1. Research the Client:  The initial step is to look internally at the client by identifying the client's goals and objectives and listening to pain points to address when executing marketing strategies. I review the client’s customer feedback, identify trends, gaps in offerings, and opportunities for improvement to focus on enhancing their customer experience and driving business growth. At this stage of research, I aim to identify the clients' competitive advantage over their competitors .

• For Great Pods, their objective was to create a marketing strategy to target podcast listeners. When researching the company, I found that its competitors lacked mainstream digital marketing and social media campaigns to promote their services. When looking internally, I found that current customers were getting referred to the website via friends and that Great Pods lacked a social media presence.  These insights indicated that to increase Great Pods' engagement, I needed to conceptualize a thorough media strategy.

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2. Identify Target Audience: In order to gather comprehensive research for my marketing strategy, I also want to understand who the target consumers are and what motivates them. My aim is to figure out how the target audience responds to various marketing strategies in the industry and what could be utilized for my client.

• Great Pods wanted to target podcast listeners, in hopes they would review podcasts for others to see. I researched what motivates consumers to listen to podcasts and how consumers find new podcasts. I aimed to examine how podcasts marketed their content and whether that could be applicable to Great Pods.​

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3. Collect External Data: I gathered external data by examining the market and locating the position my client is in, in relation to other competitors. Additionally, I consulted sources such as industry reports, competitor reviews, public databases, and publications to gather comprehensive information about the market landscape. 

• I researched various marketing strategies related to podcasts. I was provided with external data from Great Pods that indicated how podcast consumers found the site and how difficult it is to find a new podcast that suits their tastes. I examined various publications and competitor reviews to inform which media channels to lean into and the type of content to produce that would resonate with consumers.

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4. Analyze the Data: I organized the data to identify any trends, patterns, and key insights. Internally, I highlighted the types of content that already had high user engagement to ensure I incorporate them into my final strategy. Externally, I examined emerging trends and customer preferences. 

• When looking at trends, I saw that people found their podcasts through social media. This only reinforced my plan to solidify Great Pods' media presence across various platforms. Additionally, when looking at the types of content podcast consumers responded to, I found that listeners investigated advertisements embedded in their podcasts. This sparked new ideas about how Great Pods could leverage advertising space directly within podcasts to highlight their service.

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5. Interpret Data:  After cleaning the data and highlighting key insights, I then turned the data into actionable recommendations for my clients. I conceptualized strategies and used the data to validate my recommendations. I designed mock-ups, included color and text samples, and identified new marketing channels to explore. I highlighted solutions to pain points, offering actionable recommendations that align with the client's objectives and ultimately drive more traffic.

• Based on the data, I recommended a comprehensive social media strategy and creating advertisements to insert directly into podcasts. The social media strategy is designed to acquire podcast and non-podcast listeners, showcasing peer reviews to prompt them to explore different podcasts that fit their interests. The advertisements directly target podcast listeners to leave reviews and seek out new podcasts that match their favorites.

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6. Present Findings:  I designed and presented my findings and samples to the client, showcasing a clear connection between the data I gathered and the materials I provided. My presentations are structured to be visually engaging and easy to understand, enabling clients to see how the insights directly address their challenges and contribute to their business goals.

• I designed an engaging pitch deck for my media strategy and presented my insights to the client. I ensured that I answered each objective with data to back up my claims and provided sample social media posts that could be utilized.​

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