Information gathered to research topic
Digital and social media marketing is transitioning from the traditional type-only’ search model to new concepts stimulated by the abundance of digital assistants that are voice enabled such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Echo, Google Home, and Microsoft’s Cortana among others (Morris, 2017). Marketers who utilize digital and social media platforms have been focusing their efforts and resources in areas that provide an opportunity to optimize brand visibility in Google snippets as they seek to respond to questions arising on how voice-search functions. Currently, organizations get deeper integration through voice apps that give unique chances for momentous impressions. According to Morris (2017), organizations will need to be cautious of the legal and risks implications associated with the increased direct access to consumer information via the digital and social media assistants.
The research proposal has been organized into numerous sections including the literature review, research questions, research methods, research approach, design of the research, data sources and research instrument. Others include population and sampling, method of analysis, practical and ethical issues and finally a timetable for the research project.
Literature Review
Ross (2018) defines voice search as a voice recognition technology which allow individuals to perform a search after speaking to a device often a Smartphone, home assistant devices, or computers. Over the years, the inquiries associated with voice-related commands have increased with approximately 35% (Ross, 2018). Consequently, according to the Grand View Research (2018), the universal voice recognition market is approximated to reach $ 127.58 billion by the year 2024. The increment in the number of benefits that voice recognition technologies are offering to both the consumers and marketing organizations will continuously drive the demand for solutions associated with speech recognition. Voice recognition is a form of biometrics technology. According to Singh, Agrawal, and Khan (2018, p. 2) is beneficial because of increased accuracy and security. Additionally, identification through biometrics such as voice recognition is convenient, not imitative, reduces paper work, and cannot be lost. Bawany, Ahmed, and Zakir, (2013, p. 7) argues that voice recognition can increase customers and organizational value because of the uniqueness that human voice offers.
The purpose of digital and social media marketing is generation of leads and ensuring they are converted into consumers, regardless of the technique used to acquire the lead (Arrington, 2017). The effectiveness of voice recognition can be backed up by the high stats of usage across the United States. More than 41% of adults and half of teens in the US are using voice search daily. Additionally, from the 3.5 billion searches that Google receive daily, a third emanate from voice searches (Ross, 2018). Consequently, it remains the responsibility of the digital marketers to utilize the voice recognition searches in a manner that improves organizational and customer value. Voice recognition helps in improving the use experience of search engines by being convenient and faster and at the same time increases the results accuracy. Therefore, if marketers are able to optimize the content on the website effectively, your brand organization can be the first to be suggested by the digital personal assistants.

Research question/objective/hypothesis
Based on the above review of the literature, the research questions that will be investigated during the actual study include:
1. What techniques are used in optimizing voice recognition for digital and social media marketing?
2. How does the effective implementation of voice recognition in digital and social media marketing increase customers and organizational value?
3. What are the barriers/ challenges of using voice recognition in digital and social media marketing?
Research Objectives
The specific research objectives of the study will be:
• To identify techniques used in optimizing voice recognition for digital and social media marketing
• To examine how effective implementation of voice recognition in digital and social media marketing increase customers and organizational value
• To investigate the barriers/ challenges of using voice recognition in digital and social media marketing
Hypothesis
The hypothesis of the study is that implementing voice recognition for digital and social media marketing in an effective way can increase customers and organizational value.
Research methods
In the study to be conducted, a mixed research method will be used. In a mixed methodology, the researcher utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Quantitative methods of research are those that give rise to data that can be quantified. On the other hand, qualitative methods provide data that is descriptive in nature. Quantitative data is collected using questionnaires. On the other hand, Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, and Bristow (2015, p. 122) states that qualitative data can be gathered through structured or unstructured interviews.
Research Approach
The researcher in the study to be conducted will use a survey research approach. A survey approach involving human subjects consists of questions that seek to extract useful information for purposes of analysis. In this case, data will be extracted to help in determining how implementation of voice recognition for digital and social media marketing can increase both the customers and organizational value. The use of survey as the preferred approach is beneficial because it enables the researcher to involve numerous stakeholders in the study.
Design of the Research
The research design to be adopted will be descriptive. The descriptive research design is used to provide answers to questions of what, who, where, when, and how associated with a specific problem of the research. Of importance to note is that descriptive studies cannot be relied upon to exclusively provided answers as to why. However, the research design is used in obtaining information that relates to the status of a phenomenon. The subject under investigation in this case voice recognition technology is observed in an unchanged and natural environment.
Data Sources and Research Instrument
The sources for data to be used in the research project will be from primary methods. Primary sources of data enable collecting original information which has not be used in previous studies. A major advantage of using primary sources of data is the ability to provide the researcher with a chance of controlling the entire process (Cresswell, and Plano Clark 2011). Thus, the quality of information collected is dependent on the researcher. At the same time, secondary sources of data will be collected for the literature review in addition to making comparisons with the primary data. Some of the sources of secondary data will include journal articles and relevant internet materials such as website articles.
The research instruments for collecting primary data include a research questionnaire and interview questions. As mentioned, questionnaires will collect quantitative data while interviews will gather qualitative data. A structured questionnaire will be developed by the researcher and contain all components necessary to answer the research questions. The benefit of using both questionnaire and interview is to offset the weaknesses of a single instrument. For instance, interviews will be conducted as a follow-up to certain questions in the questionnaire and others which might have not been included (Burrell, and Morgan 2017).
Population and Sampling
The population for the study to be conducted will be individuals working in the marketing departments specifically tasked with digital and social media marketing. Today, across the United States, both small and large organizations are using digital and social media tools for marketing. Therefore, sampling of the research respondents will consist of both employees and marketing directors or related designations. Employees working in the marketing department will be provided with questionnaires for filling. Approximately, a sample of 80 employees will be selected and recruited for the study. Additionally, the researcher will interview 5 marketing directors to get their overall view of voice recognition for digital and social media marketing.
Method of Analysis
Analysis of the collected quantitative data will be done through statistical analysis. Statistical analysis allows for the use of Microsoft Excel that allows the use of graphs, charts, and frequency tables to give meaning to the collected data. On the other hand, thematic analysis will be utilized by the research in analyzing the qualitative data.
Practical and ethical issues
Some of the ethical issues that will be given consideration include obtaining consent from the research respondents. Secondly, ensuring that the privacy and confidentiality of the respondents personal information is maintained before, during, and after the study (Bryman, and Bell 2015, p. 12).
Plan or timetable
The timetable to be followed in the research will be in accordance with the University’s timelines to conduct and submit the dissertation.

References
Arrington, L., 2017. How Voice Search Impacts Digital Marketing[Online] https://www.theedesign.com/blog/2017/voice-search-impacts-digital-marketing[Accessed 25th April 2018]
Bawany, N., Ahmed, R. and Zakir, Q., 2013. Common Biometric Authentication Techniques: Comparative Analysis, Usability and Possible Issues Evaluation. Research Journal of Computer and Information Technology Sciences .ISSN, 2320, p.6527.
Bryman, A., and Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 12-35
Burrell, G., and Morgan, G. (2017). Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis: Elements of the sociology of corporate life. United States. Routledge.
Cresswell, J. W., and Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed method research. 2nd Sage. Thousand Oaks, CA.
Grand View Research., 2018. Voice Recognition Market to Reach $127.58 Billion By 2024[Online] https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-voice-recognition-industry [Accessed 25th April 2018]
Morris, H. 2017. The challenges of marketing via voice recognition technology[Online] https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2017/jun/06/challenges-marketing-voice-recognition-technology/ [Accessed 25th April 2018]
Ross, M., 2018. Voice Search: Digital Marketing Strategies and Seo Tips. [Online] https://www.bluecorona.com/blog/voice-search-digital-marketing-strategies [Accessed 25th April 2018]
Saunders, M.N., Lewis, P., Thornhill, A. and Bristow, A., 2015. Understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development. In: Saunders, Mark N. K.; Lewis, Philip and Thornhill, Adrian eds. Research Methods for Business Students. Harlow: Pearson Education, pp. 122–161.
Singh, N., Agrawal, A. and Khan, R.A., 2018. Voice Biometric: A Technology for Voice Based Authentication. Adv. Sci, 10, pp.1-6.