What are the most popular text message emojis?

It has been nearly 30 years since the first SMS was sent, so we think this is an appropriate time to celebrate it by revealing the most popular emojis. Can you already guess what makes the top spot?

What are the top 10 most used emojis?

This year, we surveyed 1,000 people on their communication habits. We discovered that the most used emoji is the face with tears of joy, otherwise known as the laughing face, with almost half of respondents reporting this as their top emoji. 

Next in line is the smiling face with smiling eyes face emoji, which a quarter of respondents called one of their top three emojis. This was closely followed by the heart emoji used to express love, positive feelings, and gratitude. Making it into the top 10 was also the face blowing a kiss and heart eye emoji that can be used interchangeably.

In the tenth spot was the winking face, with just 4.6% of respondents naming this as one of their top three emojis.

With 92% of the online population using emojis, these fun, visual symbols are not going anywhere. These characters help convey a particular sentiment that words cannot portray, and marketing teams can use emojis in fun, light-hearted contexts. The right emoji used across social media posts, email subjects, and text message marketing campaigns can help businesses stand out from the crowd and improve customer experience by building stronger relationships.

For help getting started with your very first SMS campaign, or if you’re interested in how to make your mobile marketing campaigns more effective, speak to an Esendex expert.