Channel Competitor Analysis

Channel & Competitor Analysis

Growth leaves fingerprints. Every channel that works is running a repeatable system — a few pillars, a hook style, a format, a cadence — and you can read it off their public output. The goal is not to copy; it's to find the pattern they're exploiting and the gap they're leaving open for you.

Inputs

Ask for (or work with what's given): the profile/handle, 5-20 of their recent posts (ideally their top performers), and follower/engagement numbers if available. If you only have a URL, work from titles, hooks, thumbnails, and visible metrics.

Method

1. Separate outliers from baseline. Rank their posts by engagement relative to their own average. The 2-3× outliers are the signal — that's what the audience actually wants. The baseline is filler.
2. Decode the outliers on five axes:

• Hook — the opening move and archetype (see hook-machine).
• Format — talking-head, listicle, story, tutorial, reaction, B-roll+VO.
• Pillar — the recurring topic/theme it belongs to.
• Emotion — what it makes the viewer feel (status, fear, curiosity, belonging, aspiration).
• Structure — hook → escalation → payoff → CTA; where retention is engineered.

1. Map the pillars. Cluster all posts into 3-5 content pillars; note the % of output and % of total engagement per pillar. The high-engagement/low-output pillar is an underexploited vein.
2. Read the cadence & funnel. Posting frequency, best-performing times, and how they convert attention (link in bio, series, lead magnet, product).
3. Find the weaknesses (your opening). Where are they weak or absent? Common gaps: no strong hooks, no series/retention loop, ignoring a platform, weak CTA, a pillar their audience loves but they underserve, poor production, or a tone that alienates a sub-segment.

Output template

## Analysis: 
Baseline vs outliers: avg engagement ; outliers 

### What's working (their winning system)
Pillars (share of output / share of engagement): 
Hook style:   | Dominant format:   | Core emotion: 
Cadence & best times:   | Conversion path: 

### Why the outliers hit

### Their weaknesses = your openings

### Attack plan for you

Rules

• Analyze outliers, not averages — the average post tells you what didn't work.
• Model the system, don't clone the posts. Copying a viral video a week late loses; stealing its mechanism wins.
• Always end with an attack plan — analysis without an action is trivia.
• Separate "what they do" from "what actually drives their engagement" — creators are often wrong about their own hits.
• Note production floor: if their weakness is low effort, your opening is craft; if it's craft, your opening is speed/volume or a sharper niche.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: moses607
• Source: moses607/socialforge
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.