Duolingo: The company that made threats effective marketing
With the widespread accessibility and use of technology in the world, new and innovative ways to educate have come about. Some forms are behind a paywall and others are free to use. One of the most famous free language learning tools, Duolingo, is the topic of today’s blog. We will be running through their interactions with the wider online community on social media platforms and how it plays to their benefit.
Naturally, when marketing online with the use of Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc. the usual audience is on the younger side, largely those a part of Gen-Z. As brands have used their social platforms to connect with people online more and more, some have failed and some have succeeded. In my opinion, Duolingo is one company that has managed to do it very well, and that is reflected in how their audience responds to them.
Appealing to darker senses of humour appears to be what works for companies connecting with social media audiences with the American fast-food chain Wendy’s starting the trend with their Twitter roasts to fellow fast-food brands as well as to their followers.
Other brands have tried to replicate it and failed, being labelled as copycats and unoriginal but Duolingo innovated the idea and succeeded. Now they are very well known for their somewhat threatening social media posts as well as for their ability to connect with their followers with memes about current social media drama.
Duolingo on Twitter:
Out of all its social media antics, Duolingo is most known for its Twitter activity. They often jump onto current events and post memes regarding them to appeal to their audience while also seizing the opportunity to promote their app and its paid subscription. Here are some examples of that:
While discussing Duolingo’s Twitter activity it is virtually impossible to ignore their classic threatening tweets to encourage users to use the app daily.
Duolingo on Instagram:
On Instagram Duolingo’s posts are largely the same as the content from their Twitter, sometimes even including posts of screenshotted Twitter posts. Occasionally, however, they create skits like in the post that is linked here. These skits, again similar to their Tweets, are tailored to be appealing and relatable to their audience.
Why is it all so appealing to their audience?
I’m sure we all wonder why the formula Duolingo uses works so well to engage their following and the answer is quite clear. Duolingo plays into being relatable with their followers and succeeds at that as it is executed well. It is often regarded as a pioneer of brand social media presence alongside Wedny’s for that reason. They also use playful aggressiveness and shock value to their advantage to get more engagement on their posts, thus fueling their ability to go viral on social media platforms. In my opinion, it is a brilliant use of social media to market their app and subscription as it is very effective at gaining the attention they want. I know I myself have been reminded to do my daily Duolingo lesson thanks to their posts and I also have considered their subscription.
