"Emoji" (also called emoticon or smileys) is a Japanese term to designate pictograms that can be added to your messages to emphasise your content and attract your users' attention.
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Every emoji have a meaning. They can substitute a word, express a feeling and are a staple element of the current communication strategy.
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They can be used in every type of business field:

Emojis are fun, but they can help you get better at communicating with your audience. Use them to:

✅ Improve your open rate: Adding visual elements such as emojis impact positively your user attention. It has been proven that emojis increase the visibility of your message and thus your open rate by 80% (average between iOS and Android).

✅ Increase your user retention: When used as a tool of classification for your campaign, emojis help your users to know what subject is covered by your message. You now have a clearer way to communicate with your audience.

✅ Shorten your messages: Push notifications are short messages. Every character matters, especially in the title of your message. When it feels right, substitute words for emojis.

✅ Be more impactful: Users have a very short attention spans. Train your audience to associate an emoji with a type of content when they see it.

✅ Think outside the box:  Get creative by adding disruptive elements to your message that will make it stand out and differ from your competitors.

Here are all the existing methods to insert emoji in your title and body text:

Where Should I Add Emojis?

As emojis can fulfil different goals you can place them at different places:

💡 In the title: This is the most effective way to attract the attention of your users. You can use an emoji to inform them when a live show starts or present the topic of the message.

💡 In the body: As push notifications have to be short, you can easily replace a word with an emoji. This will allow you to save space, emphasis your communication and encourage users to open the notification and know more in your app.

💡 In the button of your In-App message: This space is also a good one to use emojis if you want to boost the performance of your campaign.
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💡 In your web push: As with mobile campaigns, you can add emojis to your web push campaigns. We recommend that you put the emoji at the beginning of the push body (so that it is seen and attracts the eye).

How Many Emojis Should I Use?

You can use as many emojis as you want, as long as your message stays clear, understandable or funny, depending on your objective.

Which Emojis Should I Use?

There is a large variety of emojis you can use. When it comes to picking the right emoji for the right meaning, the best solution is to stay relevant:

⭐️ When talking about sport/food/piece of clothing: Use emojis that embody the theme or the action ( 🥊, 🍔, 🎩, 🤳, etc)

⭐️ When talking about a live event: Use emojis that illustrate the upcoming event or a recording (🔴, 🔜, ▶️, 🆙, etc)

⭐️ When explaining a feature/service: Use emojis inviting to know more by opening the message (📍, ℹ️, ✅, 🆕, etc)

⭐️ When suggesting to open the app: Use emojis that show that there is more to discover in the app  (👉, ➡️, 🔥, ⏳, etc)

Can I Use All the Available Emojis? 

Depending on your business field, some emojis may be inappropriate or confusing for your users. Cultural context is an element you have to take into account when creating your message, for instance, 🙏 can either be understood as praying in hope of something or thanking someone, 🙃 is understood as sarcasm and silly faces but in fact, is used when text-flirting.

Also note that some emojis may be sex-correlated such as 📯, 🍆, 🍑, 💦, 🍌.

How Can I Be Sure Emojis Will Improve My Campaign Performance?

If you did not use emojis before with your audience, then use Batch's A/B test module to see if they have an impact on the performance of your campaign. Repeat the experience for a certain amount of time and see how your audience reacts.