Instagram Account Research
Follow shared release-shell rules in:
postplus-sharedrelease-shell rules
Use this skill when the user wants to:
- evaluate creators or KOL/KOC candidates
- compare competitor Instagram accounts
- inspect a brand account's profile, output, and rough momentum
- build a shortlist of accounts worth deeper content analysis
Do not use this as the default first pass for open-ended creator discovery when the user cares about follower bands, topical fit, or audience fit inferred from actual content. In those cases, route to skills/20-research/instagram-creator-discovery/SKILL.md first.
Read these references before implementation:
skills/20-research/instagram-references/actor-selection.mdskills/20-research/instagram-references/normalized-schema.mdskills/20-research/instagram-references/tool-contracts.md
Primary Hosted Collection Keys
instagram-profilesinstagram-posts
Recommended Workflow
- collect a profile snapshot for each username
- collect a small recent-post sample for each shortlisted account
- normalize profile and post outputs
- rank accounts by audience size, engagement proxy, posting cadence, and relevance
- return a shortlist plus account notes
Cost Discipline
Start with:
- 5-15 usernames
- 6-12 recent posts per account
Do not start with broad market scraping.
Release-Shell Execution Contract
- keep shortlist briefs, actor inputs, raw datasets, normalized datasets, and ranking caches under
<work-folder>/.postplus/instagram-account/ - keep only final user-facing summaries or shortlist exports outside
.postplus/ - compile the request into a small username or URL batch before the expensive collection step
- if hosted capability is unavailable, unauthorized, or returns a stable network error, stop immediately instead of switching to ad hoc shell glue
Good Output
Return:
- account snapshot table
- shortlist of strongest accounts
- likely creator / brand / store / meme-page type
- posting cadence estimate
- top recent content patterns
- risks:
- inflated audience with weak engagement - inactive posting - weak topical fit
Handoff
Escalate to instagram-creator-discovery when:
- the user does not already have a handle list
- the user wants niche creators rather than known accounts
- the user wants content-first search
Escalate to instagram-content-benchmark when:
- the user wants to understand which specific posts or reels work
- the user wants reusable hook or format patterns
Escalate to instagram-audience-voice when:
- the user wants comment-driven pain points or objections