As most of us know, it is almost impossible to chat online without using emojis. Actually, more than half of comments and captions use emojis, according to Instagram software engineer Thomas Dimson. So, let’s not pretend you are not using those popular emojis like smiley or sad faces in your daily conversations.
Let’s face it Instagram and any social network thrive on our emotions. What better way to play and market to other peoples emotions than through the effective use of top emoji list.
Instagram has became a major success and is the fastest growing and most powerful social network for several years. This is why so many people are making money on the platform. Use this Top 10 Emoji list to elicit other peoples emotions and generate more engagement (comments, likes, shares) as well as better click through rates for the links in your BIO, Usernames in captions and Instagram Stories!
Recent studies show that using popular emojis in messages proved to be more memorable than messages that did not use any emojis. So this could be an important point for us to use them. There is no doubt that using emojis lightly in your Instagram BIO, CAPTIONS or STORIES provides a slightly higher visual appeal. Remember a picture tells a thousands words, and so do simple emojis.
Why You Should Be Using Popular Emojis?
The answer is in the numbers. Over 6 million emojis have been used in posts and comments since Instagram launched the hashtag emoji feature in late April, according to a published report by analytics firm Curalate. People seem to love using the feature as a means to get noticed.
And there is good reason. The feature has proven to be vital for going viral, and that is according to research conducted by scientists. If science has noted the relevance of hashtagged emoji usage, it must be important.
What’s even more interesting is the research on how certain emojis are used in hashtags. Various reports have been conducted on the meaning of the icons, why they are being used and whether or not they transcend language. This also lends credibility to the notion that Instagram is not just a medium for pictures or video, it might even be a community of its own.
The one-month long report found some very interesting findings about top hashtags with emojis used on Instagram. Let’s have a look together.
Popular emojis in Hashtags on Instagram
It appears that convenience is what matters in determining which icons made the top list of emojis in hashtags. The report showed that emojis appearing in the first category are often used the most.
1. Heart
It also appears that people love being positive, as the heart icon was reported to be used more than 500,000 times during the study conducted from April to May. The icon, as you can imagine, has been used mostly for showing affection or love towards someone, somewhere or something.
Love that emoji? Use a heart to show your true feelings. Everyone is doing it.
2. Heart Eyes
The next most used popular emoji after “heart” is the smiley face with hearts in eyes, used over 300,000 times. The emoji is mainly used to mean the same thing as a heart emoji but can give that more personal appeal towards something you like.
What is more personable than a smiling face with hearts?
3. Smiley Face Blowing a Kiss
Rounding out the top three is another heart-inspired emoji. The smiley face blowing a kiss has been used over 180,000 times during the one month report.
This emoji icon has mainly been used for affection towards someone else, be it a celebrity or someone personal. This popular emoji have been used for cats many, many times.
4. LOL Emoji
And finally we have an emoji without a heart here. The “laughing-so-hard I could cry” emoji has been used more than 180,000 times. It just barely falling out of the top three. I have seen it used for funny pictures or videos, with the tears meant as tears of joy.
Unfortunately, I have also seen it used as a way to laugh at someone. Let’s keep it positive, people.
5. Smiley
Number five is a more regular looking smiley face, which seems to be perfect for most of the situations. This kind of popular emoji was used around 160,000 times during the study.
It seems people use this kind of emoji to show an overall satisfaction with something, but not an over-the-top, raise your hands in the air type feeling.
6. Sunglasses Smiley
My favorite icon, the smiley face with sunglasses, was used the sixth most at around 118,000 times with my usage most likely counting for at least half of that number.
As you may have guessed, the meaning behind the icon is what you might it expect. It can mean being cool, something is cool or as a reminder to bring shades once you step outside.
What Does This All Mean?
Social media marketing on Instagram or elsewhere has been taking off in recent years, with money being poured into researching why and how people, brands and companies are getting noticed, or going viral, on the internet. Twitter alone spent over $10 million towards the Laboratory of Social Machines at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in an effort to understand patterns among social media platforms, among other initiatives.
The data in the Curalate found that companies and people can possibly use it as a means to better explore Instagram, get found easier or even improve your Instagram statistics. So, next time you think about using an emoji on Instagram, remember to pick the most popular emoji and hashtag it properly.
The Bottom Line
Now that you know what are popular emojis and why, will that change the way you use emojis? Do you post on Instagram to get noticed or only for your friends and family? If you are interested in knowing tips for getting more followers on Instagram, you can read our previous articles.
Hope you found it useful to read this article. Share your experiences in the comment box about such popular emojis you used and the special influences they had on your audiences.
