Emojis in marketing: what to use, and what to measure?

The approach of “let's throw in a few emojis and it will be better” lacks a goal. What do you want: more interested parties, better understanding of a condition, more sign-ups, or fewer follow-up questions? These are separate tasks, so their evaluation also differs.

First make the offer understandable

A post should reveal what you offer, who it is for, and what the next step is. Choosing the emoji should follow this. If there is no concrete offer in the text, adding symbols does not solve this deficiency.

Two invented text samples for the same event:

🔥🚀 Huge opportunity! Don't miss out! 🎉

The beginner ceramics workshop starts on Saturday at 10 o'clock. We provide the materials and tools. You can find the details and the registration form on the program's page. 🏺

The second one reveals the program, the time, and the method of registration. The text makes this clear; the vase only indicates the theme. For this reason, the two examples are not suitable for measuring the independent effect of the emoji.

Let the symbol have a nameable role

You can use an emoji to indicate the theme, supplement thanks, or convey a festive situation. When choosing, state in one sentence why it is included in the text. If the only answer is “it makes it more colorful”, try reading the post without it.

Uniform rules for every channel are not necessary for the quantity. For a short service announcement, a fully text-based format may be sufficient. In a community celebration, multiple symbols may be justified, but repeated sequences may become distracting when read aloud. Accessibility guidelines for social content also recommend moderate use. Source: Section508.gov

Create a small, usable sample library for the brand. Include thanks, event announcements, product information, and problem handling. Choose according to the tone of the given situation. It is rarely worth writing a complaint and a birthday greeting from the same template.

This is how you examine its own effect

For comparison, prepare two otherwise identical texts. For example, one ends with 🏺, the other does not. Your question could be: “Does the ratio of completed sign-ups change if the program name is accompanied by a fitting emoji?”

If the system used supports it, randomly assign comparable groups to two variations, and modify only the presence of the emoji. The offer, timing, targeting, and progression should remain identical. Record in advance how long the trial runs and based on which result you decide. This is a simple editorial testing framework; for more serious decisions, an appropriate sample size and statistical evaluation are also required.

Comparing posts published on two separate days that differ in several details is at best suitable for orientation. The difference could have been caused by the time, the audience, or the offer. In such cases, do not automatically attribute the entire difference to the emoji.

After the click, also check what happened

In the sign-up campaign, look at both the click-through rate and the completed sign-ups, relative to the size of the compared groups. There may be fewer sign-ups despite more clicks. For customer service information, it is also an important result whether follow-up questions on the same condition are needed less frequently.

With little data, formulate conservatively: “In this trial, we saw this; further observation is needed.” If multiple factors changed in the test, note this as well. Documented uncertainty helps in planning a better next experiment.

For your next post, first write the understandable offer, then choose a justified symbol from the emoji search. Decide on keeping it based on your own usage experience and properly evaluated data.