Instagram Marketing Skills

---
name: instagram-marketing
description: "Plan, draft, audit, and publish content for Instagram. Use when the user wants to write a caption with a first-125-char hook, plan a slide-by-slide carousel, reverse-engineer the hook from a viral Reel or carousel, size hashtags the 2026 way, remove AI tells from a caption, or plan a week of Reels and carousels. Instagram requires media on every post, so the skills write the caption and the user supplies the image or video; posts publish via the Publora API draft, upload, schedule flow."
---

# Instagram Marketing Skills

A bundle of 9 focused skills for Instagram content ops in 2026. Each skill is
single-purpose, follows the draft then approval then publish pattern, and uses
the [Publora API](https://publora.com) for the media-required publish flow.

## When to use this bundle

- **Writing a caption** (hook in the first 125 chars, body, CTA) -> use `ig-caption-writer`
- **Planning a carousel** slide by slide (hook slide to payoff slide) -> use `ig-carousel-planner`
- **Reverse-engineering the hook** from a viral Reel or carousel -> use `ig-hook-extractor`
- **Sizing hashtags** (the 3-5 niche/mid/broad reality, not 30) -> use `ig-hashtag-strategist`
- **Removing AI tells from a caption, or auditing it before posting** -> use `ig-humanizer` (rewrite plus `--mode audit`, which folds in the post-audit sub-tool)
- **Planning a week** of Reels, carousels, and stories -> use `ig-content-planner`
- **Adapting cross-platform content** (a LinkedIn post, blog, YouTube script, or X thread) into a native Instagram carousel or caption -> use `ig-repurposer`
- **Auditing and rewriting the profile** (photo, NAME field, bio, link, highlights, first-9 grid, pinned posts) -> use `ig-profile-optimizer`
- **Reading your niche and profile stats from real data** (scan a hashtag for what is working, pull follower/post stats for you or a competitor) -> use `ig-audience-insights`

## Core pattern

Every action-taking skill follows three steps:

1. **Parse the input.** If the user gives an Instagram URL, the skill uses
   `lib/url_parser.py` to extract the username and shortcode.
2. **Draft the content.** The skill applies 2026 research (Instagram hook
   formulas, hashtag sizing, timing, voice rules, ranking heuristics) and shows
   the draft to the user.
3. **Wait for approval, then publish with media.** Instagram needs an image or
   video on every post. The user supplies the media; on approval the skill runs
   the Publora draft then upload then schedule flow.

## Media is required (read this first)

Instagram rejects text-only posts. The writer skills produce the caption, hook,
hashtags, and slide or shot plan. The USER supplies the image or video file. The
publish path is always:

```
1. create a draft (no scheduledTime)  -> postGroupId
2. upload each media file to S3        (2-10 files for a carousel, in order)
3. update the post: status=scheduled + scheduledTime
```

`lib/publora_client.publish_media_post(...)` wraps all three steps. See
`references/media-workflow.md` for the full flow and limits.

## Prerequisites

**Three tiers - pick one.**

### Tier 0 - Draft only (default, no setup)

The skills work out of the box. No API keys, no signup. Every approved caption
is returned as a copy-paste block with a reminder to attach your media in the
Instagram app. Great for trying the skills before committing to any backend.