How to use emojis in marketing without hurting your brand

Executive overview

Emojis boost engagement in ads, tweets, and email subject lines — but the wrong emoji can undermine your message or brand. Three decisions matter: brand fit, meaning research, and restraint. Google treats emojis as neutral for SEO, though A/B tests show they can lift click-through rates.

The right emoji clarifies tone; the wrong one creates confusion or embarrassment.

Match emojis to your brand personality

• Emojis humanise a brand — they give it a "face".
• Before using them, define your brand attributes and personality.
• CNN's use of casual emojis feels wrong because their brand is professional and unbiased.
• Ryanair's irreverent social voice makes yawning-face-only posts land naturally.
• American Airlines sticks to standard travel emojis — safer, more on-brand.
• Skip emojis entirely when the tone doesn't call for them (no sparkles in a privacy policy).

Research meaning before you post

• Emoji meanings vary by country: the OK hand is offensive in Brazil, means "nine" in ASL, "zero" in France, "wealth" in Japan.
• Meanings also shift by generation — the crying-laughing emoji has lost its edge among younger audiences.
• Skull and crying emojis now signal "so funny it hurts" in some communities.
• Use Emojipedia to check current meanings and stay ahead of new releases — it's free.

Don't overdo it

• If it doesn't feel like a personal touch, it's probably unnecessary.
• AI tools (ChatGPT, Bing) over-use rockets, targets, and sparkles — especially on LinkedIn.
• Review AI-generated content to strip emojis added without purpose.
• Forced emojis distract from the message.

Emojis and SEO

• Google can interpret the meaning of emojis and special characters (improved in 2020).
• Official stance: emojis on pages neither help nor harm SEO.
• Semrush A/B tests found a cocktail emoji in a meta title drove an 11% click increase on tested pages.
• Results vary — treat emoji use in titles and meta descriptions as worth testing, not a default.