Duolingo is a brand that needs no introduction to anyone on social media. In today’s world, content reigns supreme as one of the best ways to build a community. 

Duolingo has one of the biggest and most engaged audiences online, and that can be credited to its use of employee-generated content (EGC).

The free language-learning app is a ringleader of EGC and the company employees are quick to hop on the latest trends as well as creating their own successful videos, tweets and marketing campaigns.

The origins of Duolingo’s brand stem from user-generated memes

Before Duolingo existed as the hilarious, chronically online brand it is today, it garnered organic attention from its users thanks to its push notifications. In a time when Instagram was used to post your dinner and Vine was the most popular short-form video platform, people shared these memes solely for entertainment. 

Somewhere along the line, notifications like these were shared and the Duolingo owl mascot was turned into a mildly threatening character who would break into your house if you didn’t do your Spanish lesson.

Duolingo employees took advantage of this pre-existing meme and built their social media presence with a Gen Z audience in mind—the ones who had given the Duolingo owl, Duo, this personality in the first place.

Duolingo’s social media accounts all feature their employees

Duolingo’s target audience has always been Gen Z and millennials. Their brand is all about making learning fun, and their young team of content creators of the same generations reflect that.

The employees are the main focus of their online content. By bringing the Duo owl to life in a mascot costume, they’re creating an easy and maintainable social media strategy that gives a face to their business on every platform.

Duolingo’s TikTok, its biggest account for engaging with Gen Z, is filled with unhinged content, trends and popular audios. Employees make a lot of low-budget content around the office which performs better due to the relatability and connection it gives to its target audience.

As a result, Duolingo has over 16.8 million followers and 433.7 million likes on TikTok, its most popular platform.

The witty personality of the Duo owl is also portrayed on X, with relevant pop culture references galore and user-generated memes shared by employees on the official account.

It’s not all fun and games

In comparison, the employees show a different side on YouTube. On the long-form video platform, they post more serious videos like product updates, life as an employee, interviews with celebrity partnerships and even “Study with me” style content which is extremely popular on YouTube. 

Not only do the employees know their target audience, but they also have a great grasp on what type of content performs well on different platforms.

The Death of Duo campaign

The death of the Duo owl was one of the biggest marketing campaigns in Duolingo's history. In February 2025, Duolingo killed off its iconic owl and amassed hundreds of millions of views through a series documenting its death.

Followers were given a statement of death, an investigation, a funeral and a revelation that it was all just a ploy to make users do their daily lesson. Even the CEO got involved. The employees dressing up in Duo costumes inside a flimsy plastic coffin was quite literally the nail in the… never mind.

Creative director of brand and marketing at Duolingo, James Kuczynski, told The Drum that the idea had been brewing for years before.

“Our product is built on gamification. We make learning fun, so our marketing has to be just as fun,” Kuczynski said.

Duolingo employees’ ability to not take themselves too seriously is what makes the business unique and successful. It’s clear that putting faith in EGC is vital for brands to succeed on social media.

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