Bing has an emoji search feature that allows users to find information on a variety of topics by simply typing in an emoji. But why? What does it mean? And how does it work?
Allow us to explain...
What is Bing Emoji Support?
Bing emoji support is a feature that allows users to insert emojis into their search queries. This can be done by typing in a colon followed by the desired emoji code. For example, if you want to insert the smiley face emoji, you would type in— :smile: or you could just type in — 😊. Bing will then search, based on the semantic meaning of that emoji.
“As you likely know, emoji are small pictures used to express an idea or emotion. With the explosion of mobile devices and the ubiquity of texting, it has become a shorthand language used by billions of us around the world. At Bing we want you to be able to search the same way you communicate every day,” the company said.
What's the deal with emojis?
The emoji has come a long way since its inception in 1999. The first set of 176 emojis were released by Shigetaka Kurita, a Japanese designer who was working on a messaging system for NTT Docomo, Japan’s largest mobile carrier. At the time, most mobile phones could only display black and white text. So, Kurita designed a set of 12×12 pixel images that could be used to express various emotions.
“Emoji” by Shigetaka Kurita, which can be seen in the MoMA
The word “emoji” comes from the Japanese words “e” (picture) and “moji” (letter or character). The term entered the mainstream in 2010 when it was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Since then, the use of emojis has exploded.
There are now over 3,000 emojis in existence, with new ones being introduced all the time. In 2015, the Unicode Consortium, the organization responsible for approving new emojis, approved 72 new emojis. And in 2016, they approved 250 new emojis, including a range of diverse skin tones and gender-neutral characters.
Emojis are now widely used for communication purposes—sometimes more than words. This makes them a great tool to have when you need to explain something complicated in a simple way without adding too much extra information.
How do I use Bing emoji support?
It’s easy. Just go onto your favorite web browser and type in "Bing" then click on the smiley face beside the search bar.
Next, start typing in your query as you normally would. For example, if you want to find out how to make a cake, you would type in “How to make a cake.” But if you want to use an emoji to express your query, you would type in “🧑🍳🎂.”
You can also use Bing emoji support to filter your searches. For example, if you only want to see results for videos, you would type in “🎂📹.”
Bing will then display a list of results that are relevant to your query. You can also click on the “More” button to filter your results even further.
Why is this feature useful?
This feature allows users access to incorporate emojis into their everyday searches. This is especially useful when you consider that Gen Z uses emojis exclusively in text messaging 39% of the time.
The feature doesn’t just work for emoji associations, but also for those times when you’re not sure what one image actually means. Then, in a move that’s similar to image searching, Bing will tell you what it means so you’re no longer puzzled and you can use it correctly.
How can marketers take advantage of Bing emoji support?
Marketers can use Bing emoji support to better understand how users are searching for their products or services. For example, if you sell cake mix, you could track the number of searches for “🧑🍳🎂” over time.
This would give you an idea of how many potential customers are searching for the products you sell and provide valuable metrics to show how you can reach them. For example, if you notice that a lot of users are searching for “🧑🍳🎂”, you could create a campaign that targets people who are interested in baking cakes.
Overall, Bing emoji support is a great way to understand how users are communicating about your products or services. It can also be used to create more targeted marketing campaigns that will reach a wider audience.
So many choices… (Image Source).
The future of emojis on search engines
Typing out words and phrases is still the norm when entering a search engine query, so emojis won’t replace text any time soon. However, they are becoming more prevalent in our everyday usage—not just to augment our messages, but also as a language on its own.
Here are some creative ways you can use Bing emoji search:
- Ask where the best donuts in NYC are by replacing the word “donut” with the 🍩.
- Try out clever combos. For example, find cupcakes near you by picking out the cup emoji and the 🍵🎂emoji.
- Request a random result by using the 🎲 emoji.
Wrap-up
Emojis are becoming increasingly popular across all types of media. They can be used to express ideas without having to say a word, but they also have other, more creative uses.
From asking where the nearest cinema is, through to being able to search for cupcakes—you can use Bing emoji support in different and clever ways.
How MarinOne can help
Whether your users are searching via emoji or traditional text—on Bing or Google—we can help you connect with more users.
MarinOne is a comprehensive marketing platform that aims to give users the ability to discover and take advantage of all marketing opportunities. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, it is one of the most versatile and user-friendly platforms around.
Learn more about MarinOne’s automation tools today. Get in touch and speak to one of the team.
