Since 2014, every July 17th the #WorldEmojiDay, a day that commemorates the use of emoticons in all . Every day emojis are used by millions of people, and they have also been used by different brands to advertise their products and have even reached the big screen with โEmoji the Movieโ.
It was on September 19, 1982 when Scott Elliot Fahlmana computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, decided to create the first emoticons so that people could distinguish, on an electronic message board, what the tone of the message was, using ๐ when it was a joke message or ๐ for actual messages. An idea that pleased everyone and that today is still used by many users.
But it was not until 1999 when the first color emojis appeared, designed by Shigetaka Kurita, Japanese interface designer, who created 176 12 x 12 pixel characters, inspired by Japanese culture such as manga and kanji, for use by the NTT DoCoMo mobile internet platform for which he worked. Kurita’s goal was create a purely pictographic language to convey information.
His original 176 emojis included hearts, cars, and even a snowman, but surprisingly, they did not include any human faces. The word emoji comes from the Japanese ็ตต (“e,” drawing), ๆ (“mo,” writing), and ๅญ (“hee,” character). These Japanese characters, or “kanji,” are a fundamental part of the Japanese language, creating a strong link between writing and drawing.
More than 20 years later, it is almost unthinkable to send a WhatsApp message or an email without adding one of these cute icons. Thanks to these symbols, we can communicate with anyone, but as emojis spread throughout the world, its use also becomes more sophisticated, contextual and confusing.
Interestingly, it wasn’t until 2010 that emoji were incorporated into Unicode, the standard that governs software encoding of text. This year, 722 emoji were released on both iPhone and Android. Currently, there are more than 3,000 different emoji , taking into account the different variations (for example, in skin color) that each of them contemplates. with additions as curious as the face between clouds.
The Unicode standard is continually updated, and platform providers (such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung) or application providers (such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp) implement new emojis for them.
โToday we use emojis more and more to communicate in different situations. There are many emojis that are very easily understood, such as the use of smiling faces or thumbs up, but we have created a vocabulary of literally thousands of emojisโ Explain Romina Gonzalez Galetto, Regional Manager of Hootsuite in Spain. โWhat seemed like a universal language that could be easily interpreted and shared with anyone anywhere in the world is turning out to be the opposite. In fact, there are even emoji translators“, Add.
To celebrate this day, Hootsuite has revealed what the Most used emoticons on Twitter since 2013:
First, the face with tears of laughter ๐ continues to occupy the first position in the ranking, used 3,128,000,000 times from July 2014 to January 2021. It is followed by Red heart โค๏ธ, used 1,564,000,000 times, and the screaming crying face ๐ญ, which climbs two positions compared to the previous year and is in third place after being used 1,117,000,000 times. โbecause its meaning is very positive. Another emoji that I wish I had created? The poop emoji, but at the time… NTT DoCoMo (said) ‘it’s no good’ and I couldn’t create it.”
However, the least used emojis by Twitter users are the expressionless face ๐ (178,000,000), the smacking face ๐ (183,000,000) and the smiling face with smiling eyes ๐ (184,000,000).
Use of emojis in marketing
The, in which 7,000 people from the United States, Germany, Japan, Australia and South Korea were surveyed, highlights some curious conclusions about the relationship between the use of emoticons and marketing:
- Most global emoji users say that are more likely to open email or reminder notifications that contain emojis (60%), especially if that emoji is their favorite (63%). Gen Z (70%) and millennials (63%) say they are likely to open an email or reminder notification if it contains emoji in the subject line.
- Nearly half of global emoji users are more likely to reply to a message if it contains an emoji (47%).
- Half of global emoji users consider that brands are closer when they use emojis in online marketing (51%)and are more likely to like, comment or share brands’ social media posts if they include an emoji (50%).
- Nearly half of global emoji users are more likely to follow brands on social media if they use emojis (46%).
- 42% of global emoji users are more likely to buy products that are advertised using emojis.
- The top three products that global emoji users are willing to buy if they contain an emoji they are: takeaways, clothing and streaming services.
- Almost half (49%) of the Generation Z they say they prefer customer support teams to use emojis in chat or email when contacting them.
- Please use them with care. Emojis can lead to misunderstandings. These are the three main causes of these conflicts according to the study:
How to use emojis correctly
These famous signs help us communicate and convey our emotions globally, regardless of language, however, many times we use these icons incorrectly. So that we have no doubt, Hootsuite gives us five keys so that the publications on social networks get the most interaction possible when we use emojis.
- Show how you feel: Some emojis allow us to express how we feel, so it is essential to use them both in your posts and to respond to the comments of your followers. It is important to keep the number of negative expressions (sadness, anger, etc.) to a minimum; Although they are necessary on some occasions. ๐๐๐
- Know the recipient of the emoji well: Keep in mind that emojis do not mean the same in all parts of the world, so if an emoji is sent to a foreign client, they may not interpret it the same way. For example, the “crossed hands” (๐) emoji originates from Japan, where two hands together are used to express please or thank you, but translated into a Western context, the meaning of “crossed hands” may not be as obvious. . Many users have adopted this emoji as a symbol of prayer, while others use it as a welcome greeting. You also have to be careful about sending the same emoji to everyone. Sending a certain emoji to a co-worker with whom you have a lot of trust is not the same as sending it to a boss or manager who does not usually use this type of symbol in their communications.
- Use animals to express yourself: Sometimes the use of the usual faces can be a bit boring, so animal emojis can be a great alternative. They are not only more neutral, but can also provoke more emotional reactions. In addition, each of these emojis have a specific meaning, such as the lion, which shows courage. ๐๐ธ๐ฆ
- Interact with your followers: It is important that your followers feel that you are there, so you must interact with them and show them your emotion for some of their actions, even give them your support. ๐๐๐
- Use emojis without excluding anyone: It is important that your followers do not feel excluded when you use any emoji of people, for this Hootsuite recommends using the yellow option, in this way it will be more inclusive and the message will reach all followers equally. ๐ถ๐ต๐จ
- Draw attention: If you want your posts to be interesting and eye-catching, use unusual and fun emojis. ๐ฝ๐ป๐
Why is Emoji Day celebrated on July 17?
But why has July 17 been chosen to celebrate World Emoji Day? It is no accident, since July 17 is the day shown on the Iphone calendar emoticonthe day Apple introduced iCal at the Macworld Expo in New York in 2002. Even Google changed the appearance of its calendar to show this day in its Android, Gmail, and .
Nevertheless, in social networks the day that appears in the calendar emoticon changes. On Facebook it appears on February 4, the day its website was launched in 2004, and on May 14, the date of birth of Meanwhile, on Twitter it appears on March 21, coinciding with the first tweet of its founder where he wrote โconfiguring my twttrโ.
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