Featurecast Story 2 - Emojis

Featurecast Story 2 - Emojis

IM'ing (Instant Messaging) Feature Story Series

Featurecast Story 2 - Emojis

Why are smile(y)s contagious?


Should customer service teams use emojis for business conversations?

Definitely! And here's why: Emojis help support teams communicate nuance and tone during online communications.
 
Besides being eye-catching, emojis can help you emphasize parts of your message and convey positivity in business communications. They've been shown to increase target audience engagement, which can enhance your brand image. They also enrich plain text, helping us identify the true intent behind messages. Plus, they can be a lot of fun 😃🤣.
 
Emojis can be used as visual expressions of our own emotions. They help create a friendly, humanized, and down-to-earth brand image. 

Emojis are wildly popular among millennials, so it's no wonder that brands primarily targeting customers between the ages of 25-40 have embraced their use.
 

Who are you talking to? 

The first impressions

According to social, psychological, and personality studies conducted over the years, first impressions are vital. In face-to-face communication, smiling individuals are perceived as warmer and more qualified than non-smiling individuals. In today's business communications, which are primarily text-based, the “smiley” (the smile emoticon) is a digital representation of a person smiling.

Smile(y)s are contagious

An emoji can help you cut down characters in a message. It can also convey what plain text messages cannot. However, there are ongoing studies to evaluate whether smileys should be used in business communications or not.


How can we break language barriers using emojis?

Marketing

Emojis are often used to target millennial audiences A simple smiley face tends to grab the attention of younger generations.

Communication

Most of our communication is nonverbal these days. Use emojis to add emotion to business conversations and make your message clearer and more meaningful.


Wrapping up

Always "read the room" before using emojis. Finally, to answer whether emojis are unprofessional — they certainly are not. However, using them is not necessarily a bad thing. Different workplaces have different cultures, and younger generations are more or less adapting to it.

I hope you find this article helpful and you will use this feature to make your work life more friendly with emojis.
 
There's more to come. Please watch this space for more IM feature stories.


Until next time,
Kavya Rao
The Zoho Desk team

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