How Duolingo Struck Social Media Gold with Unhinged Content material

Duo, Duolingo’s large inexperienced mascot, could be probably the most well-known owl of the post-tootsie roll pop business period.

The language-learning app first established a TikTok presence in early 2021 and located its stride by sharing humorous movies that includes the sassy owl Duo. Since then, Duolingo’s TikTok account has grown to just about 7 million followers and accrued over 147 million likes from varied viral movies.

How did Duolingo do it? By embracing “unhinged” advertising.

What’s unhinged advertising?

When manufacturers take much less of a elegant, good method to social, and embrace extra chaotic conversational moments, it’s also known as unhinged advertising. When you see a social media put up and suppose “How did that get accepted?” it might probably seemingly be thought of unhinged.

This method was first popularized on Twitter when Wendy’s grew to become notorious for “roasting” social media customers and overtly shading the competitors. Since then, different corporations together with Popeye’s and McDonald’s discovered viral moments by sending sassy Tweets.

Unhinged advertising will be significantly efficient at profitable over Gen Z clients preferring advertising that feels extra actual and fewer salesy. What could have been deemed unprofessional up to now is now thought of extra genuine and relatable.

With the introduction of TikTok and the rise of short-form video content material unhinged content material now expands past quick meals corporations sending imply tweets, and Duolingo has capitalized on it.

Duolingo’s TikTok Technique

Since shifting from investing in TV advert spots to a concentrate on natural social, Duolingo has discovered its advertising stride. What has made Duolingo’s TikTok content material so viral? Three key methods:

1. Leisure Over Promoting

The content material is humorous and goals to entertain greater than it goals to promote.

Duolingo’s TikTok began taking off when the content material featured Duo, the app’s mascot. The content material centered on Duo being a humorous character the viewers may join with, and it has stored folks coming again for extra to see what Duo would do subsequent.

When utilizing the app is talked about, it’s executed in a humorous mild, and the viewers doesn’t really feel overly bought to. Actually, Duolingo’s TikTok content material that mentions the app usually highlights the free model of the app.

Picture Supply

2. Hopping On Trending Subjects

Scrolling by way of Duolingo’s TikTok feed, the model is at all times on prime of utilizing trending sounds and hopping on present subjects whereas they’re scorching.

One put up from final fall includes a cowl picture of well-known rivals Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber. The put up was shared shortly after the photographs of the pair (which brought on waves on the web) first dropped and performed up Duolingo’s one-sided beef with Google Translate. This video illustrates how the model can hop on a then-trending matter whereas reminding the viewers that it’s nonetheless a language-learning app.

One other instance is a latest put up that includes Duo on the premiere of the Barbie film dressed as the principle character of the movie which has been a trending matter on social media in anticipation of the movie.

These kind of posts hold the model’s content material contemporary, which helps construct belief with the viewers.

3. Constant Storylines

Duolingo’s account additionally does a fantastic job of getting constant storylines for the viewers to comply with. This helps viewers really feel extra related to the model and creates a way of belonging as a result of constant viewers are in on the joke. Listed here are a number of examples:

• Duo’s one-sided rivalry with Google Translate: A number of movies (together with the instance above) function Duo shading Google Translate and those that use it as an alternative of studying a brand new language on Duolingo.
• Duo + Dua Lipa: One other storyline is Duo’s “crush” on singer Dua Lipa. This provides the model simple materials any time Dua Lipa is trending.
• The Duolingo authorized workforce: There’s one other operating joke on the TikTok account that highlights Duolingo’s counsel attempting to cease Duo from posting (a nod to the unhinged nature of the content material).

It’s not all memes and humorous movies — the advertising technique has supplied an ROI for the corporate. Duolingo’s day by day energetic customers are up 62% from final 12 months and it continues to be among the many top-downloaded Training apps.

When executed proper, a extra relaxed, much less company method to social media can cement an genuine connection between a model and its viewers. The content material doesn’t (and possibly shouldn’t) should include imply tweets and pictures of the corporate mascot in a thong to be efficient, however a little bit of character and relatability can go a good distance.