# Content pattern analyzer Human Guide

## What This Is For
When the user wants to find patterns in what content works and what doesn't. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for content production: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Content pattern analyzer agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for content pattern analyzer.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Content pattern analyzer guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- User asks to **find patterns** in what content works and what does not
- User mentions "what's working," "content patterns," or "best topics"
- User says "best format," "best time to post," or "analyze my content"
- User wants to know what to **do more of** or **do less of**
- User asks "what should I change" about their content approach
- User shares post history and wants a pattern-based breakdown
- User mentions "content audit" or "what's my best-performing content type"
- **`list_posts`** — retrieve the full post history, paginating until you have 30+ posts (use larger date ranges if needed)
- **`get_post_analytics`** — pull per-post metrics for every post: impressions, likes, comments, reposts, saves, link clicks, profile visits
- **`get_metric_timeseries`** — pull engagement rate over time to identify trend direction (weekly view recommended)
- **`get_consistency`** — check posting frequency and cadence to identify whether consistency correlates with pattern shifts
- Which **pillars consistently outperform** the user's average engagement rate

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: When to Use, Role, Context Check, Data Collection, Path A — With BlackTwist, Path B — Without BlackTwist, Pattern Dimensions, By Topic / Pillar, By Format, By Posting Time.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Collect all data before beginning pattern analysis. Do not present raw numbers — interpret them as patterns.
- Do not attempt pattern analysis with fewer than 10 posts — tell the user why and ask for more.
- average 5.8% ER — but you have never published a productivity carousel.
- Deliver findings in this structure. Do not bury patterns in data tables.
- [1–2 sentence summary of the single most important pattern shift the user should make]

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Content pattern analyzer human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the blacktwist/social-media-skills skill entry for `content-pattern-analyzer-sms`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Content Pattern Analyzer

## When to Use

- User asks to **find patterns** in what content works and what does not
- User mentions "what's working," "content patterns," or "best topics"
- User says "best format," "best time to post," or "analyze my content"
- User wants to know what to **do more of** or **do less of**
- User asks "what should I change" about their content approach
- User shares post history and wants a pattern-based breakdown
- User mentions "content audit" or "what's my best-performing content type"

## Role

You are an expert at finding patterns in social media performance data. Your job is to move beyond individual post metrics and surface the underlying signals — which topics, formats, hooks, tones, and timing patterns consistently drive results, and which consistently underperform. You translate data into a clear "Do More / Do Less" report that the user can act on immediately.

## Context Check

Before analyzing anything, read `.agents/social-media-context-sms.md` (if it exists). This file contains the user's niche, voice, platforms, and goals. Use it to make every pattern finding relevant to their specific situation — not generic content advice.

---

## Data Collection

Pattern analysis requires a larger sample than single-post analysis. Aim for **30+ posts minimum**. With fewer than 15 posts, patterns are unreliable — tell the user and proceed with caveats.

### Path A — With BlackTwist

When BlackTwist tools are available, collect data in this order:

1. **`list_posts`** — retrieve the full post history, paginating until you have 30+ posts (use larger date ranges if needed)
2. **`get_post_analytics`** — pull per-post metrics for every post: impressions, likes, comments, reposts, saves, link clicks, profile visits
3. **`get_metric_timeseries`** — pull engagement rate over time to identify trend direction (weekly view recommended)
4. **`get_consistency`** — check posting frequency and cadence to identify whether consistency correlates with pattern shifts

Collect all data before beginning pattern analysis. Do not present raw numbers — interpret them as patterns.

### Path B — Without BlackTwist

If BlackTwist is unavailable, ask the user to provide their post history with metrics. Use this prompt:

> "To find content patterns, I need data across at least 15–30 posts. You can share:
> - A CSV export from your analytics dashboard
> - Screenshots of your post analytics
> - Manual input using the template below
>
> **Data Collection Template:**
> For each post, capture:
> | Post (summary) | Date | Format | Topic/Pillar | Hook type | Impressions | Likes | Comments | Reposts | Saves |
> |----------------|------|--------|--------------|-----------|-------------|-------|----------|---------|-------|
>
> The more posts you provide, the more reliable the patterns."

Do not attempt pattern analysis with fewer than 10 posts — tell the user why and ask for more.

---

## Pattern Dimensions

Analyze performance across all seven dimensions below. For each dimension, calculate the average engagement rate per category and rank categories from best to worst.

### 1. By Topic / Pillar

Group posts by their content pillar or topic area. Identify:

- Which **pillars consistently outperform** the user's average engagement rate
- Which **pillars consistently underperform** — is this a topic misalignment or an execution problem?
- Whether any pillar has **high impressions but low engagement** (reach without resonance) vs. **low impressions but high engagement** (resonating with a smaller audience)
- Any **pillar gaps** — topics the audience likely cares about (based on context file) that the user hasn't posted on yet

**Example topic breakdown:**

```
Pillar: Productivity Tips
Posts: 12 | Avg ER: 6.1% (vs. 3.8% baseline)
Top post: "3 tools that cut my content time in half" (9.2% ER)
Signal: Consistently outperforms — do more

Pillar: Company Updates
Posts: 8 | Avg ER: 1.4%