# Instagram Reels Competitive Review > Run a structured monthly competitive analysis of Instagram Reels performance across a set of competitor brands, and produce a presentation-ready report. Use this skill whenever the user wants to analyze competitor Instagram Reels, benchmark social media performance across brands, build a monthly or recurring competitive review, compare Instagram engagement between accounts, or figure out what content is working in their category. Also triggers on phrases like "competitor reels," "social media competitive analysis," "Instagram benchmark," "monthly social review," or "what are competitors posting on Instagram." Works for any brand in any product category — the brand, competitors, and category are all supplied by the user. - Skill: `adam-gh-ai/instagram-reels-competitive-review` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add adam-gh-ai/instagram-reels-competitive-review` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/adam-gh-ai/instagram-reels-competitive-review/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - License: MIT - Author: Adam-GH-AI (https://skillmd.com/u/adam-gh-ai) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/adam-gh-ai/instagram-reels-competitive-review --- # Instagram Reels Competitive Review Turn a list of competitor Instagram accounts into a structured, presentation-ready competitive analysis of their Reels performance. This skill defines the methodology, the data to collect, the classification system, and the exact output format so the result is consistent every time it runs. It is fully category-agnostic: the person's own brand, their competitor set, and their product category are all inputs. Nothing here is tied to a specific company. ## When To Use - A user wants a monthly (or one-off) read on how competitors are performing on Instagram Reels. - A user wants to know which content formats, hooks, or tactics are driving views in their category. - A user needs a benchmark of their own account against competitors. - A user is preparing a social media review deck or report for a team meeting. ## Step 1 — Establish Scope Before collecting anything, confirm three things with the user. Offer to proceed with sensible defaults if they don't have answers ready. 1. **The user's own brand** — account name, Instagram handle, and follower count. This is the reference point everything is measured against. If the user only wants a competitor scan and doesn't want to benchmark themselves, that's fine — skip it. 2. **The competitor set** — the brands to analyze and their Instagram handles. Aim for 4–8. If the user gives brand names but not handles, look up each handle and confirm it before collecting data. 3. **The category label** — a short phrase for the report title (e.g. "Running Shoes," "Meal Kits," "Project Management Software"). This only affects labeling. If the user wants to exclude specific brands from the analysis, note them and honor that throughout. ## Step 2 — Collect The Data For each competitor, gather: - **Follower count** (from the profile). - **Top 3 Reels by view count.** For each Reel: a short description of the content, the approximate post date, view count, like count, comment count, and the Reel URL. There are three ways to get this. Use whichever fits the user's setup. ### Option A — The user provides the data Ask the user to paste it in this format: ``` BrandName (@handle) — 525K followers 1. "Description of the reel" — Mar 17 — 1.1M views, 346 likes, 7 comments — 2. "Description of the reel" — Mar 24 — 1.0M views, 492 likes, 2 comments — 3. "Description of the reel" — Mar 2026 — 221K views, 84 likes, 2 comments — ``` ### Option B — Browse the accounts directly If browser automation is available, visit each competitor's Reels tab: ``` https://www.instagram.com/{handle}/reels/ ``` Instagram is JavaScript-rendered, so extract data with DOM queries rather than relying on screenshots of a scrolling grid. A starting query to pull Reel links and view counts: ```javascript Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('a[href*="/reel/"]')).map(a => ({ url: a.href, views: a.querySelector('span')?.textContent || 'N/A' })) ``` For per-Reel likes, comments, caption, and date, open the individual Reel URL and read the page. Notes: - Handles are often guessed wrong. If a profile 404s, search the web for the brand's real handle. - Many brands mix Reels with regular posts. Sort by view count to find the true top performers. - Instagram may rate-limit or block automated browsing. If one account fails, collect it manually and paste the numbers in. ### Option C — Let another LLM browse If the user is running this in a tool with web browsing, they can supply the data by asking that tool to visit each Reels page and extract the figures, then paste the results back. ## Step 3 — Classify Each Competitor Assign a **Reel Impact tier** based on the top Reel's view count. These thresholds suit consumer brands; recalibrate for categories with very different engagement norms (e.g. niche B2B, or mega-follower celebrity accounts). - **HIGH** — 100K+ views on the top Reel - **MEDIUM** — 10K–100K views - **LOW** — under 10K views For each competitor, also write: - **Content Strategy (2–3 sentences)** — What is their Reels approach? UGC, product showcase, influencer collabs, giveaways, humor, education? What's working and what isn't? - **Key Insight (1 sentence)** — The single most important observation about this competitor. - **Engagement Analysis (1–2 sentences)** — Notable ratios or red flags, e.g. views-to-likes ratio, reach relative to follower count, or a large audience that isn't translating into Reel views. ## Step 4 — Produce The Report Use this exact structure. Fill every bracket with real data. ``` # Social Media Monthly — Competitive Review ## [Category] | Instagram Reels Analysis ### [Month Year] --- ## Competitor Landscape Overview | Brand | Handle | Followers | Top Reel Views | Impact Tier | |-------|--------|-----------|----------------|-------------| | ... | ... | ... | ... | HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW | [If benchmarking the user's brand: one line stating their handle, followers, and the headline opportunity vs. the field.] --- ## [Brand Name] — @handle | [followers] followers **Top Views:** [X] | **Top Likes:** [X] | **Impact Tier:** [HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW] ### Top Performing Reels 1. **[Description]** — [Date] - Views: [X] | Likes: [X] | Comments: [X] 2. **[Description]** — [Date] - Views: [X] | Likes: [X] | Comments: [X] 3. **[Description]** — [Date] - Views: [X] | Likes: [X] | Comments: [X] **Content Strategy:** [2–3 sentences] **Key Insight:** [1 sentence] **Engagement Analysis:** [1–2 sentences] --- [Repeat one section per competitor. Combine two or more very-low-engagement brands into a single section if their data is sparse.] --- ## Key Takeaways [Exactly 5 takeaways — see the writing guide below.] 1. **[Short Title]** — [Data-backed observation with specific numbers and an actionable next step.] 2. ... 3. ... 4. ... 5. ... --- ## Top Performing Reels — Quick Links | Brand | Description | Views | Link | |-------|-------------|-------|------| | ... | ... | ... | [URL] | [List the top ~9 Reels across all competitors, sorted by views descending.] ``` ## Writing Good Takeaways The takeaways section is what drives the discussion. Each takeaway must: 1. Name a specific tactic or pattern that was actually observed — not generic advice. 2. Reference real data — which brand did it, and what numbers they got. 3. Include a concrete next step the user could act on. 4. Be written in confident, direct language with no hedging. Weak: *"Post more Reels."* Strong: *"UGC 'relatable parenting moment' Reels drove the category's top result at 687K views — test short, unscripted clips with trending audio rather than polished product shots."* When a competitor has a large following but weak Reel views (e.g. 400K followers, 15K top views), call it out as both a red flag for them and an opening for the user. For genuinely inactive competitors, it's fine to be blunt: "Not a threat on social right now." ## Turning It Into A Deck The report structure maps directly to slides: a title slide, a landscape-overview table, one slide per competitor, a takeaways slide, and a quick-links slide. If a presentation is requested, hand this structured output to a presentation-generation tool or skill. ## Adapting Across Categories - Swap in any competitor set, in any industry. - Change the category label on the title slide. - Set (or omit) the user's own brand as the benchmark. - Recalibrate the HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW thresholds if the category's engagement norms differ from typical consumer brands. ## Tips For Recurring Use - Run it on a fixed cadence (monthly works well). The value compounds when trends are tracked over time, not from a single snapshot. - Keep the competitor set stable month to month so comparisons stay meaningful; note any additions or removals. - After the report, useful follow-ups include: "Which competitor's strategy is most replicable for a brand our size?" and "Draft 3 Reel concepts for us based on what's working in the category."