News Article

IABC is excited to announce its first Spotlight Session with Zaria Parvez, Social Media Manager at Duolingo, only at World Conference 2023! This is just the first taste of what communication professionals can look forward to in Toronto, Canada, 4-7 June 2023. 

Keep it Simple Stupid: Duolingo's Guide to Risk on Social

Duo, a sassy and fiercely loyal owl, has landed countless viral TikToks by riffing off of trending audio clips. Whether it’s fangirling over Dua Lipa or getting in trouble with Legal, Duo has stolen the hearts of gen-Z and #brandtok. Hear from the brains behind the language-learning platform Duolingo’s TikTok account, Zaria Parvez, only at World Conference 2023. We'll take a peek into how Duolingo implemented a test-and-learn approach, empowered Gen-Z talent to take the reigns, and flipped the script on traditional marketing.

About the Keynote

Zaria Parvez is Duolingo’s global social media manager. She leads social strategy, community management and creator partnerships across all major social platforms. She spearheaded the development of Duolingo’s TikTok account. As a direct result of Zaria's work on Duolingo's TikTok strategy and execution, the now-famous TikTok channel grew from 50K followers in September 2021 to 5.1M followers today and was recently recognized as one of AdAge’s Top 5 Brand TikTok accounts. The Duolingo TikTok has 83 viral videos (view counts of 1M or higher) due to Zaria’s creativity. What started as a test-and-learn initiative has become Duolingo's most successful social buzz and word-of-mouth initiative to date – all because of Zaria's insights, instincts, and expertise.

More broadly, Zaria is a role model for a new, diverse class of Gen Z social media talent and has proven what's possible when given creative freedom and trust in the work she does. Prior to joining Duolingo, Zaria was a student at the University of Oregon where she majored in advertising, business and psychology. She was recently named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Social Media.

Check back for additional Spotlight Session announcements in the weeks to come!

Register today.