Twitter wants to make emojis the new keyword.
Just in time for next month's "World Emoji Day" (which is apparently a thing on July 17), Twitter is launching a new way for advertisers to target users that have tweeted with a certain emoji or engaged with tweets with a certain emoji.
All those smiles, thumbs ups, dancers and ghost icons could soon be used to trigger ads across the social media network.
With emoji targeting, Domino's and Pizza Hut can target people who use the pizza emoji. Or maybe brands advertising during Tour de France will want to engage with anyone who uses the guy on a bicycle. Brands can also strike a somber tone with anyone that uses the crying face. (Kleenex, anyone?)
Marketers who want to try don't have to wait long; the feature is available globally through select partners including AdParlor, Amobee, HYFN, Perion, SocialCode and 4C.
"According to the Oxford Dictionary, the 2015 word of the year was none other than … an emoji," Twitter Ads API Product Manager Neil Shah wrote in a blog post. "Emojis have become a ubiquitous way for people, publishers and brands to express their feelings. And, over 110 billion emojis have been Tweeted since 2014."
