Guides

How to find what to post, and make it work

Two halves of the same job. The research half is how you work out what to post; the craft half is what makes it hold attention once you do. Both are mechanics rather than growth hacks — they transfer between niches and survive the next algorithm change.

Finding what to post

The research half. How to work out what your audience responds to before you spend a morning filming.

How to build a content strategy

Six decisions made once so the next hundred get faster: positioning, pillars, a format library, a research loop, a cadence you can hold, and the two numbers that lie.

Content research, end to end

The forty-five-minute weekly loop: a reference set, posts that beat their own account’s baseline, and five questions that turn an outlier into something you can film.

How to come up with content ideas

Running out is a capture problem, not a creativity one. Nine places ideas actually come from, and the rule that turns a topic into something filmable.

Competitor content analysis

Follower counts tell you nothing. The baseline method, the six fields worth recording per outlier, and the line between copying structure and copying work.

Finding trending content before it peaks

The three early signals, the ten-day window where joining still pays, and why trend-chasing is the lowest-leverage thing in the loop.

Audience research

Invented ideas answer questions nobody asked. Six places your buyers already wrote the real ones down, and the verbatim rule that turns their words into hooks.

Content pillars

“Education, inspiration, behind the scenes” are categories, not pillars. Where usable ones come from, and the four-pillar default that works.

A content calendar that survives a busy week

Dated slots turn one missed Tuesday into a month of nothing. Build the bank first, rotate formats instead of dating topics, and manage the buffer rather than the streak.

Making it work

The craft half. What holds attention once you know what you’re making, and how to read the numbers afterwards.

How Instagram Reel hooks actually work

The six structures underneath almost every opening that holds attention, why each one works, and the five-second test that kills half the hooks you write.

How to write a Reel script

A five-part structure, the real word budget for 15, 30, 45 and 60 seconds, and a vague idea worked all the way into something you can film in one take.

Why viewers drop off your Reels

Retention curves have shapes and each shape has a cause. How to read yours, which drop-offs are fixable, and the one that isn’t a problem at all.

Why your Reels aren’t getting views

Stuck at 200 views is a measurement, not a punishment. The four causes, how to tell which one you have, and the test worth running this week.

How the Reels algorithm decides who sees you

Ranking is per-video, not per-account. What the seed audience measures, which signals carry the most weight, and what matters far less than people claim.

Apply it to your own niche

Runwave reads the reels working in your niche right now and explains the mechanics behind each one — then writes the script in your voice.

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