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Do you know which emoji to use in business texting?

The generation gap could mean a communication gap when interpreting emojis and abbreviations in business SMS. This infographic tells you how to use them.
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January 3, 2023

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Business Texting
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Plus 17 abbreviations to use in SMS

One of the benefits to business texting is that it creates more personal engagement with your contacts. With 98% average read rates and an average 48.5% response rate, you want to make sure your contacts are understanding what you’re saying.With limited characters, emojis and abbreviations can serve a great purpose in getting the message across in a short amount of words. But do you know how each audience is interpreting your short-hand?!A Duolingo and Slack survey found:74% of people have had some misunderstanding with an emoji, either their emoji was misunderstood, or they misinterpreted someone else's emoji…or both! 🤣😭: 25% use it to mean tears of joy, and 25% use it for crying from being upset.🙂: 37% believe it means happy, 24% use it for general positivity…and for 20%, it means deep exasperation or mistrust!SMS is a preferred communication method—especially with younger generations, but how they view emojis and abbreviations is different than older generations. Emojis have become so popular even dictionary.com is evaluating the definitions. Here are the top translations so you can text more effectively.Thumbs up emoji 👍Millennials: Usually means a positive acknowledgement such as “good job” or “I got it”Gen Z: Uses this more ironically or as passive-aggressive communication such as “sure, whatever”Folded hands emoji 🙏Millennials: Tend to use it as a high fiveGen Z: Tend to use it as a thank youHourglass emoji⏳Millennials: not used often but indicates time is ticking or time checkGen Z: not used with anything about time; used to describe attractiveness and an hourglass figureSome emojis' intended use has changed regardless of the generation using them. Hootsuite found some emojis that have different meanings.Clapping Hands 👏Can be used to congratulate on a “good job”.Can also be used as “clapping back” when someone responds to an insult or criticism in a witty fashion.Hair Flip 💁‍♀️Often used to describe sassiness.It actually is the symbol of an information desk person.Goat 🐐GOAT acronym“Greatest of all time” to emphasize someone amazingSpeaking of acronyms used as emojis…Since emojis have taken on descriptions of acronyms, we thought we should also spell out a few common abbreviations + acronyms to help you communicate better!2mr – Tomorrow OATUS – on a totally unrelated subjectATM – at the moment SMB: Small/medium businessBTW – By the Way TBC – to be confirmedDYK – Did You Know TIA – thanks in advanceHTH – Here to Help TIL – Today I LearnedICYMI – In Case You Missed It UGC: User-generated contentIMO – In My Opinion WDYT: What do you think?LI: LinkedIn WYGAM: When you get a minuteLMK – Let Me KnowHappy Texting!📱

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