The most used emojis across brands and industries

The heart eye emoji has topped the list as the most used across 300 brands on Instagram. According to Socialbakers, the heart eye emoji has been used more than 2,000 times by global brands. Coming in close are the heart emoji, camera flash emoji and the sparkle emoji.Matching the data above, the heart eye emoji is also one of the most used across retail, telecom and FMCG sectors. The camera emoji topped the list of highest number of industries that use it on a frequent basis. These include the travel, industrial and sporting goods. Meanwhile, the winking emoji was used in healthcare, finance and conglomerates, while the fire emoji was widely used in the software industry.Meanwhile, a survey done by Adobe found that over half of emoji users said they are more likely to open an email from a brand that has an emoji in the subject line. Also, nearly half (44%) said they are more likely to purchase products advertised using emojis. About 64% are willing to make a purchase with an emoji – most likely purchasing meals  (19%), movie tickets, (15%) and clothing (13%).(Read also: Why you shouldn’t be shying away from using emojis in your emails)Emojis are also widely used to lighten the mood of conversations as well as to show support to people, an overwhelming majority have said in the survey. Aligned with this finding, emoji users have picked “face with tears of joy”, heart and kissing emoticons as the top three favourites (refer below if you don’t know what we are talking about, although we are pretty sure you do).Emojis have now become a cultural phenomenon – shaping the way ideas and emotions are expressed. In the Adobe study on 1,000 US individuals ranging from 16 to 73 years, approximately 81% of emoji users said that people who use emojis are friendlier and more approachable. Many cited the ability to communicate across language barriers (94%) and share thoughts and ideas (90%) as benefits of using emojis.In addition, 65% of those surveyed said they are more comfortable expressing emotions through emojis than over a phone call. The use of digital characters are highly prevalent for the Gen Z segment, the study said.Not only can emojis be used to express emotions, 61% of those surveyed exchange emojis at work. When emojis are used at work, the survey respondents said this potentially impacts likability (78%) and credibility (63%), as well as sounding more sincere (74%).Meanhile, a notable 78% said emojis should continue to strive for inclusivity. Emoji users want more inclusive and representative emojis, with 73% preferring a customisation option to better reflect their personal appearance and identity.Addressing this, Apple unveiled that it will be previewing a selection of new emojis in coming months. To commemorate World Emoji Day, a range of emojis across food, animals, activities and smiley faces will be introduced. More than 75 possible combinations are said to be launched, allowing users to select any combination of skin tone, in addition to gender, to personalise the “holding hands” emoji.