Emoji have long been an integral part of social networks and instant messengers. They allow you to concisely express emotions without writing long texts.

But, judging by the numerous messages and comments, not everyone knows how to use them correctly. Someone misinterprets pictures depicted on emoji, and someone inserts them in inappropriate places in texts, reducing their expressiveness or completely changing the meaning.

To avoid uncomfortable situations, it is worth remembering a few important rules.

How to use emoji correctly

The language of ideograms and emoticons - emoji - is universal and compatible with most sites that provide the ability to leave comments and participate in correspondence.

What are the rules to keep in mind when using emoji? The top most important ones include the following:

• Do not replace words with emoticons. You may be misunderstood - especially since each ideogram has its own fixed Latin name, which may not coincide with the graphic part. The best option is to use emoji to emphasize and highlight certain words and expressions, but not to completely replace them.
• Use emoji to a limited extent. Texts full of emojis are subconsciously perceived as spam, and many people lose the desire to read and comment on them. In the case of emoji, a sense of proportion is important, and the ability to insert them pointwise - in those places in the text where they are really needed.
• Don't put emoji at the beginning of important messages. For example, many people start texts with fire and warning icons in an attempt to grab attention and emphasize the urgency and significance of the message. But this usually has the opposite effect, as users see these badges every day in "sensational" news publications, which later turn out to be empty shells.
• If the message is sent via email, the advice is the opposite - put a smiley face at the beginning of the text. Then it will definitely stand out against the background of other letters displayed in a list. At the same time, the emoji must match the mood and content of the letter, so that the recipient understands what will be discussed now, even before opening it.
• Don't place emoji between words. If the user wants to read the text in audio format - using a screen reader, he will hear two parts of the text, separated by the name of the emoji. This can lead to misunderstanding and completely change the meaning of what is written.
• Reject parentheses. Emoji is a full-fledged replacement for obsolete emoticons, which in the early 2000s were “collected” from brackets, colons, semicolons and other characters. Today, this practice is outdated, since every emotion - from surprise and joy, to irritation and anger - can be expressed with the appropriate emoji icons.
• When using certain emojis, be aware that they can be viewed by users on a light or black background. Today, many people use night (black) themes for browsers and instant messengers, and the same emoji can look different against the background of the environment. This is especially true for emoji with predominant black or white tones.
• Use emoji in bulleted lists at the beginning of each line. When listing items, you can designate them the same way, for example, with an exclamation mark icon, or substitute a different icon for each item. For example, there are about 100 different animals in an emoji set, and if you list the representatives of the fauna, each item can be titled with the corresponding animal.
• Highlight numbers with emoji. For example, in a message like "$300 credit" you can put a dollar sign in front of the three, and in a message like "Enter 100 prizes" you can put a gift icon at the beginning of the message. This will immediately indicate the meaning of the message and attract the attention of the audience.
• Test emails and messages with and without emoji. Statistics will show which of them are the most effective, and which ones should be abandoned. It is not a fact that this or that emoticon will cause the recipients the emotion that you were counting on, because everyone has their own subjective view of things. By compiling your analytics of views and readings, it will be possible to form a set of the most versatile emoji that evoke only positive or neutral emotions.

Summarizing, it is worth noting that emoji is a simple and intuitive tool that does not require any special technical knowledge and skills. The main thing is to use it wisely, not to spam, and to choose the right emotional/informative component. Then emoji will most effectively complement your texts and attract even more attention from readers.