Video Content Strategist Skill

Overview

Production-ready video content strategy toolkit for planning content calendars, analyzing thumbnail effectiveness, and optimizing video metadata for platform SEO. Designed for content creators, marketing teams, and video producers managing consistent video output across YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

Clarify First

Before planning, settle the inputs below. When one is missing or vague and would change the result, ask about it; when it wouldn't, use a sensible default and say which one you used.

• Platform(s): YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, or Instagram — sets optimal video length and SEO approach.
• Deliverable: content calendar, thumbnail analysis, or SEO metadata optimization — selects the tool and workflow.
• Audience & content pillars: who it's for and the pillar mix/ratios — drives calendar topics and formats.
• Posting frequency: videos per week and planning horizon — sets the production schedule.

Ask about the two or three inputs that matter most for this request, not the whole list. If the user wants a result straight away, produce it and state your assumptions at the top.

Quick Start

# Plan a video content calendar from topics and audience data
python scripts/video_content_planner.py topics.json --weeks 8 --frequency 3

# Analyze thumbnail text and composition patterns
python scripts/thumbnail_analyzer.py thumbnails.csv

# Optimize video titles, descriptions, and tags for SEO
python scripts/video_seo_optimizer.py video_data.json --platform youtube

Tools Overview

Tool	Purpose	Input	Output
video_content_planner.py	Content calendar generation	JSON with topics/audience	Weekly calendar + production schedule
thumbnail_analyzer.py	Thumbnail pattern analysis	CSV with thumbnail data	Optimization recommendations
video_seo_optimizer.py	Video metadata SEO	JSON with video details	Optimized titles, descriptions, tags

Workflows

Workflow 1: Monthly Video Strategy

1. Define audience personas and content pillars in topics JSON
2. Run video_content_planner.py to generate 4-week calendar
3. For each planned video, run video_seo_optimizer.py for metadata
4. After publishing, collect thumbnail data and run thumbnail_analyzer.py
5. Feed learnings back into next month's planning cycle

Workflow 2: YouTube Channel Optimization

1. Export existing video data (titles, descriptions, tags, performance)
2. Run video_seo_optimizer.py on underperforming videos to identify metadata gaps
3. Run thumbnail_analyzer.py on top vs bottom performers
4. Apply optimizations to existing videos and use patterns for new content

Workflow 3: Multi-Platform Video Strategy

1. Create topics JSON with platform-specific audience data
2. Run video_content_planner.py with --platforms youtube,tiktok,linkedin
3. Get platform-adapted content recommendations
4. Optimize each platform's metadata with video_seo_optimizer.py

Reference Documentation

See references/video-strategy-guide.md for comprehensive frameworks covering:

• Content pillar strategy
• Platform-specific best practices
• Thumbnail design principles
• Video SEO fundamentals
• Production workflow optimization

Common Patterns

Pattern: Topics JSON Format

{
  "channel": "TechStartupTV",
  "audience": {
    "primary": "SaaS founders, 25-45",
    "interests": ["startup growth", "fundraising", "product development"],
    "pain_points": ["scaling teams", "finding product-market fit", "managing burn rate"]
  },
  "content_pillars": [
    {"name": "Founder Stories", "ratio": 0.3, "format": "interview", "avg_length_min": 25},
    {"name": "Tactical Guides", "ratio": 0.4, "format": "tutorial", "avg_length_min": 12},
    {"name": "Industry Analysis", "ratio": 0.2, "format": "commentary", "avg_length_min": 8},
    {"name": "Behind the Scenes", "ratio": 0.1, "format": "vlog", "avg_length_min": 5}
  ],
  "topics": [
    {"title": "How We Hit $1M ARR", "pillar": "Founder Stories", "priority": "high"},
    {"title": "5 Pricing Strategies That Work", "pillar": "Tactical Guides", "priority": "high"},
    {"title": "AI in SaaS: 2026 Trends", "pillar": "Industry Analysis", "priority": "medium"}
  ]
}

Pattern: Thumbnail CSV Format

video_id,title,views,ctr_pct,has_face,has_text,text_words,colors_dominant,emotion
V001,How to Scale,15000,8.2,yes,yes,3,red-yellow,surprise
V002,Tech Review,8500,4.1,no,yes,5,blue-white,neutral

Platform Video Length Guidelines

Platform	Optimal Length	Max Recommended
YouTube (standard)	8-15 min	25 min
YouTube Shorts	30-60 sec	60 sec
TikTok	30-90 sec	3 min
LinkedIn	1-3 min	10 min
Instagram Reels	15-60 sec	90 sec

Scope & Limitations

In Scope:

• Content calendar and production schedule from a topics JSON with content pillars and ratios, with video_content_planner.py (weeks, videos per week, target platforms, start date)
• Thumbnail pattern analysis from a CSV of thumbnail attributes and performance (face, text, word count, colours, emotion, views, CTR) with thumbnail_analyzer.py
• Title, description and tag recommendations for YouTube, TikTok or LinkedIn with video_seo_optimizer.py, singly or in batch
• A strategy guide covering content pillars, platform practices, thumbnail design principles, video SEO and production checklists

Out of Scope:

• Scripting, filming or editing video, and designing thumbnail images
• Uploading, scheduling or publishing videos; the tools have no platform API access
• Social media strategy beyond video, such as platform selection and community management (see marketing/social-media-manager/)
• Paid video ad campaigns (see marketing/paid-ads/)

Important Caveats:

• The thumbnail analyzer does not look at images. It works only from attributes you tag by hand in the CSV, so results depend on consistent tagging.
• Performance data such as views and CTR must be exported from each platform and entered manually.
• SEO recommendations and the platform length guidelines are rule-based heuristics, not platform-published rules. Platform ranking and format limits change, so check current platform guidance before relying on them.