The overwhelming use of emojis in social media is undeniable, and the variety includes everything from happy faces or the “smiley poop.” Now it appears as though the popularity of emojis may overtake common words.
A pair of reports from eMarketer helps gives some solid evidence. The first one, titled “Who Needs Words When You Have Emojis ” discusses how half of the comments on Instagram are made up on emojis and how they’re increasingly used in captions.
Based on numbers provided by AYTM Market Research, 48.9 percent of adult users on the Internet in the U.S. have used some form of emoji, either in social media or in text messages.
The chart breaks down the frequency of emoji use across social media and messages. 22.7 percent indicate that they use them only sometimes, while 14 percent state they used them often. However, the poll does not include teens, who are a prime demographic for emoji use.
Emojis also take brand interaction a long way. A poll conducted by Iconosquare last year indicates that “publishing content and using hashtags provided by brands” was one unique and effective way for Instagram users to interact with contests on the Facebook-owned social platform.
Estimates show that from the 77.6 million people in the U.S.will access Instagram across all devices, showing a a year-over-year growth of 20.9%. That audience may grow to 111.6 million by 2019, with four in ten web users and a third of the population using the site and emojis as an expressive tool.
Emojis are more commonly used by U.S. users both online and through mobile devices. The top reason “They help me more accurately express what I am thinking,” say 70% of responses. The second most-cited reason is “It makes it easy for other people to understand me” at 64.7 percent, and “They help create a more personal connection with the other person” in third with under 50 percent.
Brands have taken note, and have been increasingly open to including emojis as a form of communication. Brands like GE, Goldman Sachs and Chevy are just a few notables. Chevy even went as far to center a campaign, #ChevyGoesEmoji, around them this summer, bringing in Norm MacDonald on board for a series of Emoji Academy videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch v=_ks1gQKdtgA
Emogi, a communications company, conducted a study that indicates around nine in ten U.S. Internet users use Emojis in one form or another. Out of that group, seven of these ten said they use them to better expression their thoughts, while 65 percent believe that people better understand them.
So brands’ enthusiasm for emojis is almost certainly valid. Just make sure if you’re playing, you’re playing it cool.
