• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

The Emoji In Your Next Tweet Could Trigger An Ad

By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kia Kokalitcheva
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 15, 2016, 9:45 PM ET
FRANCE-TELECOM-MEDIA-INTERNET-MARKETING
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY TUPAC POINTU A picture shows emoji characters also known as emoticons on the screens of two mobile phones in Paris on August 6, 2015. Forget traditional banners and promotional videos, brands are turning to emojis to communicate with their Generation Z target audience. AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Miguel Medina—AFP/Getty Images

If you thought tweeting smiley-faced emoji would confuse advertisers and help you hide from their ad targeting, think again.

Twitter said on Wednesday that it would now let advertisers target users based on these small cartoonish expressions of emotions like a teary face or interests like football. Advertisers will be able tap one of several Twitter (TWTR) ad partners show ads to users who tweet or engage with tweets containing particular emojis.

For example, a fast food chain may want to target users tweeting emoji of burgers and fries, while a travel company can focus on users complaining about bad weather via emoji.

Twitter is pitching emojis as “a signal of a person’s mood or mindset — unlocking unique opportunities for marketers.” Its users have tweeted more than 110 billion emoji since 2014, and the little universal icons have opened the doors to new expressive imagery like stickers, which are larger and often more complex images, and mini video clips known as GIFs. Even entire keyboards for typing in emoji or GIFs, some themed around celebrities, have been created to make it quicker for people to replace words with images.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

And if that’s not enough, in 2015, the Oxford Dictionary declared an emoji as the word of the year.

It remains to be seen just how well Twitter’s new ad targeting based on emojis will work. But don’t be surprised if your next tweet of a pizza and an angry face is quickly followed by a pizza company’s ad.

About the Author
By Kia Kokalitcheva
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

AIEye on AI
Silicon Valley’s tone-deaf take on the AI backlash will matter in 2026
By Sharon GoldmanDecember 23, 2025
29 minutes ago
Young rich woman in front of plane
SuccessBillionaires
There are more self-made billionaires under 30 than ever before—11 of them have made the ultra-wealthy club in the last 3 months thanks to AI
By Emma BurleighDecember 23, 2025
2 hours ago
ChatGPT Atlas illustration.
AISecurity
OpenAI says AI browsers like ChatGPT Atlas may never be fully secure from hackers—and experts say the risks are ‘a feature not a bug’
By Beatrice NolanDecember 23, 2025
2 hours ago
SuccessSmall Business
10 crucial insights for small business owners to succeed in 2026—and beyond
By Ashley LutzDecember 23, 2025
3 hours ago
Photo of Sam Altman
SuccessCareers
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman says in 10 years’ time college graduates will be working ‘some completely new, exciting, super well-paid’ job in space
By Preston ForeDecember 23, 2025
4 hours ago
Kurian
AIGoogle
Google Cloud chief reveals the long game: a decade of silicon and the energy battle behind the AI boom
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 23, 2025
4 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire philanthropy's growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
By Ashley LutzDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Travel & Leisure
After pouring $450 million into Florida real estate, Larry Ellison plans to lure the ultrarich to an exclusive town just minutes from Mar-a-Lago
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Mitt Romney says the U.S. is on a cliff—and taxing the rich is now necessary 'given the magnitude of our national debt'
By Dave SmithDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Meet a 55-year-old automotive technician in Arkansas who didn’t care if his kids went to college: ‘There are options’
By Muskaan ArshadDecember 21, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Multimillionaire musician Will.i.am says work-life balance is for people ‘working on someone else’s dream’ and not for visionaries—he grinds from 5-to-9 after his 9-to-5
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 21, 2025
2 days ago