Emojis are popular everywhere, and brands advertisers on Twitter can now use them to strengthen their campaigns. The micro-blogging firm is deploying a new feature for advertisers looking to target users of emojis when they tweet.
“It’s tapping into this new language of social and digital,” says Annie Heckinberger, a Philadelphia-based advertising expert.
Good for advertisers and Twitter
Heckinberger told CBS Philly, “It’s leveraging a consumer’s social behavior that already exists and delivering a way for brands to tap into that.”
Therefore, if you tweet a taco emoji, you could end up seeing an ad from a Mexican restaurant.
What advertisers can do is target Twitter users who recently tweeted, retweeted or liked posts that feature emojis, and this is done with the help of its six official partner sites: AdParlor, 4C, Perion, SocialCode, HYFN, and Amobee Brand Intelligence.
“Businesses like Taco Bell, all of the pizza chains, even sneaker manufactures – Under Armour, Nike, Adidas,” says Heckinberger. “Targeting that sneaker emoji could unlock entirely new audiences for them.”
In addition, she believes this could help Twitter’s bottom line. The micro-blogging giant has been struggling with profitability.
“I would guess that this is the first of several announcements coming,” she explain, adding that she would not be surprised if the micro-blogging giant and other platforms develop new ways to incorporate emojis and the way brands and consumers interact with them on platforms.
Craving a pizza? Just post a pizza emoji
Emojis have become a ubiquitous way for brands, people and publishers to express their feelings, says Neil Shah, Twitter’s Ads API Product Manager, in a blog post. Shah adds that over 110 billion emojis have been tweeted since 2014.
“According to the Oxford Dictionary, the 2015 word of the year was none other than –an emoji,” Shah says.
Twitter’s move coincides with World Emoji Day on July 17. According to the micro-blogging site, emojis can signal the mood or mindset of the user, thus helping unlock unique opportunities for advertisers and brands.
Domino’s and Pizza Hut can target people who use the pizza emoji or like it on the platform, while brands like Dunkin’ Donuts can target users who like an image featuring donuts. Brands can also target users who use the crying or sad face, and soon, smiles, dancers, ghost icons and thumbs up could be used to trigger ads across the platform.
On Thursday, Twitter shares closed down 0.56% at $15.87. Year to date, the stock is down almost 29%, while in the last year, it is down almost 56%.