name	x-analysis
description	Provides workflows and frameworks for analyzing X content to extract audience intelligence insights and identify strategic opportunities. Use when conducting competitive research to understand target audience behavior through real engagement patterns, or when analyzing content performance to identify high-value frameworks.

X Analysis

Leverage the x-scraper MCP to analyze X content and extract strategic insights about target audiences through real-world engagement data.

Purpose

Transform X content analysis from surface-level metrics into strategic audience intelligence that informs content strategy, positioning, and differentiation opportunities.

Key Principle: Analyze to understand audience psychology and needs, not to copy tactics. Focus on discovering value gaps and strategic opportunities through engagement pattern analysis.

When to Use This Skill

Use x-analysis when:

Conducting competitive research to understand what resonates with a shared target audience
Identifying audience intelligence through real engagement patterns on X
Discovering value gaps (high-demand, low-supply topics) for strategic differentiation
Validating content assumptions with real-world engagement data
Analyzing performance patterns to identify high-value content frameworks

Do NOT use for:

Performance benchmarking against competitors (focus is audience, not competitive metrics)
Copying content tactics without understanding underlying psychology
One-off tweet analysis (skill designed for pattern identification across many tweets)

Core Analysis Types

1. Competitive Research (Audience Intelligence)

Primary Goal: Learn about target audience through their engagement patterns with accounts they follow.

Research Question: What do we learn about our audience when we analyze what they engage with on accounts similar to ours or targeting the same audience?

Strategic Value:

Understand audience needs, problems, and interests
Identify value gaps (underserved needs)
Discover differentiation opportunities
Inform content strategy with evidence-based insights

Workflow: workflows/competitive-research.md

2. Performance Research (Content Framework Identification)

Primary Goal: Identify and templatize reusable content frameworks that drive engagement with target audience.

Research Question: What content structures, formats, and approaches consistently generate high engagement that can be templatized for reuse?

Strategic Value:

Create content playbooks based on proven patterns
Reduce content creation guesswork
Scale what works systematically
Build library of effective frameworks

Status: Workflow under development (prioritize Competitive Research first)

How to Use This Skill

Step 1: Choose the Analysis Type

Determine which research goal aligns with current needs:

Audience Intelligence → Use Competitive Research workflow
Content Framework Development → Use Performance Research workflow (when available)

Step 2: Load the Workflow

Read the appropriate workflow file:

workflows/competitive-research.md for audience intelligence analysis

The workflow provides:

Complete phase breakdown following agentic-orchestrating pattern
X-scraper parameter guidance
Expected artifacts and outputs
Success criteria

Step 3: Create Execution Folder

Follow the workflow's execution structure guidance:

For ongoing audience intelligence:

/brand/research/audience-intelligence/{YYYY-MM-DD@HH:mm}/

For one-off analyses:

/brand/research/adhoc/{YYYY-MM-DD@HH:mm-account-name-analysis}/

Use orchestration skill's folder creation script if needed:

python .claude/skills/agentic-orchestrating/scripts/create_execution_folder.py audience-intelligence

Step 4: Execute the Workflow

Follow the phase breakdown in the workflow file:

Load PLAN.md structure from workflow
Execute each phase as specified
Track progress in TODO.md
Produce artifacts in execution folder
Synthesize final RESEARCH.md

Step 5: Reference Analysis Frameworks (As Needed)

When performing analysis within phases, load relevant frameworks from:

references/analysis-frameworks.md

Available frameworks:

Three-Tier Metrics Framework (engagement analysis)
Content Segmentation Analysis (pattern identification)
Audience Behavior Analysis (psychology and needs)
Value Gap Identification (strategic opportunities)
Strategic Positioning Analysis (competitive landscape)

Progressive Disclosure: Load framework sections only when needed for specific analysis tasks. Full file contains comprehensive frameworks but may not all be relevant to every analysis.

X-Scraper Integration

Tool: `mcpx-scraperscrape_user_tweets`

Primary tool for gathering X content data.

Recommended Parameters for Competitive Research

{
  userName: "target-account",      // X handle (no @ symbol)
  maxTweets: 100-200,              // Substantial sample size
  lastMonths: 6,                   // 6-month window for patterns
  queryType: "Top",                // Focus on high-engagement
  minLikes: 50,                    // Filter for proven resonance
  includeReplies: false,           // Focus on original content
  includeRetweets: false           // Analyze their voice only
}

Parameter Strategy:

queryType: "Top" prioritizes proven engagement over chronological
minLikes threshold filters noise (adjust based on account size)
6-month window balances recency with pattern identification
Exclude replies/retweets to focus on original voice and strategy

Tool: `mcpx-scraperscrape_tweet_by_id`

Use for deep-diving into specific high-performing tweets identified during analysis.

Key Principles

1. Audience-Centric Analysis

Focus: What the audience engages with and why Not: What the account posts or their growth metrics

Analyze engagement patterns to understand audience psychology, needs, and behavior—not to benchmark against the account's performance.

2. Value Gap Discovery

Primary Objective: Identify strategic opportunities through underserved needs

Look for:

High engagement topics with low content frequency
Questions asked but not fully answered
Problems mentioned without solutions
Adjacent topics with no bridge

Framework: Think like a value investor—find market inefficiencies where demand exceeds supply.

3. Evidence-Based Insights

Requirement: Every insight must trace back to specific engagement data

Avoid assumptions. Build audit trail:

Strategic Insight → Analysis Finding → Engagement Pattern → Specific Tweets

Use markdown references in research documents to create navigation path.

4. Strategic Translation

Research Output: "What we learned about the audience" NOT: "What content we should create"

Research provides audience intelligence (what IS). Strategy synthesis transforms insights into action plans (what to DO). Maintain clear separation between research and strategy phases.

5. Pattern Recognition Over Mimicry

Goal: Understand why content resonates (principles) Avoid: Copying what performs (tactics)

Audiences detect inauthentic imitation. Extract principles (audience needs, value gaps, engagement triggers) rather than copying surface-level tactics.

Integration with Marketing Framework

Research → Strategy Flow

X Analysis Execution (this skill)
         ↓ produces
/brand/research/audience-intelligence/{timestamp}/RESEARCH.md
         ↓ accumulates into
/brand/research/audience-intelligence/RESEARCH.md (index)
         ↓ informs
/brand/strategy/content-strategy/{timestamp}/ (strategy execution)
         ↓ updates
/brand/strategy/content-strategy/STRATEGY.md (strategy index)
         ↓ with platform-specific
/brand/strategy/content-strategy/twitter/EXTENSION.md
         ↓ guides
/brand/content/twitter-posts/{timestamp-slug}/CONTENT.md

Information Flow: Research provides raw intelligence → Strategy synthesizes into action plans → Content executes with strategic guidance

Success Criteria

Effective X analysis should:

Answer primary research question about audience needs and behavior
Identify 3-5 value gaps representing strategic opportunities
Provide evidence trail from insights to supporting engagement data
Generate actionable insights that inform strategy (without being strategy)
Focus on audience psychology rather than content tactics
Maintain objectivity (unopinionated factual gathering in research phase)
Enable strategic decisions through clear, defensible insights

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Copying Tactics Without Understanding

Problem: Seeing high-performing content and replicating format without understanding why it resonates

Solution: Dig into engagement patterns, reply content, and audience behavior to understand psychological drivers

2. Analyzing Account Success Instead of Audience Behavior

Problem: Focusing on account metrics (followers, growth) rather than audience engagement patterns

Solution: Center analysis on who engages, how they engage, and what triggers engagement—not on the account's overall performance

3. Conflating Research with Strategy

Problem: Making strategic recommendations in research documents, blurring lines between what IS and what to DO

Solution: Research documents state findings and insights. Strategy documents make recommendations based on research.

4. Surface-Level Metrics Focus

Problem: Counting likes and retweets without understanding engagement quality and type

Solution: Segment engagement by type (saves, replies, shares) and analyze what each signal reveals about audience needs

5. Analysis Paralysis

Problem: Gathering extensive data but failing to extract actionable insights

Solution: Set clear research questions upfront. Focus on 3-5 high-impact insights rather than exhaustive analysis.

Workflow Execution Checklist

Before starting X analysis:

Clear research question defined
Target account identified and validated
Execution folder created following structure guidance
X-scraper parameters configured appropriately
Workflow file loaded for phase guidance
Understanding of expected artifacts and outputs

During execution:

PLAN.md created in execution folder
TODO.md tracking progress
Each phase producing specified artifacts
Analysis frameworks referenced as needed (progressive disclosure)
Evidence trail maintained (insights → data)

After completion:

Final RESEARCH.md synthesized
Insights answer primary research question
Value gaps identified with evidence
Audit trail complete
Ready for Marketing Architect review and index update

Resources

Workflows:

workflows/competitive-research.md - Audience intelligence through engagement analysis

References:

references/analysis-frameworks.md - Proven analytical frameworks for pattern identification

Related Skills:

[agentic-orchestrating](../ agentic-orchestrating/SKILL.md) - Execution folder structure and phase delegation patterns
researching - General research methodology and best practices
synthesizing-strategy - Translating research insights into strategic recommendations

Install Skill

SKILL.md