Oxford Dictionaries has named its annual Word of the Year. While this announcement tends to create some noise on social media every year, this year’s word is even more buzzworthy because it’s not actually a word — it’s a pictograph. That’s right, an emoji — specifically, the “face with tears of joy emoji.”
The reveal resulted in many very real tears of joy, laughter, and eventually confusion after folks realized it wasn’t a joke.
What does this mean for businesses that are constantly trying to stay up to date with new ways to communicate with their target audience? Should they throw out the dictionary and try to get their message across in a stream of emojis?
Not exactly, but they can revisit the ways they are currently communicating with customers, and reassess how their messages come across.
Below are four messaging takeaways businesses can glean from the new “word” of the year.
1. Be relatable
In today’s competitive business landscape, consumers looking for a particular product or service have multiple options and access to product reviews that might sway their purchase decision. With so many choices out there, brands need to stand out and make an impact, and a great way to achieve flair is to be a brand that customers can relate to and support.
Relating to customers and building loyalty can be as simple as speaking their language. Let’s be honest: No one enjoys feeling sold to, and the language you use when speaking to a friend is often different than how you might speak to a customer. Changing your messaging to be more friendly and relatable is a way to express that your brand values a customer’s relationship as well as their money. In some cases, that language can look like a GIF, meme, hashtag, or—you got it—even an emoji.
2. Keep it simple
Research has shown us that the average person sees over 5,000 brands or advertisements per day! That’s a lot—in fact, more than a lot. With so much brand clutter out there, businesses need to keep messaging simple, short, and to the point. This applies across the board of external messaging, from marketing to sales to social and PR. The tears of joy emoji uses one image to display a single, powerful feeling. It doesn’t get more simple than that. Businesses who use too many words to get their message across will struggle to make an impression. It’s not easy to convey every message with an emoji, but if it can be done in a few words or one word or an image, go for it.
3. Have a little fun!
Life's too short for boring, corporate-sounding customer transactions and stale engagement. Throw out the stiff, cold e-newsletters and have a little fun with photos, videos, and fun phrases. If a business doesn’t have the resources to create authentic video or graphic content, the Internet is crawling with usable content. Which leads us to...
4. Maintain professionalism
An emoji being the Word of the Year for the well-respected Oxford Dictionaries might leave some businesses wondering how to walk the fine line between casual messaging and professionalism. Companies have been facing this issue for years as they assess how to position their social media pages. But while messaging may be getting less “sales-y” or “corporate” and more casual, it’s imperative for businesses to not lose sight of professionalism. They must ensure messaging is still on brand and in line with their product and service. Add a little flair, simplicity, and relatability into your message, but don't get too caught up in being trendy and lose sight of your brand.
Adjusting messaging to make a lasting impression may mean a shift in brand guidelines and focus—and maybe a few tears of joy. However, through messaging that is relatable, simple, fun and professional, businesses can continue to drive ahead toward growth, success, and exceptional customer experiences. ;-)
This article has also been published on The Business Journals where Fabiola is a Contributing Writer