their love of burritos and do some eye-rolling in emoji form. On Twitter, the new taco emoji was welcomed with much fanfare, racking up over 35,000 mentions in a week.

With 80% of our users accessing Twitter via mobile, it’s the perfect platform for emoji fans to express themselves in fun, creative ways. What’s more, people really love to use emoji on Twitter. The top 10 most popular emoji have been used over three billion times*. And with so many emoji characters to choose from, the imagination and personality on display on Twitter has been extraordinary. Check out for example Andy Murray’s emoji game just before his wedding: Impressive.

Twitter ♥ ✔ help unite global conversations

Because we saw how much people loved to use them, earlier this year we introduced a series of exclusive-to-Twitter emojis. Triggered by a hashtag, these limited edition images let people discover and participate in conversations around the biggest cultural moments in the world. Sports fans were able to ride along with the Tour de France, and fans of “The X-Factor” were able to vote with a Tweet.

Around the world, and independent of language, people on Twitter are uniting in conversation, sharing their enthusiasm on topics as diverse as the marriage equality ruling in the US, the Pope’s visit to the White House and the upcoming release of the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

@CocaCola was quick to capitalise on the emoji trend. Its #ShareaCoke Twitter emoji aimed to create a world record around the largest ‘cheers’. This campaign became an organic worldwide trending topic with celebrities, brands, and consumers all joining in.

People ♥ it when brands show emoji love

If emojis help people to inject their personality into Twitter conversations, the same is true for brands on Twitter — and that represents a major opportunity. Twitter emojis give brands the chance to inject some additional fun into their marketing, lighten their tone, and perhaps boost brand likeability. More than ever, it means that they can engage with people on Twitter in a language they understand. Here are our five tips for brands to help with that.

Five tips for brands using ☺ on Twitter

  1. Add personality

    Power your Tweets with emoji to showcase your brand’s personality and add greater emotion to your messages

  2. Be playful

    Have fun with the visual nature of emoji to surprise and entertain followers.

  3. Drive action

    Encourage followers to interact by asking questions that drive action with emoji. For example, @Dominos used a pizza emoji to drive sales. By connecting the Domino’s accounts to their Twitter profiles, people could Tweet a pizza emoji and have pizza delivered to their home.

  4. Champion a cause

    For Endangered Species Day, the World Wildlife Foundation (@world_wildlife) launched #EndangeredEmoji, a campaign designed to solicit support and donations. Each time an Endangered Emoji was Retweeted, a 10p / 10c donation was added to the individual’s account.
  5. Use video

    Bring your campaign to life by using animated emoji to tell stories through native video, Vine and GIFs.

*According to emojitracker.com.