--- name: platform-distribution-advisor description: "Recommends the best platforms for distributing a finished piece of content, with a ranked list and a brief rationale for each recommendation based on the content type, format, length, and intended audience." status: stable category: audience-distribution subcategory: distribution version: 1.0 eval_score: 4.2 tags: [distribution, platforms, audience, reach, publishing] --- # Platform Distribution Advisor ## What This Skill Does Recommends the best platforms for distributing a finished piece of content, with a ranked list and a brief rationale for each recommendation based on the content type, format, length, and intended audience. ## When To Use This Skill - You have finished content and are deciding where to publish or syndicate it - You are building a multi-platform distribution plan for a story, episode, or video - You want to reach a new audience segment beyond your primary publication - You are adapting existing content for redistribution and need to know which platforms suit it best ## What You Need To Provide **Required:** - Content type (article, video, audio, photo essay, data visualization, etc.) - Topic or subject area (a brief description is enough — one or two sentences) - Intended audience (professionals, general public, younger readers, regional audience, etc.) - Content length or duration **Optional:** - Your primary publication or home platform (to help identify gaps) - Any platforms you are already using, so recommendations stay non-redundant - Paid vs. organic distribution preference - Geographic focus (local, national, international) ## How the Assistant Approaches This 1. Identifies the content category — text, audio, video, visual — and cross-references it with which platforms are structurally suited to that format (e.g., long-form text does not perform on short-video platforms) 2. Matches the topic and intended audience to the likely user base of each candidate platform, noting where the audience overlap is strongest 3. Produces a ranked list of three to five platforms with a short rationale for each, including one note on what adaptation (if any) the content would need for that platform 4. Flags any mismatch risks — for example, platforms where the content's length or tone is likely to underperform ## Output Format A ranked list of three to five platforms. Each entry includes: - Platform name - One-sentence rationale (why this content fits this platform and this audience) - One-line adaptation note (what, if anything, needs adjusting before publishing there) Total length: 250–400 words. Plain prose rationale, no bullet overload. No marketing language. Written so a journalist or editor can act on it immediately. ## Quality Criteria - [ ] Every recommended platform is structurally compatible with the stated content format (no recommending long-form articles to a short-video platform) - [ ] Rationale references the audience or topic specifically, not just generic platform descriptions - [ ] Adaptation notes are honest — they say what work is required, not just "consider adapting for this audience" - [ ] At least one recommendation is non-obvious (beyond the most predictable primary platform) - [ ] No platform is recommended twice or for contradictory reasons ## Example ### Input Content type: Long-form written investigation (3,500 words) Topic: How changes to housing inspection regulations over the past decade have led to a rise in unsafe rental properties in mid-sized cities Intended audience: Renters, housing advocates, local government professionals, and general readers with an interest in urban policy Length: 3,500 words, with three data charts embedded Primary publication: A regional news website ### Output **Platform Distribution Recommendations** **1. Regional news website (primary — already confirmed)** Your natural home. Publish in full here first to establish ownership and search presence. Optimise the headline for local search terms and ensure the charts render correctly on mobile. **2. Medium** Well-suited for long investigative text that warrants a second life. Housing and urban policy pieces find engaged readers in Medium's civic-interest communities. Republish in full two to four weeks after your original publication date to avoid cannibalising search traffic. Add a canonical link pointing back to the original. **3. LinkedIn** Housing policy intersects with professional audiences — urban planners, property managers, local government officers, housing NGO staff — who are active here. Publish a 300-word summary with the key finding and a link to the full piece. The data charts can be posted as standalone images to drive additional reach. **4. Newsletter syndication (via Substack Notes or a partner newsletter)** Long investigations perform well when excerpted in issue-focused newsletters. Reach out to one or two newsletters in the housing, city planning, or civic journalism space to offer a guest excerpt. This requires identifying relevant newsletters in advance, but the audience match is high. **5. Reddit (relevant subreddit communities)** Communities focused on renting, housing rights, or your specific city or region are active readers of investigative journalism when it directly affects them. Post a plain-text summary of the key findings with a link. Avoid promotional framing — present it as information, not self-promotion. **What this content is not suited for:** Short-video platforms (TikTok, YouTube Shorts), image-first platforms (Instagram without a strong visual hook), or general Twitter/X threads unless you invest time in a well-structured thread that can stand alone. ## Known Limitations - Recommendations are based on general platform characteristics and audience behaviour patterns — they are not drawn from your actual analytics or real-time platform data. Treat them as an informed starting point, not a guarantee of performance. - Platform dynamics shift. Recommendations are grounded in how platforms behave at the time of writing but should be reviewed if significant platform changes have occurred. - This skill cannot assess whether your publication has existing distribution agreements, exclusivity clauses, or contractual restrictions on syndication. Always check before republishing. - For highly specialised or niche topics, the assistant may recommend broad platforms when a specialist trade publication or industry forum would actually be a stronger fit. ## Related Skills - [publication-timing-advisor](../publication-timing-advisor/SKILL.md) - [audience-persona-builder](../../youtube/channel-strategy/audience-persona-builder/SKILL.md) - [platform-content-plan](SKILL.md)