Duo, Duolingo’s massive inexperienced mascot, is perhaps probably the most well-known owl of the post-tootsie roll pop industrial 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 almost 7 million followers and accrued over 147 million likes from numerous viral movies.
How did Duolingo do it? By embracing “unhinged” advertising.
What’s unhinged advertising?
When manufacturers take much less of a cultured, excellent strategy to social, and embrace extra chaotic conversational moments, it’s also known as unhinged advertising. In the event you see a social media put up and suppose “How did that get accredited?” it could actually seemingly be thought of unhinged.
This strategy 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 firms together with Popeye’s and McDonald’s discovered viral moments by sending sassy Tweets.
Unhinged advertising might be significantly efficient at profitable over Gen Z clients preferring advertising that feels extra actual and fewer salesy. What might have been deemed unprofessional prior 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 firms sending imply tweets, and Duolingo has capitalized on it.
Duolingo’s TikTok Technique
Since shifting from investing in TV advert spots to a give attention to 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 might join with, and it has saved individuals coming again for extra to see what Duo would do subsequent.
When utilizing the app is talked about, it’s completed in a humorous gentle, and the viewers doesn’t really feel overly offered to. In reality, Duolingo’s TikTok content material that mentions the app typically highlights the free model of the app.
2. Hopping On Trending Matters
Scrolling by Duolingo’s TikTok feed, the model is at all times on high of utilizing trending sounds and hopping on present matters whereas they’re scorching.
One put up from final fall incorporates 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 subject whereas reminding the viewers that it’s nonetheless a language-learning app.
One other instance is a current put up that includes Duo on the premiere of the Barbie film dressed as the primary character of the movie which has been a trending subject on social media in anticipation of the movie.
Some of these posts preserve the model’s content material contemporary, which helps construct belief with the viewers.
3. Constant Storylines
Duolingo’s account additionally does an ideal job of getting constant storylines for the viewers to observe. 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 couple of examples:
- Duo’s one-sided rivalry with Google Translate: A number of movies (together with the instance above) characteristic Duo shading Google Translate and people who use it as a substitute of studying a brand new language on Duolingo.
- Duo + Dua Lipa: One other storyline is Duo’s “crush” on singer Dua Lipa. This offers the model simple materials any time Dua Lipa is trending.
- The Duolingo authorized group: There’s one other working 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 offered an ROI for the corporate. Duolingo’s every day energetic customers are up 62% from final yr and it continues to be among the many top-downloaded Training apps.
When completed proper, a extra relaxed, much less company strategy to social media can cement an genuine connection between a model and its viewers. The content material doesn’t (and doubtless shouldn’t) should include imply tweets and photos of the corporate mascot in a thong to be efficient, however a little bit of persona and relatability can go a great distance.
