What each platform actually gets.
The real length, emoji and hashtag contract behind every platform ScoutRival writes for. And the thing nobody expects: there is no platform dropdown — it's inferred from the preset.
Every platform gets its own length, its own emoji budget and its own hashtag count — and ScoutRival holds the model to them. This page is the actual contract, taken from the code, so you know exactly what a “LinkedIn post” means before you press send.
There is no platform dropdown
Look for a platform picker in the composer and you won't find one. The platform is inferred from the preset you use.
When you apply a preset — from the Presets tab, from a quick-start card, or from a Daily Brief handoff — its name is matched against a short list of keywords, and that decides the shape:
| Preset mentions… | You get |
|---|---|
| A LinkedIn post | |
| x, twitter, thread | An X thread |
| instagram, ig | An Instagram caption |
| facebook, fb | A Facebook post |
| A marketing email | |
| blog | A short blog post |
| image, graphic | An image brief |
| anything else, or no preset at all | A LinkedIn post |
Send a message with no preset applied and you get a LinkedIn post — 1,100 to 1,300 characters with hashtags on the end. That's the default, and it catches people out when what they wanted was two lines for Instagram. Apply a preset, or say the platform in your prompt (see Overriding the shape).
The six contracts
At a glance:
| Platform | Length | Emoji | Hashtags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,100–1,300 characters | 0–3 | 3–5 | |
| X (Twitter) | 5–8 tweets, each ≤ 280 characters | — | — |
| Hook + 4–6 short lines + CTA | — | 8–12 | |
| 200–400 words | — | — | |
| Subject line + 150–250-word body + CTA | — | — | |
| Blog | Roughly 800 words | — | — |
- 1,100–1,300 characters, line-broken so it can be skimmed rather than read.
- 0–3 emoji, maximum. Often zero, if your voice says so.
- 3–5 hashtags, at the end, chosen for relevance rather than reach.
- Tone: authoritative but warm, and it must take a position. A LinkedIn post with no point of view is wallpaper.
X (Twitter)
- A thread, not a single tweet — 5 to 8 of them.
- Each tweet is 280 characters or fewer.
- They come back separated by a divider line so you can see where each tweet ends and copy them out one at a time.
- Tone: punchy, opinionated, one idea per tweet.
If you want a single standalone tweet rather than a thread, say so in the prompt.
- First line is a hook — it's the only line most people read before “more”.
- Then 4–6 short lines, then a call to action.
- Then 8–12 hashtags. Deliberately more than LinkedIn — Instagram's discovery still runs on them.
- Tone: personal, visual, story-led.
- 200–400 words, conversational.
- A link tease at the end rather than a hard sell.
- Tone: community-first, plain language. This is the one that should read least like marketing.
- A subject line on the first line, then a blank line, then the body — so you can lift the subject straight out.
- A 150–250-word body.
- A call-to-action button label at the end.
- Tone: value-first, second-person. It should be worth opening even if nobody buys.
Blog
- Roughly 800 words — a hook intro, three H2 sections, a conclusion with a call to action, in markdown.
- Tone: expertise plus perspective. Original thinking, not a summary of the first page of Google.
Compose's blog shape is an ~800-word post. It is not BlogCraft. If you want a long-form, SEO-structured, answer-block-first article with a content score, an outline you can edit and a WordPress publish button, use BlogCraft instead — that's what it's for.
Overriding the shape
The contract is the model's brief, not a hard cap that gets applied afterwards. Two things follow from that:
- You can override it in the prompt. “Keep it under 400 characters” or “no hashtags” in your message will win — your instruction is right there next to the contract, and the more specific one tends to be followed.
- Counts are targets, not guarantees. A LinkedIn draft may land at 1,050 characters or 1,340. If a hard limit matters — a 280-character tweet you're pasting by hand — check it before you publish.
Your brand's platform rules from Brief Settings (“always end with our booking link”, “never use emoji”) apply to the posts your Daily Brief drafts. In Compose, say it in the prompt — or bake it into a preset so you only say it once. Presets →