A Social Media Audit on Duolingo by Julia Allman
What is Duolingo?
Duolingo is a technology company that produces learning apps, mainly for learning language, where users can practice vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and listening skills. They are also branching out into other learning categories, such as math courses and practice tests. Their main mission or goal is for “free language education for the world.” That is a statement seen on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. The messaging on Facebook and YouTube seems slightly more formal (to fit the platform) talking about free, universally accessible language for all.
The famous Duolingo Mascot: Duo
Duolingo and its use of social media has always fascinated me, since its huge rise in popularity a few years ago. In my opinion, it is a fantastic example of how beneficial social media can be for both rebranding and increasing awareness about an organization. While they started out just as a language app, they are starting to branch into new categories such as mathematics lessons and support.
Where can they be found?
Duolingo was on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with their highest engagement appearing to be on Instagram and TikTok. The majority of content on TikTok was comical, following trends on the app or creating content that pokes fun at skipping a day using the app or using Google translate instead of learning a language. A lot of their content also had their mascot, an owl named Duo, doing TikTok dance trends and pranks in the office. The content wasn’t really geared towards the app’s services and seems more focused on creating brand awareness. Similar content is also posted on Instagram and Twitter, however, there are more posts about the services the app offers. Facebook and YouTube seemed to be a bit more formal with their content. While there was still a comical element, some content on TikTok and Instagram was not also shared on Facebook and YouTube.
Comment section from Duolingo’s TikTok page.
Their best engagement seemed to be on TikTok, and not just through likes and comments from others. The account also engages with their audience by responding to a lot of their comments and interacting with consumers. This can also be seen in some of their posts on Instagram, comically responding to comments from others. This is a great example of how a brand can use social care; utilizing social media’s two-way communication opportunities to humanize the brand and make it more personable.
Duolingo engages with their audience on Instagram by comically responding to comments under their posts.
Recommendations & Social Care
Duolingo is doing phenomenally with engagement and popularity on TikTok and Instagram, responding back to its audience and creating content that aligns with current trends. However, that seems to be where most of their engagement with consumers is. Through analyzing Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, I noticed there are very few (and sometimes not any) responses to comments from the Duolingo account to consumers commenting on posts.
My recommendation for Duolingo would be to increase engagement on other social media sites, by responding to comments and communicating more with their audience on Facebook and Twitter. The organization is doing very well on TikTok and Instagram, which seem to be its best-performing social media pages. Part of this is because of the extensive response rate and communication they provide their audience on the app. Increasing this type of communication and engagement on other apps would be very beneficial.
Duolingo’s Social Care
Another example of Duolingo’s comment section on their TikTok page.
There is great social care in general with Duolingo humanizing their brand more by using their mascot, the owl. The brand has become more authentic and personable, with a comical element to it. The owl plays pranks around the office, participates in dance trends on social media, and complains about having to do lessons in the brands app. It increases their social optimization because it gets audience’s attention and creates discussions about the brand and what it is currently doing. Their social media pages are advertising their products and services, but also acting as a PR team creating a two-way communication between consumers and the brand.