Technologically mediated communication has evolved into an alphabet soup of acronyms, abbreviations, and (my favorite) emojis. The Internet encourages the expression of ideas into the most compressed space possible. So it’s no surprise that emojis have become a central element of the Instagram lexicon. Approximately 50% of all Instagram captions and comments include an emoji or two. Knowing this, Instagram recently updated their app to allow users to hashtag their emojis, making them fully searchable on the platform for the very first time.This update has incredible potential for marketers. What Instagram has given us is a massive UGC photo library of how people are utilizing each emoji character, enabling brands to more effectively grow their followings and engage with existing fans.

WHICH EMOJIS ARE BEING USED

The meaning of an emoji can be rather nebulously defined. So it’s important for brands to know how people are using them. Below you’ll find the top 100 hashtag emojis based on frequency of use.

The overall positivity of the most popular hashtag emojis suggests that users view Instagram as a place where joy abounds, a place where people came to share and consume beautiful, funny, and uplifting images.

HOW CAN THIS HELP GROW YOUR AUDIENCE

When brands correctly use these hashtagged emojis they’re introducing themselves to new audiences, and increasing followers through this organic discovery.At Socialtyze we also quickly realized that there was an opportunity for brands to align themselves or their products with specific emoji hashtags. Despite this feature still being in its infancy, a land grab for emoji-brand association has already begun. A quick search of the High Heel Shoe emoji reveals over 23,000 posts, the most popular of which are almost all from various brands trying to stake their claim. And it works! The top posts on all of the most popular emoji hashtags include native brand posts.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR UGC

UGC product validation is important to your brand because it’s been proven to lead to increased brand loyalty, and increased ROI from social media. So as brand penetration continues into the emoji world, brands will be able to collect and track UGC more easily, and engage with their customers. With the searchable emoji feature, Brands can filter results down to a much more manageable que of photos to identify user generated content for their brands. Searchable emojis are making the lives of community managers the world over a lot easier.

IN SUMMATION

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