EMOJIS: THE BASICS

Emojis (pronounced “ee-moh-jee”) have become a new and popular way for people and brands to converse with one another. They’re internationally used, for personal and even business purposes. What are they? What makes them so popular? How do you use them? And what do they mean?

What Are They?

The Japanese term, emoji, means “pixel character.” Emojis have become widely used across a variety of platforms including: desktop devices, mobile devices, messaging services, social media platforms, etc. They are a form of communication that allows people to converse an emotion, thought, or idea, through simple imagery.

How to Use Them

On A Computer

One of the most popular emoji resources is emojipedia.com, where you can search for specific emotions and find emojis for practically any situation you can think of.

On A Mobile Device

Emojis have become so popular that they are default set into keyboards on many mobile devices. However, if you don’t have the emoji keyboard visible in your keyboard, try these steps:

iPhone iOs Devices:

Here are some quick steps to adding the emoji keyboard to your iPhone:

Tap Settings > General > Keyboard.
Select Keyboards.
Tap Add New Keyboard.
Locate and tap Emoji.

To test it out and make sure everything is working, bring up your keyboard (for instance open the messages app). Look for the globe icon next to the space bar, click on that. Once you select that, the emoji keyboard should pop up, with all emojis for that device divided into categories.

Android Devices:

Since there are many Android devices and models, the best piece of advice in making sure you have emojis on your phone is to download Google Keyboard (Play Store link).

Once that is downloaded, open your messages app and find the gear icon towards the bottom of your keyboard to pull up a sub-menu. From there, you’ll see a smiley face icon. This will open your emoji keyboard.

If you’re still having trouble, try to search for your specific mobile device’s model – there may be shortcuts or different methods to getting

Why They’re So Popular

1. They Add a Human Element

Emojis add, well… emotion to your messaging. Emotions are one of the most basic human functions. Adding emojis and speaking to friends, clients, a targeted audience, through emojis, adds some human characteristic to your brand. It makes you more relatable, and portrays your brand as more interesting, on top of trends, and fun.

2. They Compliment & Emphasize Your Message

Emojis are great to add to captions and posts on social media. If your brand is international, adding emojis helps create a universal message that everyone can understand by looking at the emoji, even if they can’t understand the written message.

Emojis also are great to add into captions and posts for viewers who tend to scroll through their social content quickly and skim over things. Having a visual to support your written content helps a viewer understand something without even reading

3. They Replace Words

In today’s fast-paced world, people don’t have the time or patience to read full sentences. Emojis can cut down on writing and reading full sentences by replacing words within sentences to shorten a caption or message. This is an especially important and heavily utilized technique on social platforms, where posts have character limits.

Examples of Emojis and What They Should Be Used For

So, now that you know what emojis are, how to use them, and why they’re so popular, let’s take a look at some of the most popular emojis and decode what they mean.

Heart Eyes 😍

This emoji is meant to convey your love for something, whether it’s a foodie Instagram account posting a picture of a jaw-dropping burger, or a beautifully decorated kitchen.

For example: “Check out our newest collection of summertime dresses. Stunning 😍”

Laughing / Crying 😂

This emoji means something is so funny that tears are streaming down your face. This is used in posts with jokes or reactionary posts to something humorous.

For instance: “This article is too relatable 😂”

Side Eye 😏

This emoji looks like a smirk – it’s often in reaction to something clever or sarcastic. It adds an extra dimension to your brand’s character – cunning, witty, and even mysterious.

For example: “We know something you don’t know… yet. 😏 Stay tuned for an announcement coming your way on April 10”

Eyes emoji 👀

This emoji is a great symbol to utilize to attract attention to your message. You can often find this emoji in posts about sneak previews or something coming soon to keep an eye out for. Literally.

For instance: “Keep your eyes on the horizon. 👀 New products launching this summer.”

Sweat emoji 😅

We’ve all had a “Phew! That was a close one” moment probably more than a few times in our lives. Now we don’t even have to say it – we can just use the sweat emoji!

For example: “We survived our Black Friday Sale. 😅”

Hands up emoji 🙋‍

This emoji is often used as a way to communicate “pick me!” or “sign me up!” You’ll see these emojis in comments on social media posts about giveaways, contests, volunteers, job opportunities, etc.

For instance: “Think you have what it takes to be our newest hair stylist? Join the team. 🙋‍”

Thumbs up emoji👍🏾

This emoji is always a good rule of thumb to use (puns intended) in situations where you need to confirm something.

For example: “Like our new shoe color? Give us a little love if you do. 👍🏾”

Kissy face emoji 😘

Similar to, and often used in conjunction with the heart eye emoji is the kissy face emoji. This also symbolizes loving something, or even loving someone.

For instance: “Valentine’s Day is coming up – thinking about that special someone? 😘 We have just the gift for your Valentine.”

Angry face emoji 😠

Just as there are emojis for a wide variety of positive emotions, there are emojis for negative emotions as well. The angry face is typically used in more personal situations with friends and family. This emoji should be avoided for business purposes, unless there’s a clever way your brand wants to tie it into a post, or use it in conjunction with a positive emoji.

For example: “Turn your Monday 😠 into your Monday 😊 with these self care tips.”

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is an emoji worth? With the resources and information above, you can speak smarter. They say work smarter, not harder – emojis do just that.

Does your social media need fresh, exciting content that will speak to your audience and increase engagement? Contact us at ocreations – we love developing and enhancing social media pages for brands. 😍 Let’s get creative, let’s get social.