Emoji are individual images used like characters of text to convey emotions, such as a wink, smile or heart. With over 1,800 emoji available, virtually any image can describe full phrases. The icons originated in Japan in the late 1990s, but emoji as we know them first came about in 2011 and have only grown in popularity since then. In fact, Oxford Dictionary even crowned emoji their Word of the Year in 2015.

So what do these weird little images have to do with your business?

Actually, quite a bit. When it comes to marketing, reaching as many people as possible can increase leads and customer turnout. One vital part of marketing is leveraging current marketing trends—and emoji are a current trend.

Mobile Marketing
Many brands have already started using emoji marketing to communicate through mobile phones. With today’s technology, consumers use smartphones regularly, and companies have begun to think of marketing as “mobile first.”

Emoji communicate messages simply and quickly via smartphone. In terms of mobile marketing, they are an invaluable resource to improving communication, transcending language barriers, breaking up blocks of text and reaching out to viewers’ emotions. For your small business, consider using these little icons in marketing on social media.

Email Marketing
When it comes to cross-media marketing, emoji bring an advantage. You can incorporate them in messages, website text, social networking sites, email and even print media. Because emoji are considered a code governed by the Unicode Consortium, they’re treated as a standardized language across platforms.

Staying aware of copyright privileges, your business can use an emoji campaign on print materials, or interact with clients through emoji text responses. Because emoji are considered a language, using them on various media platforms means they will look similar—if not the same—no matter how your constituents view the message.

Cross-Media Marketing
For a small business, you may wonder how to reach out to a millennial buyer base. The millennial generation (those born between the years of 1980-2000) provides a massive source of potential customers. So how can your company reach out to this multitude of fresh young clients? By appealing to their short attention spans, of course.

In a recent study, four out of ten millennials said they would rather engage with pictures than read written text. This means nearly 50% of millennials won’t respond to your business’s marketing materials if you don’t include pictures. Your company can take advantage of millennials’ instant gratification by capitalizing on emoji marketing.

As Oxford Dictionary said in their Word of the Year report, “Emoji are no longer the preserve of texting teens—instead, they have been embraced as a nuanced form of expression, and one which can cross language barriers.” Emoji have become a mainstream part of today’s communication, and your business can get involved in marketing with them.

By taking advantage of emoji marketing, your small business can reach constituents through mobile and cross-media promotion, and reach out to the millennial generation. Get involved in today’s technology, promote your product or service and grow your company with emoji.