Should You Use Emojis Within the Subject Line of E-Marketing Campaigns?


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# News


## Should You Use Emojis Within the Subject Line of E-Marketing Campaigns?


May 12, 2015


Emojis are red hot right now, from text messages to Facebook posts, they’re difficult to avoid. What started out as a simple colon and parenthesis has now become a complex collection of mini-graphics utilized to express feelings quickly([😜](http://apps.timwhitlock.info/emoji/tables/unicode#emoji-modal)[😥](http://apps.timwhitlock.info/emoji/tables/unicode#emoji-modal)[😳](http://apps.timwhitlock.info/emoji/tables/unicode#emoji-modal)).


Recently,  companies have started testing the success of using Emojis in email subject lines as a way to increase open rates. Think about it, amongst all the boring plain text titles, all of the sudden, there can be an image![👏](http://apps.timwhitlock.info/emoji/tables/unicode#emoji-modal) At first, this is a no-brainer, open rates should increase your businesses success. Looks can be deceiving, let’s take a look at the situation more closely.


**Testing Emojis Across All Platforms**


While the theory is correct, the mediums most companies are using are slightly behind the technology curve. Emoji use within headlines is not a high priority for these developers.[🐌](http://apps.timwhitlock.info/emoji/tables/unicode#emoji-modal)


Part of Email Marketing is ensuring your email is as uniform as possible across all platforms. It’s more complex than it sounds considering you have to account for:


- Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010,  2013 and 2016 on the desktop

- BlackBerry 4 OS

- Yahoo! Mail (Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari)

- Lotus Notes 6.5, 7, 8 and 8.5

- Thunderbird 3.0

- Android 2.3 and 4.0

- Gmail App (Android)

- AOL Mail (Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari)

- Gmail (Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari)

- Outlook.com (Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari)

- iOS Mail (iPhone 3, 4, 5, 6)


Of these listed, Emojis are currently functioning [💯](http://apps.timwhitlock.info/emoji/tables/unicode#emoji-modal)% properly on four [4] platforms:


- Outlook.com (Explorer)

- Android 4.0

- iOS Mail

- Gmail (Firefox)

- Yahoo! Mail


As for the other platforms, emoji’s will appear as black and white images, question marks, or a box shape. The subject line is NOT where you want out of place characters, as this would have a negative impact on open rates. Additionally, with unidentified symbols in your headline, may risk people reporting the email as SPAM and risk being Blacklisted.[😵](http://apps.timwhitlock.info/emoji/tables/unicode#emoji-modal)


**Should you use Emojis in the subject line?**


[👍](http://apps.timwhitlock.info/emoji/tables/unicode#emoji-modal)Yes, but ONLY IF your target market is of a younger demographics.


[👎](http://apps.timwhitlock.info/emoji/tables/unicode#emoji-modal)Otherwise, wait for the adoption of Emojis by all or the majority of these platforms. Until then, it’s too risky. Even once Emojis are fully compatible, make sure to experiment with A/B testing to determine whether or not this method will be successful with your audience.


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