Duolingo: Cross-Platform Personality for a Post-Influencer World
Online language learning service, Duolingo, a social media-extraordinaire with a candid online brand personality, has a public online presence primarily targeting TikTokers.
To understand the effectiveness of its online presence, consider its three elements of communication:
- appealing to Generation-Z audiences
- making it cost- and time-effective through ‘word-of-mouth’
- engagement continuity between TikTok and the service itself
These three elements of platform engagement make an effective online presence.
Breaking Corporate Taboos
Duolingo consistently defies stuffy and impersonal corporate norms. I find its TikTok content funny, daring, and sometimes so crude it warrants a double-take.
Consider Element 1, to communicate as a ‘counter-culture’ brand to a generation bored of the dull and sedate corporate world.
So take a look at how it communicates literally.
Capital letters? Gone. Punctuation? Bin it. Apostrophes, who? Hey, that’s what’s in with TikTokers.
Duolingo engages teenagers by talking like them.
See what I mean?
Duolingo rocks at capitalising on the latest trends.
Need another example?
Notice the iconic Snapchat meme format?
And honestly, congratulations because it’s not so easy. Look at the endless criticism of Kylie Jenner’s 2020 foray into TikTok, during a year widely described as the platform’s heyday. Former DigiSoc-er Anastasia K. claims Kylie ‘understands her target audience’s needs’ but just take a look for yourself.
Despite PR recalibrations, most still don’t understand that TikTok is the casual, carefree and silly Anti-Instagram.
Cruz and Lee (2014)
Recruitment to the Cult
Now, the marketers have shallow pockets so the next element is super important: communicating fast and cheap. And Duo the Owl has the audience doing it for them!
Look below. Free advertising!
Even other corporate brands are getting in on the fun!
Obviously this second element of engagement is crucial to the online presence.
‘Successful cult memes induce intense social interaction behaviour between cult members.’
Henson (2002)
Duolingo has infiltrated meme culture like a parasite, feeding from established platforms to engage and grow the audience, demanding they recruit, recruit, recruit! More of a cult recruitment than a product advert!
Segueing Between Platforms
Duolingo must still syphon users from TikTok to the actual product, of course!
Enter the Duolingo family, whom one Reddit user has so endearingly gathered.
These characters (plus Duo the Owl) are the segue that bridges TikTok to Duolingo with further digital, virtual engagement with the platform audience.
Say hi to Lucy!
Final Notes and a Word from Me
While I adore Duo the Owl, I hope the company doesn’t equate engagement on TikTok with success of their service. I mean come on, of course they’re just in it for the money! And honestly, that awareness is why it’s never intrigued me; I can see right through their communications to their ploy!
And yet, why engage with an audience with less disposable income to spend on a language-learning app?
But hey, each to their own!😁
