Scanning a Creator with `creator-scanner`¶

When last30days surfaces a specific creator who's killing it, drill down: use the creator-scanner skill to break their format apart.

What you get from a creator scan¶

For a specific creator handle:

Hook patterns — the recurring opener structures they use
Format mix — talking head / mixed-media / POV ratios
Pacing — average video length, hook-to-payoff timing
Visual signature — recurring framing, lighting, color palette
Top performers — their viral hits with view counts and what made them work
CTA style — how they convert viewers
Persona — their voice, vibe, what kind of creator they are

The scan is structural — it tells you WHAT they do. Watching their videos directly tells you HOW it feels.

How to invoke¶

You: scan @creator-1 on TikTok — I want to understand their format
     in detail. We're considering modeling our next workflow after them.

Claude: [triggers creator-scanner, returns structural breakdown]

Trigger phrases:

"scan [@handle]"
"analyze this creator: [URL]"
"what's [@handle] doing that works"

What a scan output looks like¶

@creator-1 (TikTok, 327K followers, 80K avg views, top video 2.1M)

Account snapshot:
- 12 posts in the last 30 days, mostly daily
- 80% talking head, 20% mixed-media recipe demos

Hook patterns (top 3, by frequency):

1. Authority-betrayal opener (used in 6 of last 12 posts):
   "My doctor finally told me..."
   "Nobody is talking about..."
   "I had to find out from a stranger that..."

2. Symptom-cluster cold open (used in 4 posts):
   On-screen text lists 3-4 symptoms before the avatar speaks
   "If you have: brain fog, mood swings, AND 3am wakeups — keep watching"

3. Confessional (used in 2 posts):
   "I'm 47, and 6 months ago I realized something..."

Visual signature:
- Selfie framing, chest-up crop
- Natural window light from camera-left
- Subject usually in kitchen or bathroom vanity
- On-screen captions: white text, black drop shadow, serif font,
  animated word-by-word

Pacing:
- Average video length 55 seconds
- Hook in first 4 seconds
- Body 45-50 seconds
- CTA last 5-10 seconds

Top performers (last 90 days):
1. "Why your sleep stopped working" — 2.1M views, authority-betrayal hook
2. "If you've tried magnesium and it didn't help" — 1.4M, solution aware
3. "My doctor finally told me this about perimenopause" — 980K, classic
   authority-betrayal

CTA style:
- Always comment keyword → DM funnel (Amazon)
- Never uses TikTok Shop directly
- Keywords vary per post (SLEEP, CALM, RECIPE)
- Two-step DM: value-add message first, link follow-up

Persona:
- Reads as a peer (mid-40s woman, naturopath archetype)
- Warm but matter-of-fact
- Uses "my friend" not "you" when addressing audience
- Comfortable with vulnerability ("I struggled with this too")

Saved to reference/creator-library/@creator-1.md

How to read it¶

The scan is dense — don't try to absorb it all at once. Focus on:

What's the highest-engagement hook structure? That's the first one to study
What's the visual signature? Lighting + setting + framing + captions tell you the production style
What's the pacing? Translates directly to your storyboard's word budgets per scene
What CTA style works for them? Helps you decide your CTA approach

The scan doesn't tell you whether their style would work for YOUR account — that's a judgment call. But it gives you the raw material.

What to do with the scan¶

After a creator scan, common next moves:

Save the scan to your creator library: reference/creator-library/@creator-1.md. Reference it in future workflow briefs. The scan automatically saves there if your team uses that convention.
Pick a specific viral video from their feed to study deeper: Use whisper to transcribe one of their top-performers. This gets you the exact dialogue and pacing — much more concrete than the hook structure analysis.
Build a creative template based on their format: See Building a Creative Template. The template captures the format in a reusable shape for the Visual Planner.
Compare with another creator: Scan 2-3 in the niche. See which patterns are shared (general "what works") vs. unique to one creator (their personal voice).

What scans miss¶

Some things the scan can't capture:

Tone and personality — read the actual videos. The scan describes structure, not vibe.
Recent format shifts — if the creator pivoted in the last week, the scan may weight older content equally. Manually focus on recent posts.
What's NOT working — the scan focuses on what's viral. Their flops also have information.
Comments and sentiment — the scan doesn't dig into how viewers respond. Read top comments for that.

When to scan¶

Good times to scan a creator:

last30days surfaced them as a top performer in your niche
You're modeling a workflow after their style
A client referenced their account as inspiration
A competitor analysis in the brand strategy

Don't scan every creator you stumble on — it's a focused tool for when you need depth on a specific account.

Privacy and ethics¶

Creator scanning analyzes public content only. It doesn't access DMs, locked accounts, or anything behind authentication. That's good — but a few notes:

Don't copy directly from any creator's scripts or visual style. Inspiration ≠ replication
Don't tag or reference the creator in your scripts unless you have their permission
Use creator scans as input for your strategy, not as templates to clone verbatim

The pipeline's adaptation mode is designed for "adapt this format, not lift this script." Honor that.

When you're ready¶

→ Next: Transcribing Reference Videos with whisper — when you want the exact dialogue and pacing from a specific video.

Scanning a Creator with creator-scanner¶