Do you hesitate to use emojis in your texts because your consumers may find it unprofessional? Well, you should think again!
According to a survey from Zipwhip, emojis are welcome if used in the right context. Even baby boomers are ok with the businesses who use emoji in an appropriate context.
Being a small business owner, you always strive to make your consumers feel that you care for them. And personalizing communication is one way to do it. You are already using texts to reach customers at the personal level, including emoji in your texts can bring synergy in your communication.
How Different Generations Prefer Communication
We are living in a world where most of us have become a slave to our smartphones. People from every generation, be it the baby boomers or the generation Z, check their smartphones 1-3 times per hour.
With people checking their smartphones so frequently, having a texting communication strategy in place is a winning move for small business owners.
But the question is whether consumers like business texts or not. Of course, they do.
In fact, people from all the generations wish more businesses should use texts to reach them, as found in the survey.
Consumers love to communicate with businesses via texts. And you are not alone in reaching consumers via texts. Your competitors are also doing the same.
85% of baby boomers, 86% of Gen X, 86% of Gen Y, and 71% of Gen Z people have already received a text from a business, as confirmed in the survey.
How can you stand out from the crowd?
A simple solution is to start personalizing your texts with emojis.
Emojis by Generation
Most people from different generations are ok with the use of emojis in an appropriate context.
67% of people from the baby boomer generation like when businesses use emoji in the right context. And Gen Y, also known as millennials, are the most emoji loving generation with 80% of people having no issue with emojis, as confirmed in the survey.
As emojis are accepted among people of all generations, you can start using emojis appropriately to add human intent to your texts.
Here are some benefits you can reap from using emojis in your texts:
- You can express empathy with emojis
- Emojis add personalization to your texts
- You can better connect with your audience
- Emojis give your business a personality
Though emojis, if used appropriately, help businesses communicate more effectively, you should always use them in the right context and try to avoid crowding your texts with them. Too many emojis in a text can confuse your consumers.
The Survey
The Zipwhip team used Survey Money to conduct the survey. They polled members of the baby boom generation, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z ( with an equal number of responses for each generation). The aim of the survey was to get a better understanding of how the members of different generations like to communicate with businesses. You can access the full survey here.
Image: Depositphotos.com
Aira Bongco
Today’s business world is now more flexible with the new breed of professionals. So I guess emoticons are now welcomed.
Hello Aira, you made the right point – Today’s business world is now more flexible with the new breed of professionals. Indeed, they are. And I believe they love human intent emojis bring on the table. Thanks for sharing your thought.
Emojis plays a great role in how we interact with people online. You can show your emotions using it and people love to use it. Thanks for sharing this beautiful post.
Hello Vishwajeet, indeed, emojis are an effective way to add human intent to online communication. Thanks for sharing your thought!
Bran Winegarden
While this is GREAT(!), context is always incredibly important. If you receive a text from your carrier saying you have are over your data limit, a text may not be apt! Rather, it’s best practice to ask for something I term “emoji consent.” I work with a number of companies in a consulting capacity, and I always recommend they employ this practice. If the end-user gives you the go-ahead, feel free to send them emojis; otherwise, use them sparingly, if at all. While it may be attractive to apply an “opt-out” system, it’s always best practice to provide “opt-in.” This way, customers can get something if they want it, but won’t have it forced on them if they don’t.
Hello Bran, emoji consent is a good term. Thanks for leaving an insightful comment!