Amplifying Impact Through Strategic Social Media Engagement

The social media game has changed. How are brands curating and producing online content that resonates and leaves a lasting imprint? Kickstarting Adweek’s Social Media Week, Manu Orssaud, vp and global head of marketing at Duolingo, and Lauren Thomas, senior communications manager at Intuit, tackled this question. They offered the audience an expert-guided tour through their experiences and insights into creating powerful social media content that connects—and converts. A social-first approach The panelists underscored the necessity of a social-first approach in today’s digital-dominated landscape. Social media shouldn't be merely an aspect of your strategy—it should be at the forefront. “At Duolingo, we take a very social-first approach to every campaign we create. We create social content at the heart of every campaign,” Orssaud said. “This approach has helped us drive exceptional reach.” How Sephora Is Partnering With Creators for Brand Impact Thomas echoed a similar sentiment, emphasizing the feedback loop that engaging with customers creates. “Social is one of the key channels we use to create content that engages people around our brand,” she said. “We also use it a lot for social listening and understanding what people are saying about our brand and how we can use that to influence how we’re creating products and how we’re engaging with consumers in the marketplace with the content we’re putting out there.” Fostering fandom With a whopping fan base of more than 6 million followers on TikTok, Duolingo’s owl mascot Duo has not only become a sensation but also a strategic asset. “Social has really become our powerhouse for us as a brand,” Orssaud said. “We use social to first connect with things that emerge from our community and create campaigns that tap into the fandom of our mascot, Duo.” Duo’s viral success has not only opened up new possibilities for the brand but has also attracted creators seeking meaningful and enduring partnerships. Rather than settling for brief, one-time transactions, creators now actively seek out Duo as a collaborator. “If you’ve seen our TikTok and our mascot, Duo, we really try to make Duo a creator himself,” Orssaud said. “All of the content we create is based on him and his personality. That approach allows us to attract creators who want to work with Duo—not with Duolingo, with Duo the creator.” Leveraging diverse creators To connect and engage with its audience, Thomas said Intuit taps into the power of a broad range of creators, from micro influencers to A-list celebrities. These creators can demonstrate the versatility of its products to suit a wide variety of needs. “A lot of people need to get their taxes done, and one of the benefits of working with creators is they can showcase a really wide range of unique lifestyle situations,” Thomas said. “So no matter what kind of lifestyle change you’ve been through, our brand has a solution that can help you. "We find that working with a really diverse range of creators with a really diverse range of lifestyle situations—whether they’re investors, self-employed, bought a house, had a baby—they could showcase in living their lives that no matter your background or tax situation, our products can help you.”

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Amplifying Impact Through Strategic Social Media Engagement

Unleashing the potential of collaborative partnerships with Duolingo and Intuit

A social-first approach

Alexandra Bower

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A social-first approach

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Alexandra Bower