emerging-channels

What this skill does

# Emerging Channels

## When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when the user's request involves any of the following:

- Optimizing content for voice search (Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, smart speakers)
- Preparing for or leveraging visual search (Google Lens, Pinterest Lens, Amazon visual search)
- Building conversational commerce flows (WhatsApp Business, Facebook Messenger, chatbot funnels, SMS marketing)
- Setting up or optimizing social commerce (Instagram Shopping, TikTok Shop, Pinterest Shopping, YouTube Shopping)
- Building, growing, or managing online communities (Discord, Slack, Circle, Facebook Groups, Reddit, forums)
- Planning podcast marketing strategy (branded podcasts, podcast advertising, guest appearances, podcast SEO)
- Developing video marketing strategy across formats and platforms (short-form, mid-form, long-form, live)
- Marketing on newer or underutilized platforms and channels
- Evaluating whether an emerging channel is worth investing in for a specific business
- Understanding platform-specific commerce features and shoppable content
- Designing chatbot conversations and automated messaging funnels
- Building voice applications (Alexa Skills, Google Actions) for brand engagement
- Exploring international messaging platforms (WeChat, LINE, KakaoTalk, Telegram) for commerce

## Brand Context (Auto-Applied)

Before producing any marketing output from this module:

1. **Check session context** — The active brand summary was output at session start. Use the brand name, industry, voice settings, channels, goals, compliance, and competitors shown there.
2. **If you need the full profile**, read: `~/.claude-marketing/brands/{slug}/profile.json`
3. **Apply brand voice** — Formality, energy, humor, authority levels must shape all content tone and word choices
4. **Check compliance** — Auto-apply rules for brand's target_markets and industry using `skills/context-engine/compliance-rules.md`
5. **Reference industry benchmarks** — Consult `skills/context-engine/industry-profiles.md` for the brand's industry
6. **Use platform specs** — Reference `skills/context-engine/platform-specs.md` for character limits and format requirements
7. **Check campaign history** — Run `python campaign-tracker.py --brand {slug} --action list-campaigns` before planning new work
8. **If no brand exists**, say: "No brand profile found. Use /digital-marketing-pro:brand-setup to create one, or I can proceed with general best practices."
9. **Check brand guidelines** — If `~/.claude-marketing/brands/{slug}/guidelines/_manifest.json` exists, load and enforce: `restrictions.md` for banned words, restricted claims, and mandatory disclaimers; `channel-styles.md` for channel-specific tone overrides (may differ from base voice); `messaging.md` for approved key messages, taglines, and positioning language; `voice-and-tone.md` for detailed voice rules beyond the 4 numeric scores. If producing content for a specific channel, channel style rules take precedence over base voice settings.

Do not ask the user for information that already exists in their brand profile.

## Required Context

Before executing, gather the following from the user (ask if not provided):

- **Business type**: B2B, B2C, D2C, local business, marketplace, SaaS
- **Target audience**: Demographics, digital behavior, platform preferences, and purchase patterns
- **Current channels**: Which marketing channels are already active and performing
- **Goals**: Awareness, engagement, lead generation, direct sales, community building, or content distribution
- **Budget and resources**: Available investment for new channel experimentation, content production capacity, and team bandwidth
- **Product/service**: What is being sold and its purchase complexity (impulse vs considered purchase)
- **Geography**: Target markets, as channel adoption varies significantly by region
- **Tech stack**: Current ecommerce platform, CRM, marketing automation, and integration capabilities
- **Risk tolerance**: Willingness to invest in unproven channels vs preference for established channels with clearer ROI
- **Timeline**: Short-term (testing) vs long-term (building a sustained presence)

## Capabilities

### Voice Search Optimization
- **Query pattern analysis**: Voice queries are longer, more conversational, and more question-based than typed queries. Optimize for natural language patterns ("What's the best Italian restaurant near me" vs "Italian restaurant NYC")
- **Content structure for voice**: Featured snippet optimization, FAQ schema markup, concise answer paragraphs (40-60 words for Google's spoken responses), and position zero targeting
- **Speakable schema markup**: Implementing structured data that identifies sections of content suitable for text-to-speech playback by voice assistants
- **Local voice search**: "Near me" query optimization, Google Business Profile completeness, local schema markup, and review volume/recency
- **Voice commerce**: Voice-initiated purchasing flows, reorder by voice, voice-exclusive promotions, and integration with Amazon Alexa shopping
- **Voice app development**: When to build Alexa Skills or Google Actions, use cases (brand utilities, content delivery, customer service), and discovery optimization

### Visual Search
- **Image optimization for search**: Descriptive file names, comprehensive alt text, high-quality images from multiple angles, and consistent image sizing
- **Google Lens optimization**: Product images that are easily identifiable by visual recognition, unique product design elements, and schema markup for products
- **Pinterest Lens strategy**: Lifestyle imagery, shoppable pins, visual similarity to trending Pinterest content, and Pinterest SEO
- **Structured data for visual search**: Product schema, image schema, and video schema that help search engines understand visual content
- **Visual search commerce**: Enabling "search by photo" on ecommerce sites, visual similarity recommendations, and AR try-on features
- **Platform-specific visual search**: Amazon visual search, ASOS Style Match, and retailer-specific visual search capabilities

### Conversational Commerce
- **WhatsApp Business**: Catalog setup, automated greetings, quick replies, broadcast lists, WhatsApp Business API for scale, and click-to-WhatsApp ads
- **Chatbot funnels**: Lead qualification bots, product recommendation bots, customer support bots, appointment booking bots, and cart recovery bots
- **Conversation design**: Writing chatbot scripts that feel natural, handling edge cases gracefully, knowing when to escalate to human agents, and maintaining brand voice in automated interactions
- **SMS marketing**: Opt-in compliance (TCPA), message frequency optimization, promotional vs transactional messages, segmentation, and two-way SMS conversations
- **Messenger marketing**: Facebook Messenger bots, sponsored messages, recurring notifications, and integration with Meta ad campaigns
- **International messaging platforms**: WeChat Official Accounts and Mini Programs (China), LINE Official Accounts (Japan/SE Asia), KakaoTalk Channels (Korea), Telegram Bots (Eastern Europe/Middle East)
- **Conversational AI**: Using LLMs for more natural chat interactions, hybrid AI-human support models, and training conversational AI on brand knowledge bases

### Social Commerce
- **Instagram Shopping**: Shop setup, product tagging in posts/Stories/Reels, live shopping, Shopping from Creators, and checkout optimization
- **TikTok Shop**: Product listing, affiliate marketplace, live shopping events, shoppable videos, and TikTok Shop Ads integration
- **Pinterest Shopping**: Product pins, catalog integration, shopping Ads, and Pinterest's visual discovery to purchase pipeline
- **YouTube Shopping**: Product shelves, shopping tags in videos, live shopping, and Shorts shopping integration
- **Social storefront optimization**: Product descriptions for social context (different from website), social-first imagery, pricing stra