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Emojis are everywhere. Text messages, pillows, and at times emojis in business communications are a thing, but should they be?
I use emojis in business communications all the time, but not all types of business communications. Let’s unpack that a bit more.
What are business communications?
Any communication that happens as part of a person’s professional role falls into this category. That could be:
- Slack messages
- Project briefs
- Email campaigns
- Emails to customers and others in the company
- Other instant messages – like on social media
What’s great about emojis?
They draw attention – in email subject lines, for example, and they can share a quick reaction or feeling. A picture is worth 1,000 words, and an emoji is worth how many words? Definitely a few.
When emojis work
Emojis work well when they are built into the platform. For example, on Slack – similar to Facebook reactions – you can react with all kinds of different emojis.
Certainly, we still want to make sure to pick the right emoji for the situation, but using emojis here to react to a message generally would be accepted. Be aware, though, that picking the wrong emoiji reaction can make people wonder why you would feel that way.
Emojis also generally work in instant messages to show a feeling – like that something is a joke (lol 😂 ) or hard to believe (maybe also lol) or they are unsure (perhaps also the lol emoji). But in general, emojis are accepted in this medium.
The right emojis are also accepted in emails – as I already discussed in this article.
Some virtual meeting platform – like Zoom and Google Meet – allow participants to react with emojis. Especially in Google, that can get festive. When multiple participants click on emoji reactions those move across the screen.
When emojis don’t work?
The meaning of emojis can evolve – especially between generations.
What if the ☠️ now means dying laughing – aka lol – for example. And some emojis 🍆 might have other meanings that could create an issue in business.
Also, is this 🙏 one praying or thank you?
At the end of the day, emojis in business communications can have a place. But ensure to consider the:
- context of the communication of the relationship
- expected standard of communication
But, emojis in business communication can have a place and can even make communications more efficient.