Emojis are becoming commonplace in professional communications, but know when they are and aren\u2019t appropriate to use with your clients.<\/p>\n
Emojis became popular in casual texting between friends and family years ago, but they\u2019re finding a place in professional communications as well. They can add a layer of comfort and familiarity between real estate professionals and their clients. These colorful, expressive icons \u2014 from smiley faces to winks and hearts \u2014 are popping up in marketing campaigns and workplace emails, text messages, and social media. So how fluent is your emoji-talk, and how much should you use them in your business?<\/p>\n
Practitioners have been exploring fun ways to incorporate emojis. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, for example, did a mock listing of The White House in March, with listing details written completely in emojis for readers\u2019 amusement. The company also created emoji guides for buyers and sellers. Realtor.com even poked fun at how emojis might one day end up in listing descriptions in an online video.<\/p>\n
But the use of emojis in the real estate business gained much more legitimacy in April, when the California Association of REALTORS debuted a set of real estate\u2013 themed emojis, which it dubbed \u201cCARmojis,\u201d complete with a superhero REALTOR icon to add to text messages. So far, member response has been huge, says CAR President Ziggy Zicarelli. By the end of May, about a month after they launched, 50,000 CARmojis had been shared, with the superhero REALTOR icon being the most popular. Zicarelli says CAR plans to add new emojis in the coming months and possibly hold a contest for members to submit their own designs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are a fun way to interact and engage with your clients,\u201d Zicarelli adds. \u201cBut just like with anything else, professionals should use their own discretion for when they should and shouldn\u2019t use emojis.\u201d<\/p>\n
As emojis become more commonplace on all levels of communication, mumblings of a new form of etiquette are surfacing. Though it seems like everyone uses them, you have to remember that not all your clients will understand the icons, creating the potential for miscommunicating or for appearing unprofessional. Even so, emojis are widely recognized as a shorthand method of communicating thoughts and feelings. In fact, for the first time ever, the Oxford University Press chose a pictograph?\u00a0as its 2015 Word of the Year.<\/p>\n
Some of the most visible brand-name companies have launched successful emoji advertising campaigns on social media and other platforms, so how could this translate to real estate? Well, what if this was your next customer survey:<\/p>\n
Linguists say emojis convey a tone that simple texts don\u2019t. \u201cAn emoji can be like the frosting on the top of a delicious cake. It shouldn\u2019t be the only thing you use, but it can add to a message,\u201d says Jennifer Marchetti, chief marketing officer at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. \u201cAn emoji can help add more emotional context to a message.\u201d<\/p>\n
ndeed, a University of Missouri-St. Louis study tested how the \u201csmiley face\u201d emoji was perceived in a work-related email versus a social email to determine the level of tolerance for emojis in the workplace. Researchers discovered that in both instances, the emoji made the email recipient like the sender more and feel as though the sender liked them more.<\/p>\n
So if you can see by now how emojis could strengthen and deepen your connection to clients, make sure to follow a few tips for how and when to use emojis when interacting with customers.<\/p>\n
If your buyer\u2019s home inspector uncovered mold in the house they\u2019ve put an offer on, it\u2019s not the time to text this:\u00a0?<\/p>\n
\u201cEmojis aren\u2019t appropriate when you detect a negative side to the transaction,\u201d Zicarelli says. \u201cOnce the offer is accepted, that is good news, and that\u2019s when a fun emoji may be more appropriate. With bad news from a transaction, however, it\u2019s always best to deliver that over the phone or in person, and don\u2019t make light of the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just because your client is young doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ll necessarily find emojis an appropriate form of communication. While generational trends can inform your decision whether to use emojis, don\u2019t assume all young people want to swap emoji \u2014 or that all baby boomers don\u2019t. \u201cKnow your customer\u2019s communication preference from the onset. If they like short-form communication like text messaging, then using an emoji is likely more appropriate,\u201d Marchetti says. \u201cSet the communication protocol ahead of time. Then, given that preference, you can assume how comfortable they are with emojis. If you ignore your customer\u2019s communication preferences, even one emoji could upset them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t use an emoji outside of its known context. For example, many users don\u2019t consider this a whistle:?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a kiss. Use that the wrong way with a client and that could be awkward. If you need to double- check the meaning of common emojis, check out Emojipedia. Also, if you\u2019re not sure what emojis are available, Apple recently announced a special texting feature coming to iPhones. After typing a message, you can tap the emoji button, and your phone will highlight \u201cemoji fiable\u201d words for you. For example, \u201cexcited\u201d could be translated into a smiley face.<\/p>\n
Emojis \u201cact as punctuation,\u201d according to culture site Hello Giggles\u2019 Guide to Emoji Etiquette. Th e guide suggests typing your words first and emojis at the end of the sentence; that way, you don\u2019t risk the context of your message getting lost or slowing the reader down by trying to interpret an emoji-laced text.<\/p>\n