The Oprah Winfrey Network has introduced videos into an emoji keyboard to encourage fans of Tyler Perry?s The Haves and Have Nots to share content while having fun with the show and building awareness. 

The update of the Haves and Have Nots emoji keyboard takes the mobile messaging strategy one step further in helping fans to run with the show?s content. The show is leveraging material that is most likely to interest consumers, given the ongoing popularity of video. 

?According to recent Google research, 98 percent of 18 to 34 year olds report viewing video content on their smartphones,? said Christian Brucculeri, CEO of Snaps, the developer behind the keyboard application. ?At Snaps, we wanted to make an endpoint that allowed millennials to view and also share small, fun video clips of The Haves and Have Nots with their friends in messaging.  

?Adding this to the keyboard reduces friction from sharing,? he said. "We have run brand lift studies that have shown our messaging campaigns driving 600 percent increases in tune-in intent.  

?For OWN, getting their content in a place that is easily sharable drives their key metrics.?

Inserting videos into the emoji keyboards creates a seamless experience for users to share video content from the Have and Have Nots. Before the keyboard updates users would have to find a video on an outside platform, which can limit the available choices of clips, and then share links to the outside app or browser. 

The keyboard provides a much wider range of content for users to send directly to friends without outside applications or extra steps. 

Consumers are interested in quick, snackable content, especially with videos. The short integrated clips are meeting the needs of consumers, and ensuring its effectiveness. 

The Tyler Perry?s the Have and Have Nots keyboard originally featured GIFs and emojis based off of the show. Fans share characters? faces and catch phrases from the show seamlessly through the extra keyboard within mobile messaging applications such as iMessage, Kik and Whatsapp. 

The added feature allows for fans to now share video clips from the show, updated consistently to keep the keyboard?s content up to date. The short clips range from one to three minutes and are taken from scenes of the show. 

To use the keyboard that integrates with users? preferred mobile messaging platforms, smartphone owners download the mobile app through various app stores and add the keyboard through the phone?s settings.

Tyler Perry?s the Have and Have Nots is among several brands getting a leg-up on effectively connecting to fans through emoji keyboards, including RuPaul?s Drag Race (see more). 

Also, Time Inc.'s culinary publication Food & Wine launched an emoji and branded sticker keyboard application to expand its consumer reach and become a staple in the food-and-beverage culture of mobile-savvy consumers (see more). 

"Make it short, make it fun and make it shareable," Mr. Brucculeri said. "The best content that we see shared in the space is conversational. 

"Consumers like to be clever, funny and timely," he said. "Brands looking for peer-to-peer sharing should look for content opportunities that make their consumers look clever."

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer