Zaria Parvez is the Duolingo owl

<p>If you’re on TikTok, you have seen the hysterical (and sometimes unhinged) Duolingo posts. And if you were interested in learning a language (like my husband was, actually), you probably converted into a Duolingo user because of the prevalence of Duo the owl on TikTok. I was stunned to find out that all 6m of us Duo stans were actually following a fresh-out-of-college Pakistani American, Zaria Parvez (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/photos_zap/?hl=en">@photos_zap</a>). In two short years and with a marketing budget of 0 dollars, Zaria built a cult around the language learning app. The Duolingo account has 121.6m likes, including some from a video from just yesterday with 2m views (a figure 300,000 north of the entire population of Bahrain).</p> <p>Listen to Zaria’s incredible story. This journey is especially cool because she is early in her career, but has already been recognized as a marketing genius. Experience doesn’t always equate to stature or seniority, and Zaria’s story is a testament to that reality.</p> <p>Follow Zaria on TikTok <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@zariaparvez?lang=en">https://www.tiktok.com/@zariaparvez?lang=en</a></p> <p>Follow Zaria on IG <a href="https://www.instagram.com/photos_zap/?hl=en">https://www.instagram.com/photos_zap/?hl=en</a></p> <p>Check out Duolingo’s TikTok <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo?lang=en">https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo?lang=en</a></p> --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/laylool/message