Marketing workflow

How to use viral-scout as a weekly habit for short-form video, whether you're a solo founder or a small team.

The loop

 every morning (scheduled)          weekly (30 min)                 per video
┌───────────────────────────┐   ┌────────────────────────────┐   ┌──────────────────────────┐
│ run → report              │   │ read ideas note            │   │ swipe note: status idea  │
│ /viral-scout analyze      │──▶│ save 2–3 references        │──▶│ → scripted → filmed      │
│ → ideas note              │   │ dismiss junk               │   │ → posted                 │
│ Telegram: 🔥 alerts        │   │ tune profile (hashtags,    │   │ track your own post as a │
└───────────────────────────┘   │ watch list)                │   │ seed to compare          │
                                └────────────────────────────┘   └──────────────────────────┘

Daily (automatic)

scripts/run-daily.ps1 -Profile <name> -Analyze, scheduled with Task Scheduler with "wake the computer to run" on. See setup. Each morning you get:

• <date>-viral-scout.md: the data report.
• <date>-viral-ideas.md: patterns this week, a breakdown table (format, hook type, why it works) and 5 ideas adapted to your business.
• Telegram messages for new 🔥 outliers and fast risers, each post once.

If you only have 2 minutes: read Patterns this week and Ideas in the ideas note.

Weekly (30 minutes)

1. Pick. Open the latest ideas note and pick 1–3 ideas to film this week.
2. Save the references. In Claude Code: "save Daisy's spectrum and the Oliver skit". Or from the shell:

   python -m viral_scout save <profile> <ID> --note "spectrum: one situation, 7 phrases polite → rude"
   

   This creates a note in the swipe folder with the stats, thumbnail, hook, transcript and a "## Our version" section to fill in.
3. Clean up. python -m viral_scout dismiss <profile> <ID> ... for anything off-topic, so it never shows up again.
4. Tune the profile:
   • Hashtags under "Suggested hashtags" that fit → add them to hashtags:.
   • "Creators who keep showing up" → add them to watch: youtube:.
   • Junk that keeps slipping through → add a word to exclude:.
5. Track your own post. Once your video is out, add its URL. Each run shows its growth next to the posts that inspired it.

Per video

Open the swipe note:

1. Why it works: the format, the hook type, and why people watch to the end. The skill fills this in when it saves.
2. Our version: your hook line (in the language you film in), three beats (hook → body → payoff/CTA), and on-screen text.
3. status in the frontmatter: idea → scripted → filmed → posted, or skip.

swipe.base in the same folder shows every saved post as a table grouped by status, or as cards with thumbnails.

Reading the report

Rules worth keeping

• Copy formats, not footage. Re-enact scenes with your own people. Never repost someone else's clip.
• Copy the structure of a hook, not its words. Write the hook in your audience's language and situation.
• One idea per video, 40–60 s, with text on screen doing the teaching. This is what the outliers have in common.
• Make a series of what works. "Vocabulary Chaos #5" and "Food Chaos #6" show that numbered series bring viewers back.

Using it for another business

1. Copy profiles/_template.yaml to profiles/<business>.yaml and fill it in. See profiles.
2. Run it once and look at what slipped through the filters. Tune must_match and exclude.
3. Schedule it. Each business gets its own reports, swipe folder and alert thresholds.