WEEK 5: A Conversation with Guest Speaker Duane Forrester by Shelley Connacher
By UCLA X469.21 Student Shelley Connacher
Duane Forrester
I really enjoyed learning from our guest speaker, Duane Forrester, VP of industry insights for Yext.
Duane has over 20 years of experience in the search and social media fields. He has a lot of insights and knowledge that he shared with our UCLA Extension class. I was particularly intrigued by the vast growth in voice assistant speakers such as Alexa, Google and Echo Dots.
Duane predicted that in just 1.5 years, use of voice assistants will rise to 50%. Voice assistant speakers such as the Alexa and Echo Dot were the number-one Christmas present of 2017, and 72% of those with such a speaker say they use it daily. Using a voice assistant can be a much easier and more efficient way of getting information than entering words into a phone or computer.
For brands, there’s no way currently to pay to improve placement in voice search results, so there’s equal opportunity for everyone to make it to the top.
Duane also discussed maps and geolocation search results, which are becoming more popular tools for accessing information about shops, restaurants, etc. Compared to a standard web search, geographic results provide more information on what’s nearby, operating hours (including if the business is closing soon) directions, how long it will take to get there, etc.
Duane explained that each social media platform can serve a different marketing purpose. Brands first have to identify who they are trying to reach, and which social networks are best for interacting with that target audience. Also, what’s the strategy… is it story telling or story making? Story making can have a much bigger impact, as it is built upon allowing others to comment and give their opinions. Story making empowers the audience to interact and create more engagement. One example is an online contest that requires participants to follow the brand and invite their friends to participate.
Duane wrapped up by reminding us that it is always best to tell the truth on social media. Even though you may be able to delete a post, it is never truly deleted from the internet! Social media is people powered media.
