A Fall from Grace: How Duolingo Mishandled Its Social Media Crisis
(Starting off with a picture. Random, I know, but I promise there’s a reason).
Before scrolling down, I have to ask, what first comes to mind when you see this little green owl? A cute cartoon? A green Angry Bird? An empowering coach?
Well, Duo is a mixture of all that and then some.
This playful yet dependable mascot represents a parent-like personality meant to motivate Duolingo learners. Unafraid to check in and lay on some guilt, Duo effectively gets users back to the Duolingo language-learning platform, raising and maintaining the firm’s high open and retention rates.
The Social Media Personality…
Language learning can be a boring and tedious task. To take the draining aspect out of it, Duolingo’s social media team has developed a lasting strategy surrounding this sassy and expressive owl. Below outlines some key aspects of their chosen strategy:
- Social Listening
24-year-old Zaria Parvez, the brains behind Duolingo’s social media accounts, spends an hour to two every workday scrolling through various platforms. While unconventional, this is a necessary action that helps her keep up with consumer trends, allowing for the creation of more timely and relevant content for Duo. - Community Management
Keeping to Duo’s extra nature, Parvez and her team, as Duo, regularly respond to comments on various brands’ posts. Such responsiveness is crucial in helping the brand build stronger connections with its viewers. - Entertaining, Not Selling
Instead of directly selling the Duolingo platform, Duo leverages viral trends and memes to produce unhinged content. This entertaining and friendly method of creating social content appeals to its audiences, allowing them to independently get interested in learning more about the firm (and its offerings) rather than being pushed to.
The Crisis…
While Duo’s unhinged personality has successfully landed the brand 6.3 million followers on TikTok to date, in May 2022, Parvez and her team took it too far by leaving an insensitive comment on a TikTok video about the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial.
The original TikTok, posted by NBC News, showcases Heard calling Depp “an abuser.” Though the comment has since been deleted, screenshots show Duo commenting the phrase “y’all think Amber watches TikTok.”
Upon seeing this comment, B2B public relations and marketing expert Chris Harihar responded.
“On what planet does a brand — even @duolingo — think it’s cool to crack jokes about an alleged victim of domestic violence? The Depp fandom bubble on TikTok is very real but no brand should get anywhere near it,” he tweeted, receiving tens of thousands of likes within the span of a day.
The Response…
Aside from deleting the comment post-backlash, Duolingo did not seem to respond to the controversy. With that said, however, Parvez apologized.
“I made a mistake,” she tweeted before making her account private. “It’s deleted and I’m listening. I’m 24 — a yr out of college — managing an account that I didn’t expect to grow how it did & learning social responsibility on a curve. Taking full ownership. It’s an early career lesson for me and I’m learning to be better.”
Today, the tweet is no longer accessible as Parvez has deleted her account.
The Evaluation…
People make mistakes, that’s natural. In this case, however, Duolingo definitely could have avoided the issue. In today’s digital age, it’s important that firms develop strict employee social media guidelines to ensure that employees have a clear understanding of the types of information they can share, the best practices they should follow, and the overall tone and voice they should portray. Should Duolingo have had this in place, and enforced a stronger vetting process pre-post (for content & comments alike), I believe that they wouldn’t have fallen into this debacle in the first place.
Seeing that the Heard v. Depp case involved alleged domestic violence on both sides, it was definitely not right for Duo to jokingly comment on the issue. While Parvez did apologize and took full ownership, I personally think that Duolingo should have responded to the issue as well. After all, the comment did come out of its official TikTok account.
In fact, as they barely managed the crisis at all, to me, it’s hindered their brand image. Merely removing the comment is not enough. Below outlines potential actions Duolingo could have done to better manage the issue:
- Respond in a Timely Manner
Ignoring a social media crisis doesn’t make it go away. Usually, more than 75% of consumers expect brands to respond to negative comments in under 24 hours. A response could be as simple as issuing a sincere apology and acknowledging the mistake, for example. - Engage with Viewers
While working on a more in-depth response that outlines how the firm is going to learn from its mistake(s), engaging with audiences is key to showing that Duolingo valued the public’s response. Instead of defense, comments should shortly, sweetly, and empathetically acknowledge public concerns. - Put Scheduled Posts on Pause
In the week of the Twitter uproar (May 17–23, 2022), Duolingo’s official Twitter account posted several unrelated, seemingly scheduled posts. In the thick of a crisis, it’s unwise to speak about anything unassociated with fixing the issue. Even with the most amazing content, that should be put on the back burner until the crisis has been properly managed.
The Conclusion…
While it’s natural for people (and firms) to make mistakes, owning up to them and responding appropriately is necessary. In this case, unfortunately, Duolingo fell short of expectations.
Let me know what you think of their response. Do you agree?
