Should you include emojis in your ad body?

Ask around, and you'll find that advertisers have mixed views regarding using emojis in an ad's body.

While some view using emojis as childish and capable of harming a brand's reputation, others see them as a must.

Either way, emojis have become a part of our daily digital communication, representing an extremely effective way to express emotions and reactions.

So there might be more to emojis than plain old silliness.

Keep reading, and below, we dive into our breakdown of the different types of campaigns that should consider using emojis and when it's better to leave them out altogether.

Facebook ads with emojis in their ad copy, convert 160% better

Our first finding is that if you are running Facebook ads, adding emojis to your ad body can considerably boost conversions—up to 160%!

Emojis are great for conveying emotions and reactions, but they're even better at adding a pop of color to your ad body, making your ads more noticeable.

In other words, using emojis is a great way to draw attention to your ad, helping it stand out in a field of text.

And ultimately, being noticed more means you'll have a higher chance of converting potential customers.

Plus, when used appropriately, emojis can help convey the message behind your ad.

For instance, you might use a plane emoji if your ad is about travel and tourism or a heart if you're selling something related to love and relationships.

Either way, adding an emoji or two to your ad body can make all the difference when trying to grab attention and engage with potential customers.

But that doesn't mean that you should always use emojis.

As you'll see in a minute, not every audience responds to emojis in the same way.

Top funnel audiences convert 104% more with emojis in the ad body

We also found that top-of-funnel (TOF) audiences—those discovering your brand and products for the first time—seem to respond best to emojis.

But why do emojis have such an influence on these audiences?

Customers need to feel confident that purchasing a product or service is the right decision for them.

Practical aspects, such as product features, price, and delivery, are essential.

But we must also remember that customers look for more intangible information, such as brand values and personality.

This is where emojis can be such an invaluable asset to online advertising.

By offering nonverbal cues through facial expressions and emotions, emojis assist customers in forming an overall opinion of the brand, allowing them to decide whether your products fit their lifestyle.

Advertisers can use the appropriate selection of emojis to represent various brand values and attitudes, letting customers connect with the brand's overall style rather than purely the products or services it has to offer.

However, emojis aren't always the best choice!

Having emojis in your ad body generally decreases lead generation by 56%

While emojis can boost performance, if you're looking for leads, adding an emoji or two won't help all that much, if at all.

Regarding lead generation campaigns, the results were less promising than with top-of-funnel audiences.

We found that, on average, lead-generation ads with emojis performed 56% worse than those without emojis.

Lead generation ads are an exchange between potential customers and the company—a chance to give your customers exclusive access or a discount in exchange for their personal contact information.

However, people only part with this information easily unless they have the assurance that your business is credible, trustworthy, and professional.

And unfortunately, emojis can be a distraction, making potential customers feel like they cannot trust a company.

While using emojis may hold some benefits in specific contexts, when it comes to lead generation ads, they will more likely lead to a less successful campaign.

When running lead gen competitions, emojis in the ad body don’t really make a difference

Competitions are an effective way for businesses to generate leads on Meta platforms due to the fun and engaging nature of the activity.

Users willingly provide their email addresses or other details for a chance to win something in return.

This opportunity to win presents itself as perceived value to your viewers.

Interestingly, emojis used in ad bodies for lead generation competitions did not have an overwhelmingly negative effect on lead generation rates.

In fact, there was only a meager 4% decrease in performance when emojis were used.

It seems that emojis don't discourage people from the perceived value of participating in a competition.

In this case, emojis can add extra emotion and excitement, which can evoke a strong desire to participate.

In short, emojis are viable for lead generation competitions but not for traditional lead generation campaigns.

If you're looking to generate leads with your content, read more here.

When to use emojis in your ad body

In conclusion, whether or not you should use emojis in your ad body depends on the type of campaign you are running and the intended audience.

For top funnel audiences specifically, including emojis can result in a significant boost in conversions—up to 160%.

However, when it comes to lead generation campaigns, there is no real benefit from including emojis.

Therefore, they should only be included if they contribute something valuable or are being used to generate a sense of excitement.

If you want to engage with potential customers effectively, emojis are a great way to go about it!

But there are also many other ways to design and edit your Facebook ads to ensure that your viewers are getting the right information they need to make an informed buying decision.

For an easy and comprehensive solution to editing your Facebook ads, try a free demo of Confect today!

With Confect you can instantly ad prices, discounts, logos, and other relevant information to your catalog ads, and all at the click of your mouse!

Data section

The dataset from this article is based on 5.5B impressions and 49.6K pieces of individual content on Meta (Facebook) platforms. It takes into account data from the eCommerce industry in all countries, with the campaign objectives of Conversions or Lead Generation. The period is from 1. September 2021 - 16. September 2022.

The insights were filtered to only include data regarding “emojis in ad body”.

Numbers are looking at correlation only, not causation. Remember to check your own data: numbers for different brands, industries, and contexts will vary.

If you were intrigued about a specific insight, you can go in-depth into the various dimensions and how data can be segmented in Confect, here.