How I Actually Research a Brand From Scratch
If I’m being honest, the biggest thing I’ve learned this semester is that strategy is not about being creative first. It’s about being curious first.
If a brand like Fitlife Foods walked in and I had zero background, I wouldn’t panic, but I also wouldn’t jump into ideas. I’ve made that mistake before in class where I started thinking about campaigns too early, and then later realized my assumptions were completely off. So now I slow down and treat research like the foundation.
First thing I do is go on the website and actually sit with it
Not just scroll for a minute, but really go through it like I’m both a customer and a strategist.
From my own experience doing website audits for this class, I’ve learned to look deeper than just design. I ask myself:
What is this brand really selling emotionally?
What’s the first impression in 5 seconds?
Would I understand this if I knew nothing about them?
When I looked at Fitlife earlier in the semester, I realized they focused a lot on the food itself, but the real value was time, convenience, and consistency. That shift completely changed how I approached messaging later.
I also started taking full-page screenshots because during past assignments, I kept forgetting what the original site looked like when I was building strategy. That small habit actually helped me a lot.
Then I Google like a normal person, not like a student
This is something I didn’t do before, but now I do it every time.
I type in things like:
“Fitlife Foods reviews”
“healthy meal prep near me”
“is meal prep worth it”
This helps me see what real people are searching and saying. From working at WMNF, I’ve learned that audience behavior is everything. What people say in comments or reviews is usually more honest than anything on a brand’s website.
Sometimes I even go past page one on Google because that’s where you find more raw opinions and smaller competitors.
I also go deeper using tools like ChatGPT and Reddit
This is something I started doing more recently, and it honestly gives me a different layer of insight.
I’ll use ChatGPT to:
Summarize trends from reviews
Identify common customer pain points
Compare competitors quickly
But I don’t just rely on it blindly. I treat it like a starting point, not the final answer.
Then I go on Reddit and search things like:
“Fitlife Foods review”
“meal prep delivery worth it”
“Factor meals vs others”
Reddit is where people are brutally honest. No brand voice, no filters. You’ll see real complaints, real praise, and sometimes things you won’t find anywhere else. For example, in one discussion, users compared meal delivery services and pointed out differences in portion sizes and ingredient quality, which shows how people evaluate value beyond just price (https://www.reddit.com/r/ReadyMeals/comments/1i12c3d/best_meal_delivery_service/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). In another thread, users talked about how some services like HelloFresh can feel repetitive over time and become expensive, which highlights retention issues that brands need to think about (https://www.reddit.com/r/mealkits/comments/1i4qklc/ive_tried_nearly_every_meal_service_here_are_the/?utm_source=chatgpt.com).
Those kinds of insights help me understand how people actually feel, not just what brands want them to feel.
Competitor research is where things start clicking for me
Before this class, I thought competitor analysis was just listing brands. Now I actually compare them.
When I looked at brands like Factor or HelloFresh, I noticed they all say similar things like “healthy” and “convenient.” That made me realize Fitlife can’t just say the same thing. It needs a sharper angle.
I also used the Google Ads Transparency Center during our assignment, and that honestly changed how I see ads. You can literally see what messaging brands are putting money behind. That tells you what they believe works.
Social media is where I rely on my real experience the most
This is the part I feel the most confident in because of my role at WMNF.
When I audit a brand’s social, I don’t just look at how pretty the posts are. I look at:
Which posts actually get engagement
What people comment
What content feels real vs forced
At WMNF, I’ve seen posts blow up not because they were perfect, but because they felt human. Meanwhile, some posts that were “strategically planned” didn’t perform at all.
So when I look at Fitlife’s social, I’m thinking:
What is actually connecting with people, not just what looks good?
What is actually connecting with people, not just what looks good?
That mindset really changed how I approach content strategy.
Reviews are honestly my favorite part of research no
Because people don’t filter themselves there.
When we did the sentiment analysis assignment, I realized how powerful reviews are. You start seeing patterns like:
People love convenience but complain about price
People like the food but want more flexibility
That directly influences strategy. For example, if price is a concern, your messaging can’t ignore it. You have to justify it.
Why this process matters to me now
Earlier in the semester, I used to feel stuck when starting assignments because I didn’t know where to begin.
Now I have a process:
Website → Google → ChatGPT → Reddit → Competitors → Social → Reviews → Audience
Website → Google → ChatGPT → Reddit → Competitors → Social → Reviews → Audience
It sounds simple, but it gives me direction. And once I go through all of that, I don’t feel lost anymore. I actually feel confident because I’m not guessing.
At that point, strategy isn’t forced. It naturally comes from everything I’ve learned.
And that’s probably the biggest thing I’ll take from this class.
AI tools were used to help brainstorm and organize ideas for this blog post.
