Do Emojis Belong in B2B Email Marketing?

Love them 😍 or hate them 😡, emojis are still making their mark in email marketing. They add personality, grab attention, and can boost open rates when used wisely.  

Once confined to casual texts, emojis have steadily made their way into the world of business communication, from social media posts to email marketing campaigns. 

For a long time, emojis were seen as the domain of B2C marketers, while B2B brands hesitated, unsure if the same approach would strike the right tone with professional audiences. But in recent years, that hesitation has seemed to fade. Emojis are appearing more frequently in B2B inboxes, reflecting a broader shift toward more human, relatable, and conversational brand communication. 

B2B email marketing has shifted beyond stiff intros and text-heavy updates. Decision-makers are people too, they scan crowded inboxes, respond to emotion, and appreciate authenticity. When used thoughtfully, emojis can make subject lines pop and messages feel more personal. But as the use of these icons become more popular, are emojis still a hit, or have they become a tired tactic? 

In this blog, we’ll unpack both sides of the emoji debate, the pros, the cons, and how to use them strategically in your B2B email campaigns. 

Pros of using emojis in B2B email marketing 

Higher open & click rate 

According to Experia, emails with emojis in the subject line can see up to a 56% higher open rate than those without. Why? They help differentiate your B2B emails, making them more noticeable amid the clutter of a busy inbox. This can have a huge positive effect on KPIs such as open, click-through, and response rates. With 361.6 billion emails sent daily last year, grabbing the attention of your recipient has never been more important.  

Stronger brand recognition and personality 

Even if recipients don’t open the email, an emoji in the subject line can still make an impression. Over time, using specific emojis consistently can help reinforce your brand identity or even help give your brand some personality, thereby making it much more relatable to your customers and prospects. People buy from people, so adding some personality and humanising your brand can help to make your business personable.  

Improve clarity and convey tone 

Emojis can provide extra context, improve clarity, and help express the intended tone of a message. In B2B email marketing, tone can easily be lost or misinterpreted, especially when communicating complex ideas or calls to action. A well-chosen emoji can guide the reader’s attention and subtly reinforce the message you want to convey. For example, the waving hand emoji 👋 can add a friendly tone in welcome or re-engagement emails. 

Maximising limited space 

Marketers save a lot of space with emojis. With mobile inboxes displaying only about 50 characters of a subject line, every word counts. Use them as a shortcut to convey emotions or ideas quickly, without taking up valuable text space. 

Cons of using emojis in B2B email marketing 

Risk of looking unprofessional 

Overusing emojis, or using them in the wrong context, can make your emails appear less credible. This is especially important for industries like finance, healthcare, or legal services, where professionalism is key. 

Cultural and context misinterpretation 

Not all emojis are universally understood. Some symbols have different meanings across cultures, leading to confusion, misinterpretation, or your emails conveying the wrong tone. For example, the folded hands emoji 🙏 can be seen as a sign of gratitude in some regions but religious in others, and while the thumbs up emoji 👍 would typically be seen as positive to an older audience, younger people may consider it sarcastic or passive aggressive.  

Rendering issues across devices and email clients 

Not all devices display emojis the same way. An emoji that looks cheerful on an iPhone might appear entirely different on an Android or Outlook client, changing the tone of your message completely. If an emoji isn’t supported, it may display as a blank box (⬜) or a question mark (�), disrupting readability. 

In B2B email marketing, knowing whether to use emojis and what kinds of emojis depends on how well you understand your audience. Look to your data and buyer personas, what’s the communication style your audience responds to? What industry are they in? Is the message you’re conveying suitable for icons? Are the recipients comfortable with a more casual tone, or do they prefer formality? 

Used appropriately, emojis can humanise your brand, make subject lines more engaging and help your message stand out in a crowded inbox, but only when they align with your recipients’ expectations, your brand’s voice and the message is right for the tone they convey.  

Want to take the guesswork out of B2B email marketing? As a UK multi-award-winning data solutions and email marketing provider, we help businesses craft campaigns that connect, convert, and leave a lasting impression, get in touch with our expert team here.