Brits are 63% more likely to open an email with an emoji accompanying the subject line, ahead of US and other European couterparts, according to new research. Research from Mailjet reveals emojis really do have the power to contextualise and clarify the written word. In fact, open rates almost doubled when the choice of emoji […]
Brits are 63% more likely to open an email with an emoji accompanying the subject line, ahead of US and other European couterparts, according to new research.
Research from Mailjet reveals emojis really do have the power to contextualise and clarify the written word.
In fact, open rates almost doubled when the choice of emoji juxtaposed the tone of the email subject line to indicate sarcasm. In the instance of using a crying emoji to accompany the subject line “Do your emails look this good?” open rates surged by as much as 95%.
According to Mailjet’s 15,000 recipients;
· tearful emojis such as the face with tears of joy emoji (41% open rate) and the loudly crying emoji (39% open rate) generate the best results
· in the US, the average increase in open rate from emojis drops to 43%, nearly a third less than the UK
· average open rates actually dipped by 11% among French recipients, indicating the strong cultural differences between European countries
Looking more broadly at some of the most popular icons, the research indicates that the more emotive they are, the greater the increase, with tearful emojis such as the face with tears of joy emoji (41% open rate) and the loudly crying emoji (39% open rate) generating the best results.
While Brits seem to have been won over by the emotional transparency these icons offer, other nationalities appear a little more sceptical of the emergence of social messaging tools in their inbox. In the US for example, the average increase in open rate from emojis drops to 43%, nearly a third less than the UK.
Closer to home, reactions amongst mainland European countries were radically different to the UK. In Spain, whilst the face with tears of joy emoji generated a 15% bump in engagement (23% open rate), net results for emails sent with an emoji in the subject line showed no registrable rise in open rate. Whereas, average open rates actually dipped by 11% among French recipients, further indicating the strong cultural differences between European markets.
Amir Jirbandey, UK Marketing Manager at Mailjet comments: “Sarcasm, the research shows, has been unlocked by the growing popularity of these expressive little icons. By choosing an emoji that contradicts or corresponds with the message a marketer is looking to deliver, marketers can deliver far greater clarity in their intent to help, entertain or relate with their target audience.”
“But there are still a number of barriers to their use” he adds, “not least of which are stark cultural differences when it comes to audience receptiveness, but also cross-platform compatibility. Marketers need to be aware of all the different platforms their email will be displayed on and test any icon they plan to use against these. Only when the icon is guaranteed to display correctly can a marketer expect it to add clarity and context to their copy.”
The research was conducted using a segment of Mailjet’s database resulting in 15,000 recipients
Source: uk.mailjet.com
