Beware: PR pros using emojis on social media inadvertently giving investment advice

A recent ruling by a judge in New York is raising quite a few eyebrows. Southern District of New York Judge Victor Marrero ruled that some emojis essentially represent investment advice — whether the user intended to offer such advice or not. Unfortunately, PR professionals who aren't aware of the recent ruling could unintentionally cause problems for their clients.

Emojis have been around for decades and have become a popular way for people to express themselves especially in text messages and on social media. In fact, some accounts suggest emojis are one of the fastest-growing languages ever due to their rapid rate of adoption and the speed at which they evolve. 

By the numbers: the case for using emojis in PR

A key reason emoji use is growing so fast is because many people find it easier to communicate using smiley faces and other symbols rather than words. Thus, it's no surprise that public relations professionals often use them in social media posts, and for good reason. 

Several studies have revealed the benefits of using emojis in social media posts, not only for executives and thought leaders but also for corporate social media accounts. Additionally, many PR professionals have found benefits from using them in marketing materials or on corporate landing pages. In fact, some studies have suggested using emojis on landing pages may boost conversion by as much as 95%.

For example, one study by Wordstream founder Larry Kim found that using an emoji in a tweet can boost engagement by 25%. Hubspot also found a 57% increase in the number of likes on social media posts. On Instagram, Quintly found that using emojis boosted the number of interactions by up to 48%. 

A test by Sprout also recorded positive results from using emojis within paid ads. Based on two variations of the same ad, the firm found that the version using an emoji generated 84% of the clicks, resulting in a 400% lower cost per lead. 

Why people love seeing and using emojis

Aside from the statistical benefits of using emojis, there are other reasons to use them in PR-related social media posts and other content. Emojis add color to PR- and marketing-related content, making them more likely to catch the eye of potential customers. 

Some public relations and marketing professionals would also argue that emojis also help to build rapport, reduce the negative impacts of posts, and provide a way to communicate the tone of the post. In fact, one study found that many social media users see emojis as friendlier than text. 

Another study indicated that emoticons change the way people feel about a message — even causing employees to feel good about negative feedback from a supervisor and be more receptive to it.

Here's what the judge ruled regarding emoji use

All these data points point to significant benefits regarding emoji use in PR communications. However, the recent ruling from a New York judge declaring that emojis may be considered investment advice throws a wrench into the works. Thus, it's critical for public relations professionals to understand what the ruling said and learn how to avoid the pitfalls associated with emoji use.

Earlier this year, attorney Lisa Braganca, a former branch chief for the Securities and Exchange Commission, warned about the potential legal ramifications of using emojis. She said a federal court judge ruled that certain emojis "objectively mean 'one thing: a financial return on investment.'" Braganca added that users of those emojis "are hereby warned of the legal consequence of their use." 

She also shared the link to the court filing where federal judge Victor Marrero denied a motion from Dapper Labs. In that motion, the firm requested the dismissal of the amended complaint alleging that it had violated securities laws through its NBA Top Shot Moments NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

U.S. regulators have been increasing their scrutiny of crypto-related items like NFTs over the last year or so, but that's not the part of the ruling PR professionals should be concerned about. As part of his ruling, Marrero focused on Dapper Labs' tweets about its Moments NFTs, which are designed as sort of a digital version of baseball or other sports cards. 

The firm didn't use the word "profit" in any of its tweets, which would've hinted at the Moments NFTs being a security. However, Dapper Labs did use three emojis that Marrero decided did suggest a financial return on investment: the rocket ship, stock chart, and money bags.  

The tweets using the emojis in question promoted a recent sale or statistics about recent sales of Moments on Dapper Labs' marketplace. For example, one tweet using the rocket ship and stock chart emojis named a buyer who had purchased a Lebron James Moment for $49,000. The tweet declared that it was a "new record-setting acquisition for any NBA Top Shot Moment on the marketplace… so far." 

Another tweet used the rocket ship, stock chart, and money bag emojis when stating the number of sales and transactions Dapper Labs had recorded in its Moments NFTs over the last week. 

Using emojis successfully without triggering scrutiny

The many benefits for engagement that have been quantified by the studies shared above show that it's worth the extra effort for PR professionals to figure out how to use emojis without causing problems for their clients.

Clearly, the three emojis PR professionals will want to avoid are the rocket ship, stock chart, and money bags. However, it may be a good idea to consider every emoji that may be used in a PR-related social media post to try to determine how securities regulators will see it.

Some of the most popular emojis used in public relations include the face with tears of joy, the crying face, pointing fingers, rolling on the floor laughing, the heart, the fire, and the smiling face with heart eyes. On the surface, these emojis don't immediately scream investment advice, but as with any content, context is always key.