Brand Storytelling

Duolingo is an app dedicated to making high-quality education available to everyone wanting to learn a new language. Originally when the app launched in 2011, it offered six languages but today offers over 40. The app is designed to be fun with challenges that motivate the user to keep advancing as they learn a new language. When looking at their social media, that might not be entirely clear depending on which platform you are viewing. While I previously have used Duolingo myself, I started paying attention to their social media when I found them on TikTok after the pandemic.

TikTok:

To understand the TikTok success, we have to go back to 2019. Mashable reported that an ad from Duo stating “coming soon” resulted in memes about the owl stalking you if you did not complete your language lesson.

Photo from Mashable

The Duolingo TikTok account has videos back to 2021 which first started as short language lessons mixed with the occasional trend. A video on May 25, 2021 reached 1.4 million views and was full of comments like “It’s Spanish or Vanish” that referenced the 2019 joke. From that video on, it is rare to see a “normal” style of content. The whole feed is what many on TikTok would consider unhinged. The account began to use the mascot and created videos about holding families and pets hostage followed by meetings with “legal Steve” dealing with Duo’s actions. Other common themes are Duo being in love with Dua Lipa, the betrayal of using Google Translate, partnering with content creators, and leaning into trends even if they aren’t brand related (like the Eras Tour).

If you were to look at the Duolingo TikTok page with absolutely zero context of what the company is, it would not be immediately clear. Duolingo has cashed in on its notoriety and the preexisting memes to accomplish the level of success it has. The story being told is that Duolingo is hip and on trend while leaning into the 2019 memes. It’s humorous and fits the style of content the TikTok demographic consumes.

Facebook:

Less trendy and more brand focused is the Duolingo Facebook. The majority of posts are intended to drive traffic to the Duolingo blog and each post speaks to Duolingo’s overarching goal of high-quality education for everyone. The engagement on Facebook is critical of updates or asking when certain language programs will receive new content. The jokes about “Spanish or Vanish” are few and far between. Based on the posts, the story being told is that Duolingo can help you accomplish your language learning goals with the app while pairing it with other sources to immerse yourself when people are not speaking the language around you.

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn introduces the story of Duolingo as a company. The message Duolingo portrays on LinkedIn is a mix of company culture and how Duolingo can help users reach their full potential. The company focused posts tell the story of Duolingo being a great and welcoming environment for employees with a heavy focus on the internship program, posts that show how Duolingo provides the level of education they advertise, and quarterly earnings.

Another way Duolingo uses LinkedIn to show the company culture is through posts regarding social rights issues. Supporting women, gay rights, and respecting preferred pronouns are all topics covered through LinkedIn content.

Duolingo’s LinkedIn also uses the platform as an opportunity to introduce the CEO who is an immigrant from Guatemala who left with a promise to change the world. With the diversity of languages offered and users all over the world, Duolingo also addresses maintaining diversity in their employees. This content directly represents the company mission while adding to the LinkedIn story of a welcoming work environment.

The smaller story that LinkedIn covers is how Duolingo can help users reach their potential. Most recently, a post was created to mention the partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency to create a program for refugee students.

Across multiple platforms, Duolingo curates content that represents their brand in a way that will be appealing to the specific demographics of each platform. TikTok is trendy content that leans into internet jokes about the company mascot and keeps the brand fresh and relevant to younger generations. Facebook pushes the educational purpose of Duolingo and drives followers to the Duolingo blog to continue learning how the app can benefit them and their language learning goals. LinkedIn covers Duolingo as a company: How and why it was created, the work environment offered, and how the team works to meet the mission of Duolingo are all topics covered on the professional networking site.

As a user of Duolingo, the Facebook content does the best at telling the story of the brand. Without the jokes, Facebook is able to describe the benefits of the app while being open to actual consumer dialogue and feedback that is not found on the other platforms. Overall, for the demographics of each platform, Duolingo is incredibly successful in their strategy and story telling in a way that is impactful and beneficial to the brand and its mission.

References:

Anderson, S. (2021, October 29). The Duolingo Owl is out for vengeance in these threatening memes. Mashable. https://mashable.com/article/duolingo-owl-memes#7pT00qhN5Pq8