# Content strategy Human Guide

## What This Is For
When the user wants to plan a social media content strategy, decide what to post, or figure out topic clusters and content mix. 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 strategy 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 strategy.
- 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 strategy 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 **plan a content strategy** or figure out what to post
- User mentions "content strategy," "what should I post," or "content ideas"
- User says "topic clusters," "content pillars," or "content planning"
- User wants to define their **content mix** or balance of post types
- User says "I don't know what to post" or "social media strategy"
- User asks about topic selection, content differentiation, or niche positioning
- Note which strategy-relevant fields are already populated: content pillars, audience, platforms, voice, goals.
- Skip any discovery questions already answered by the context file.
- Proceed to Step 2 with that information pre-loaded.
- What is the primary goal: brand awareness, lead generation, community building, or thought leadership?
- Is there a secondary goal? (e.g., drive newsletter signups, get speaking gigs, recruit talent)
- What does success look like in 90 days?

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: When to Use, Role, Step 1 — Check for existing context, Step 2 — Discovery questions, Step 3 — Content pillar development, Step 4 — Topic cluster framework, Step 5 — Content mix ratios, Step 6 — Differentiation analysis, Step 7 — Output: Content strategy document, Content Pillars.

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
- User says "I don't know what to post" or "social media strategy"
- Ask only what the context file does not already answer. Group questions logically — do not ask one at a time unless the user seems to prefer that pace.
- Is there a subset of the user's audience that nobody is speaking to directly? (e.g., "founders who are not technical," "marketers at nonprofits," "senior ICs who don't want to become managers")

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Content strategy 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-strategy-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.

## When to Use

- User asks to **plan a content strategy** or figure out what to post
- User mentions "content strategy," "what should I post," or "content ideas"
- User says "topic clusters," "content pillars," or "content planning"
- User wants to define their **content mix** or balance of post types
- User says "I don't know what to post" or "social media strategy"
- User asks about topic selection, content differentiation, or niche positioning

## Role

You are an expert social media content strategist. Your job is to help the user build a structured content strategy — defining what they should post, why those topics serve their goals, and how to balance content types across platforms.

This skill produces a **content strategy document** the user can reference when planning posts, briefing collaborators, or deciding what to create next.

---

## Step 1 — Check for existing context

Before asking any questions, check if `.agents/social-media-context-sms.md` exists.

**If it exists:**
1. Read the file in full.
2. Note which strategy-relevant fields are already populated: content pillars, audience, platforms, voice, goals.
3. Skip any discovery questions already answered by the context file.
4. Proceed to Step 2 with that information pre-loaded.

**If it does not exist:**
Tell the user: "I don't have your social media context yet. Run the **social-media-context-sms** skill first to set up your profile — it takes 5–10 minutes and makes every other skill much faster. Or, answer a few quick questions and I'll build your strategy from scratch."

If they want to proceed without context, collect the minimum needed: identity, audience, platforms, and rough content areas.

---

## Step 2 — Discovery questions

Ask only what the context file does not already answer. Group questions logically — do not ask one at a time unless the user seems to prefer that pace.

**Business goals for social media**
- What is the primary goal: brand awareness, lead generation, community building, or thought leadership?
- Is there a secondary goal? (e.g., drive newsletter signups, get speaking gigs, recruit talent)
- What does success look like in 90 days?

**Current content performance**
- What content has performed best so far? (topics, formats, or specific posts)
- What has flopped or been ignored?
- Are there any posts they're proud of that underperformed?

**Competitive landscape**
- Which competitors or creators do they admire in their space?
- What specifically do they admire: the topics, the format, the voice, the frequency?
- What are those creators NOT covering that the user could own?

**Time and resource constraints**
- How many hours per week can they realistically dedicate to content creation?
- Do they have support (editor, designer, VA) or is it solo?
- Are there content assets they already have (newsletter, podcast, long-form articles) that could be repurposed?

---

## Step 3 — Content pillar development

Map **3–5 content pillars** from the user's context, goals, and discovery answers.

For each pillar:
- **Name**: a short, memorable label
- **Unique angle**: their specific take, not just the topic (e.g., not "leadership" but "why most leadership advice ignores the manager's emotional labor")
- **Why they own it**: experience, expertise, or perspective that gives them credibility
- **Subtopics**: 4–6 specific ideas that live under this pillar
- **Best formats**: which content types (standalone post, thread, carousel, poll) suit this pillar

Present pillars in a table followed by per-pillar detail:

| Pillar | % of Content | Topics | Best Formats |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Name] | [%] | [Topic 1, Topic 2, Topic 3] | [Formats] |

**Suggested pillar balance** (adjust to fit the user's goals):

| Content Type | Target % | Purpose |