Jill Kurtz, Owner, Kurtz Digital StrategyThose smiley faces, sad faces, and everything in between are not just for texts anymore. They are everywhere and it is time for all communicators and marketers to take a look at what these little images can do to improve their messaging.Often, when I do presentations about using social media, I start with a quiz to highlight uses and audiences for varipus channels. I also have a question about whether it is appropriate to use emoji for brand communication and I get mixed responses. My answer is an unequivocal “yes”!Emojis are increasingly being used to communicate with an audience that is used to getting meaning from visuals, especially millennials.In fact, even the White House uses them. White House Council of Economic Advisors released a report about the status of Millennials across the nation, touching on education, debt, and healthcare rates. A 2014 report about the economics and Millennials was packed with the little images.Using EmojisThe most popular social media networks not only support emojis, but also have entire features built around them.Content & ResponsesThe most intuitive way to use emojis is to use them in text. Adding an emoji or two to the end of a line of text is the most common use of those little images. You can also completely replace words in your content with emojis.Emojis are also perfect for fun, humorous reactions to comments. Let the visuals be your message.FacebookFacebook fueled this trend by adding emoji to increase the range of one-click responses to posts. Emoji are used to record reactions beyond simple likes.You can also use emoji in posts and comments. The images really help to make content stand out from the text on page walls.InstagramMany of the most influential Instagram users emojis in their profile. Making an emoji list in your bio is a clean, attention-grabbing way to communicate your brand.If you’re posting a photo, there’s a good chance that there’s an emoji commonly associated with the subject matter. You can also use emojis as hashtags too. Enter an emoji into Instagram’s search field and you’ll get a list of matches based on its use.SnapchatDecorate your Snaps and stories with emojis. You can resize and rotate them and place them where you see fit. You can even attach them to objects if your Snap is a video.Twitter StickersTwitter recently added a stickers feature to the platform. If you click on a sticker, it leads to a search page where you can see how other users are using that sticker in their tweets. If you’re a brand with a big budget, you can even create your own branded stickers.[author]About the Author: Jill Kurtz founded Kurtz Digital Strategy to help clients see the communication potential of the newest trends and technologies. She is an expert at website strategy and redesign, social media planning, and developing exceptional content.[/author]