Donkey Styx, Social Strategy & Templates

From: PixelDrip Studio · Date: 2026-06-22 Platforms: Facebook · Instagram · TikTok · (YouTube Shorts as a free repurpose) Goal: Grow the audience, build brand awareness, and keep current followers warm. Fresh account, 100% organic, soft CTAs only.

This is a simple social strategy plus a few repeatable templates to help Donkey Styx know what to post and post it consistently. It is not ongoing posting, tracking, or account management. If you ever want us to run it for you, that is a separate retainer.

Who Donkey Styx is online

The rod brand with a personality. Texas-built, hand-wrapped, and genuinely fun. The edge is that most tackle brands can't be this real or this funny. Lean into it.

The maker is the brand. Richard Weathersby ("T-Rich") is the on-camera face and the one shooting. Kristen Weathersby coordinates.

What's in this folder

File	What it is
`README.md` (this)	The overview: pillars, the content mix, the series, how to use it
`voice-and-copy.md`	How to sound, hook formulas, caption templates, the repeatable series, the crew shot list
`visual-system.md`	The post and video templates, plus how to clean up rough phone photos
`social-search.md`	What anglers search (post ideas), hashtags, profile/bio setup, and the SEO spine that feeds the future site

The 4 content pillars (what to post about)

Built Tough, the craft and product. Rods, wraps, detail, durability.
Hooked & Hollerin', the fun. Donkey-in-a-hat humor, POVs, dry Texas wit. This is the reach driver.
Fish Smarter, the value. Quick tips anglers search for. This is how new people find you.
Our People, the tribe. Customer catches, reviews, reposts. Keeps your followers close.

The content mix (the recipe)

You don't need a 30-day calendar. You need a mix you refill from a few repeatable series.

The mix. Out of every ~10 posts, roughly:

4 fun (Hooked & Hollerin')
3 tips (Fish Smarter)
2 craft/product (Built Tough)
1 community (Our People)

Video-led across all three platforms, with still frames pulled for carousels.

The repeatable series (refill these forever, never start from a blank page): The Donkey Says · Frog Rod Friday · The Bend Test · From the Bench · Y'all Caught This · Build Yours.

Each one has a reusable formula and real examples in voice-and-copy.md. Pick a series, drop in this week's rod, catch, or tip, and post.

One shoot, every platform. T-Rich shoots in 4K framed vertical-safe (keep the subject centered with room on the sides) so a single session gives you vertical clips for TikTok and Reels plus a wide version for YouTube and the website. Details in visual-system.md.

The 4 hero video templates

"Meet the Donkey", the intro. T-Rich at the bench. Pin this one first.
"The Bend Test", durability proof. Repeat it with different rods.
"POV: out-casting the $400 rod", the comedic flex. A repeatable POV.
"From the Bench", the slow, beautiful craft video. A repeatable look.

Shot lists are in voice-and-copy.md. Storyboards are in visual-system.md.

Built to feed the future website

The website is one page today. That's fine. The move is to let the ideal future site guide what you post now, so the social work compounds instead of starting over later.

The topics this strategy has you posting (custom and build-your-own rods, the technique rods like frog, flipping, and crankbait, Texas bass and inshore, and the craft itself) are the exact topics a full Donkey Styx website will one day want to be known for. So every post quietly builds the foundation:

a warm audience to send to the site when it's ready,
months of content and video to repurpose onto it,
real reviews and customer catches that become the site's proof,
and a brand already tied to these searches.

When you ramp the website up, it's an easy on-ramp, not a cold start. The full topic map and how each series feeds it is in social-search.md.

A simple way to tell what's working

No fancy analytics needed. Post consistently, notice which posts your people actually save and share, and make more of those. The funny ones usually win the reach, the tip ones usually win the new followers.

A few things that make this sing (from you, when handy)

The rod photos into Donkey Styx > Lair Exchange in Drive.
Any customer reviews Richard has, and a couple of customer catch photos.
The East Texas spots T-Rich actually fishes.
The social handles and the website link, so we can finalize the bios.
Quick calls: is the frog rod a signature piece, music source (TikTok's free library vs a paid one), and the body font from the Brand Sheet.

A few ground rules (keeps it honest)

No fake scarcity. Only call a drop limited when it really is.
Real reviews only. Post them word for word, with permission.
No false claims or made-up stats.
No em dashes. Anywhere.

How to use this

Pick a series from the six, in the mix ratio above.
Drop in this week's specifics using the template (the rod, the catch, the tip).
Post it natively to Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok (don't just share a link between them).
Repeat. The series make it fast, so you're never staring at a blank screen.

If you'd rather not run it yourself, we can produce it for you on a retainer. Either way, the strategy and templates are yours.

Donkey Styx, Social Voice & Copy Playbook

Last updated: 2026-06-22 Platforms: Facebook · Instagram · TikTok Primary contact: Kristen Weathersby (orders/coordination) The maker / on-camera talent: Richard Weathersby ("T-Rich")

How this doc works. This is the reusable engine, not a one-time execution plan. The voice guide, hook formulas, caption templates, repeatable series, and weekly rhythm are the foundation. Ongoing post-by-post assembly is either retainer work (PixelDrip keeps producing) or Donkey Styx self-refills the series templates from their own builds, catches, and reviews. Nothing in here expires.

1. SOCIAL VOICE GUIDE

Who Is Donkey Styx Talking?

T-Rich. A Texas rod builder who figured out that most store-bought rods are fine for most people, and he is not building rods for most people. He knows a flipping stick from a crankbait rod. He knows which blank takes a topwater frog over hydrilla and why the action matters more than the price tag. He does not explain himself. He just builds.

The brand voice lives in his hands, his deadpan, and the donkey-in-a-cowboy-hat sitting on the shelf watching all of it.

Core Tone

Laid-back. Dry. Proud. Never pretentious.

Think: the guy at the boat ramp who out-fishes everyone and says the least about it. He's not performing "cool." He is cool. The humor comes from understatement, real situations, and trusting the audience to keep up. Kristen texting at 11pm asking if the rod is done yet. The donkey signing off on thread color. T-Rich shrugging after bending a rod past the point of comfort and watching it spring back. That's the register.

The Three-Word Test

Before posting, ask: is this real, fun, or useful? It needs to hit at least one. Two is great. Three and you've got a viral shot.

Do / Don't

DO	DON'T
Write like T-Rich talks	Write like a press release
Use real rod vocabulary (see section below)	Drown non-anglers in jargon without a punchline
Name the specific technique, cover type, rod spec	Say "great for fishing" and nothing else
Let the donkey mascot be weird and lovable	Force corporate energy onto the mascot
Use Texas slang naturally ("fixin' to," "y'all," "over yonder")	Overdo it to the point of parody
Lean into dry humor and understatement	Explain the joke
Announce drops with honest numbers only	Use fake urgency ("only 3 left" when that's not true)
Celebrate OTHER people's catches hard	Make every post a product pitch
Use ellipses for comedic pause	Use em dashes (never, ever)
Keep captions punchy. Shorter than you think.	Write paragraphs nobody asked for
Soft CTAs: follow, save, comment, tag a buddy, "build yours"	Hard sell: "buy now," "limited time offer," "click the link now"
Share real customer reviews unedited when Richard sends them	Invent reviews or paraphrase without permission
Own the donkey fully	Apologize for or explain the donkey

Fishing Vocabulary: Use These

These are the terms that make a caption sound like it came from the bench, not a marketing brief.

blank = the raw rod tube before any building. T-Rich picks the blank first. Everything else follows from it.
guides = the rings the line runs through. Placement and spacing affect how the rod loads.
grips = the handle material. Cork feels different from EVA. Matters for all-day fishing.
action = how the rod flexes. Fast tip, moderate mid-blank, slow full-flex. This is the spec most anglers don't know to ask about.
frog rod = heavy-power, fast-action rod built for throwing a topwater frog over matted grass and hydrilla. You need backbone to pull a bass out of cover. Most store rods fold.
flipping stick = longer, heavier rod (7'3" or more) for pitching and flipping into tight cover. Accuracy rod. Bass fishing in the grass.
crankbait rod = moderate action so the rod bends before the hook loads. Lets the fish commit. Stops the "lost him at the boat" problem.
BTO / build your own = the custom series. Customer picks blank, guides, grips, action, length. T-Rich builds it.
"fight the fish, not the rod" = real phrase in the rod-building world. Good caption material.
hydrilla / matted grass = the thick aquatic vegetation bass hide in. Texas standard. Your rod either handles it or it doesn't.

Sample Phrases (In Voice)

Craft pride, specific:

"T-Rich picks the blank first. The guides follow the blank. The grip follows how you fish. Order matters."
"This crankbait rod is moderate action on purpose. That half-second of bend is why you stop losing fish at the boat."
"Every wrap on this frog rod is hand-done. The guides are spaced for the hydrilla pull, not a factory spec sheet."
"You pick the blank, the guides, the grips. We build it. That's BTO. That's the whole thing."

Dry humor, specific:

"The donkey said it was ready. We shipped it. That's the process."
"Built for fishing. Also for proving a point to whoever brought the store rod."
"Kristen texted us a photo of this frog rod at 11pm: 'is it done yet.' It is now. Took three weeks. The grass doesn't care about your schedule."
"T-Rich let the donkey approve the thread color on this one. Don't ask. The donkey has range."
"POV: 6-pounder buried in the hydrilla, you swing, and your gas-station rod folds like a lawn chair. This one doesn't."

Community / warmth:

"That's the one. Right there. That's why T-Rich does this."
"Send us the catches. We post them straight. No editing, no cropping out the fish."
"Y'all are putting these rods through it. We love to see it."

Drop tease (only when T-Rich actually has a run):

"T-Rich only makes these when he feels like it. Right now he feels like it. Briefly."
"He built four. That's the run. We're not building more of this exact blank when they're gone."

The Donkey Mascot "Talks"

The donkey-in-a-cowboy-hat is deadpan. He's not frantic or cartoonish. He delivers truth with zero context and moves on. Think of him as the brand's unofficial quality inspector who says very little but means everything he says.

Mascot voice patterns:

Short declarative statements. No flair.
Occasional approval: "Approved." / "That'll do." / "The donkey has reviewed this. Ship it."
Occasional shade: "Bold choice for a crappie rod." / "The donkey is unbothered."
Third person always: "The donkey does not miss." / "The donkey has standards. So does the blank."
On drops: "The donkey only nods so many times. This is a nod."
On thread color decisions: he just has opinions. Never explain them.

Emoji posture:

Use sparingly. Not every post needs them.
Favorites: cowboy hat for the donkey, fish for catch posts, fire only when it genuinely earns it
Avoid: sparkles, hearts, confetti, anything that reads like a beauty brand
Texas flag where geography is the point
Laughing emoji when something is actually funny. Don't force it.

2. HOOK FORMULAS + EXAMPLE BANK

The goal of a hook is to stop the scroll in the first frame or first sentence. Four formulas that work for this brand:

Formula 1: Specific Moment

Name a real, concrete moment instead of a vague claim. The more specific, the more credible.

Pattern: [Exact scenario] + [what happened next]

Examples:

"Kristen texted us a photo of this frog rod at 11pm: 'is it done yet.' It is now. Took three weeks. The grass doesn't care about your schedule."
"T-Rich built this crankbait rod on a Tuesday. Customer caught a personal best on Saturday at [lake]. Moderate action. Every time."
"The frog rod Kristen ordered came with a specific request: 7'3", heavy power, EVA grip, because cork gets slick when you're sweating in August. T-Rich built it exactly that way."

Formula 2: Named Failure / POV

Put the angler in the exact moment of failure, then offer the contrast.

Pattern: POV: [specific bad situation] + [the contrast, no over-explaining]

Examples:

"POV: 6-pounder buried in the hydrilla, you swing, and your gas-station rod folds like a lawn chair. This one doesn't."
"POV: you just out-cast the guy who spent more on his setup than your truck payment. You say nothing. The fish does the talking."
"POV: you borrowed your buddy's flipping stick. Caught the biggest bass of the trip. He's never going to forgive you. To be fair... he should've grabbed a better rod."

Formula 3: Donkey Deadpan

The mascot delivers a verdict with zero context. One to three sentences max. Never explain the joke.

Pattern: [The donkey says something true, dry, and final]

Examples:

"T-Rich let the donkey approve the thread color on this one. Don't ask. The donkey has range."
"The donkey reviewed this frog rod. The donkey approved. The donkey also had notes about the guide spacing. T-Rich listened. Shipped Friday."
"The donkey does not comment on other brands. The donkey simply builds better rods and lets y'all figure it out."

Formula 4: Contrarian Tip

Say the thing most fishing content avoids saying. One honest insight, no hedging.

Pattern: [Counter-intuitive truth] + [the real reason] + [what to do instead]

Examples:

"Most fishing tips are about technique. Almost none of them are about the rod. That's the problem. A frog rod in the hydrilla is a different tool than a crankbait rod at the dock. Same angler. Different result."
"The thing nobody says about losing fish at the bank: it's usually the rod, not the hook. Fast action doesn't forgive. Moderate does. T-Rich builds moderate crankbait rods for a reason."
"A 7'3" flipping stick doesn't make sense until you're pitching into cover three inches from the dock post. Then it's the only thing that makes sense. That's what this is built for."

3. CAPTION TEMPLATES BY PILLAR

[B] BUILT TOUGH, Craft & Product Hero

Pattern: One specific build detail. What it does on the water. What T-Rich won't compromise on. Soft CTA.

[One specific thing about this rod: blank choice, action spec, guide placement, technique match]

[What that choice does in the real fishing scenario it was built for]

[Optional: what T-Rich refuses to cut corners on, one line]

[Soft CTA: save this / follow for more / drop a question below]

Example:

This frog rod is built heavy power, fast action, EVA grip.

Heavy power so you can pull a 6-pound bass out of matted hydrilla without the rod folding on you. Fast action so you feel the hit before you react. EVA because you're going to be holding this thing in 95-degree Texas heat for four hours.

T-Rich doesn't build frog rods for the shelf. He builds them for the grass.

Follow along. More builds coming.

[H] HOOKED & HOLLERIN', Fun, Personality, Donkey Humor

Pattern: Specific premise, deadpan follow-through, one-liner landing, tag a buddy.

[Specific fishing scenario or slightly absurd real situation, keep it one sentence]

[Deadpan follow-through or unexpected pivot, one to two sentences]

[One line that lands the bit and ends it]

[Tag a buddy who this is about / who needs this]

Example:

POV: you borrowed your buddy's flipping stick. Caught the biggest bass of the trip. He's never going to forgive you.

To be fair... he should've grabbed a better rod.

The donkey has no further comment.

Tag that buddy. They know who they are.

[F] FISH SMARTER, Searchable Value Tips

Pattern: Name the exact problem or mistake. Give the real fix. Tie to rod choice where it's honest. Save CTA.

[The specific problem, one sentence, technique or setup failure]

[The fix, short and actionable, one to three steps max]

[Why the rod matters here, only if it actually does]

[Save this for your next trip / drop your setup below]

Example:

Losing fish right at the bank? 9 times out of 10 it's rod angle, not the hook set.

Keep your tip up. Maintain tension all the way in. Don't give him a half-second of slack near the boat, that's when he shakes it.

Rod action matters too. A stiff fast-action rod doesn't forgive sloppy angles. A moderate action buys you a beat. T-Rich builds moderate crankbait rods for exactly this reason.

Save this. You'll think about it next time you lose one at the bank.

[P] OUR PEOPLE, Community / UGC / Reviews / Catches

Pattern: The person, fish, or review is the story. Brand plays second. No embellishment.

[Name or tag the angler, OR quote the review straight with no editing]

[One specific detail: the rod, the water, the fish, the moment]

[One line back to the brand, understated]

[Send us yours / tag us / "we read every one"]

Example (catch):

[Customer name/tag] took the frog rod out to [lake/location if shared].

5-pound largemouth out of the matted grass. The kind of spot you don't cast into unless you trust what's in your hand.

That's why T-Rich builds them the way he does.

Send us your catch. Tag us. [Handle: @donkeystyxrodco, TBC - confirm before going live]

Example (review):

Got a review in from [customer name]. Posting it straight:

"[Full review text, unedited]"

That's the post. Thanks, [name].

If you've fished one of ours, we want to hear it.

[D] DROP / LIMITED RELEASE, Demand Tease

Use only when T-Rich has an actual run ready. Never manufacture scarcity. If he built four, say four.

[What's coming, one specific description without giving all the specs away]

[Why it's limited, the honest reason: T-Rich only made X on a specific blank run, etc.]

[What to do if interested: follow / DM / watch this week, never "buy now"]

[Donkey sign-off optional]

Example:

T-Rich just finished a short run of medium-heavy flipping sticks on a blank he's been sitting on.

He built four. That's the run. This exact blank, this build, these four. When they're gone they're gone, and that's not a line.

If that sounds like your rod, stay tuned. Details dropping this week.

The donkey approves. That's all we're saying.

[C] CUSTOM / BTO, Build Your Own Tease

Configurator URL TBC. Stage these posts for when the site is live. Follow CTA in the meantime.

[What the angler gets to control, specific]

[How that specific choice changes the outcome on the water]

[Soft tease: BTO coming to the site, follow to catch it]

[T-Rich reads comments, invite questions]

Example:

Blank, guides, grip material, length, action. You pick. We build.

A 7'3" heavy flipping stick with cork grip hits different from a 7'3" heavy flipping stick with EVA. One handles summer sweat. One handles cold mornings in the blind. That's not a small detail.

BTO custom builds are coming to the site. Follow so you don't miss it.

Questions? Drop them below. T-Rich reads the comments.

[COL] COLLAB / INFLUENCER INVITE, Soft Outreach

Frame it as the right tool for the right hands. Not a pitch. Never desperate.

[Describe the type of angler, specific, not generic]

[Why a Donkey Styx rod matches how they fish]

[Open door: DM or tag, low pressure]

Example:

There's an angler out there building a reputation on grass fishing, flipping into the spots other people write off, and she's doing it with a rod that was never built for that.

We'd like to fix that.

If that's you or you know her, slide into the DMs. We'll talk rods.

4. CONTENT MIX RECIPE

This is the ratio that builds the account correctly. For roughly every 10 posts:

Pillar	Count	Why
Hooked & Hollerin' (fun/personality)	4	Reach driver. Gets shared. Brings new eyes.
Fish Smarter (tips/value)	3	Searchable. Saved. Builds authority and trust.
Built Tough (craft/product)	2	Converts curious followers. Establishes credibility.
Our People (UGC/reviews/community)	1	Social proof. Warms the room.

Tune by data. If Reels are getting reach but carousels are driving saves, lean into both. If a specific pillar consistently outperforms, feed it more slots. The mix is a starting point, not a rule carved in stone.

Format mix: Lead with video. Short Reels and TikToks carry reach. Statics and carousels drive saves and swipes. Stories are low-stakes daily presence. A healthy week looks like: 2-3 short videos, 1-2 statics or carousels, light Stories. Shoot once, cut to both landscape and vertical from the same 4K take.

5. REPEATABLE SERIES

Six named formats. Each one refills forever. T-Rich and Kristen can self-generate new installments from their own builds, catches, reviews, and shop moments. PixelDrip polishes and schedules on retainer or hands the templates back for the client to run.

THE DONKEY SAYS

Pillar: Hooked & Hollerin' Format: Static graphic or on-screen text overlay. One to three sentences, deadpan, signed off by the mascot. Premise: The donkey has an opinion. It is brief. It is final. It does not need context. Frequency: Weekly, every week. This is the lowest-lift, highest-personality post in the mix.

Formula:

"[The donkey's take on something, one declarative line or two at most. No hedging. No punchline explanation.]"

[Optional: one line of brand voice underneath, straight-faced. Or nothing. Nothing also works.]

Examples (set the bar here):

"The donkey reviewed this build. The donkey had notes about the guide spacing. T-Rich listened. The donkey has moved on."
"The donkey does not fish with gas-station rods. The donkey also does not explain himself."
"Thread color is a craft decision. The donkey takes craft decisions seriously. That is all."

FROG ROD FRIDAY

Pillar: Fish Smarter (with Built Tough crossover) Format: Short video or carousel. Under 60 seconds for video. 3-5 slides for carousel. Premise: One specific technique tip tied to a specific rod type or setup. Happens every Friday. Name it and people look for it. Frequency: Weekly. Can rotate through frog rod, flipping stick, crankbait rod, jig rod as technique focal point, keep the Friday anchor.

Formula:

Hook: [Name the exact problem or decision this tip addresses]

The tip: [One actionable insight, no filler]

The rod connection: [Why this technique demands a specific rod spec, honest only]

CTA: Save this / drop your go-to [technique] below

Examples:

"Friday tip: frog over hydrilla. Short cast, skip it under the canopy. Heavy power blank or it folds on the hook set. T-Rich built this one for exactly that."
"Friday tip: crankbait rod, why moderate action. Lets the fish commit before the rod loads. Stop losing fish three feet from the boat. Save this."
"Friday tip: flipping stick length. 7'3" is not preference. It's geometry. You're pitching six feet to a dock post in a headwind. Longer lever wins."

THE BEND TEST

Pillar: Built Tough (with Hooked & Hollerin' energy) Format: Short video only. 15-30 seconds. The bit is the bend. Play it straight. Premise: A Donkey Styx rod gets bent past the point of comfort. It comes back straight. T-Rich shrugs. That's it. Frequency: Monthly or when there's a new rod to feature. Not every rod, just the ones where the build warrants it.

Formula:

Shot 1-2: The bend. Full flex, hold it. Someone looks mildly concerned.
Shot 3: Release. Snap back straight.
Shot 4: T-Rich checks for damage. Finds none. Keeps moving.
On-screen text or caption: [One understated line. Let the rod do the talking.]

Examples:

On-screen text: "We didn't design it to survive that. It did anyway."
Caption: "Three bends. No damage. The donkey was watching. The donkey was not worried."
Caption: "Built for the fish. Also, apparently, for whatever that was."

FROM THE BENCH

Pillar: Built Tough Format: Short video, slow and beautiful. No talking. Let the craft speak. Under 60 seconds, slowed down in edit. Premise: T-Rich's hands, a specific build in progress, no narration, no hype. The build as art form. ASMR-adjacent. Frequency: Every 2-3 weeks, or whenever T-Rich is mid-build on something interesting.

Formula:

Shot 1: The blank, raw. Or the thread wrapping starting.
Shot 2: One detail in macro: guides being set, epoxy applied, grip fitted.
Shot 3: The rod in a turner or drying rack. The middle of the process.
Shot 4: The finished rod, slow reveal tip to grip.
Caption: [One to two lines, understated. Name the rod type and the angler it was built for if there's a story.]

Examples:

Caption: "Three weeks on the bench. This frog rod goes home Friday. Kristen has been texting."
Caption: "Moderate action crankbait blank. T-Rich set the guides by feel, not a spec sheet. Finished Tuesday."
Caption: "From blank to finished rod. No shortcuts between these two points. Never have been."

Y'ALL CAUGHT THIS

Pillar: Our People Format: Static photo or short video from the customer. Posted straight, no heavy editing. Premise: A customer sent a catch photo or review. We post it. Brand plays second. The angler is the story. Frequency: Whenever a real catch or review comes in. T-Rich sends them to Kristen. Post within the week.

Formula:

[Tag the angler or use first name if they prefer]
[Name the fish, the location if shared, the rod if known]
[One line that reflects it back without being cheesy]
[Tag us / send us yours CTA]

Examples:

"[Name] pulled a 7-pound largemouth out of [lake] on the medium-heavy flipping stick T-Rich built for him in March. That's the rod. That's the fish. That's the post."
"Got a review in from [name]. Posting it unedited: '[full review text]' That's it. Thanks, [name]. If you've fished one of ours, send it."
"[Name] texted us this at 6am. 5-pound bass, pre-dawn, frog rod, hydrilla. She did not elaborate. She did not need to."

BUILD YOURS

Pillar: Custom / BTO Format: Carousel (showing the options) or short talking-head video (T-Rich explains the choices). Goes live when the BTO configurator is live. Until then, use as a tease/soft-launch post. Premise: You pick the specs. T-Rich builds exactly that. The post educates on what BTO means and why it matters for how you fish specifically. Frequency: Monthly anchor post once BTO is live. Drive to the site configurator or DM for intake.

Formula:

[Open with the choice the angler gets to make, specific]
[One example of how that choice changes the outcome on the water]
[The call to action: configurator link (once live) or DM to start the conversation]
[T-Rich reads comments. Invite questions.]

Examples:

"You tell T-Rich: heavy power, fast action, 7'3", EVA grip, orange thread. He builds that rod. Not a version of it. That rod. BTO is live now. Link in bio. [URL TBC]"
"The difference between a cork grip and an EVA grip is about eight hours of fishing in August humidity. That's not a preference. That's a build decision. Build yours the right way. DM us to start."
"A 7-foot crankbait rod and a 7'3" flipping stick are both 7-ish feet long and built for bass. They are not the same rod. We'll explain the whole thing. Comment 'BTO' below."

6. WEEKLY RHYTHM TEMPLATE

Run this loop every week. Five to seven slots. Refill each slot from the series and pillar templates above.

Slot	Day	Pillar / Series	Format	Notes
1	Monday	Fish Smarter (Frog Rod Friday setup or standalone tip)	Short video or carousel	Searchable, gets saved
2	Tuesday	Hooked & Hollerin' (Donkey Says or personality moment)	Static or Reel	Sets the tone for the week
3	Wednesday	Built Tough (From the Bench or product spotlight)	Short video	Mid-week craft credibility
4	Thursday	Fish Smarter or Built Tough (your call based on what's in queue)	Static or carousel	Keep the feed fed
5	Friday	Fish Smarter, FROG ROD FRIDAY anchor	Short video or carousel	Named series, build the pattern
6	Sat/Sun (optional)	Our People (catch, review, UGC) OR Hooked & Hollerin' (fun/weekend vibe)	Static or Story	Lighter lift, community-facing
Daily	Any	Stories: shop moments, behind-scenes, polls, quick reactions	Story	Low-stakes, keeps the account active

When to break the pattern: Limited drop? Run the [D] template on top of the week, no need to reshuffle. New collab in the works? Slot the [COL] post wherever there's room. The rhythm is the default. It bends.

7. CREW SHOT LIST, 4 HERO VIDEOS

FOR RICHARD (T-Rich): How to Shoot These

Camera format: Shoot everything in 4K landscape (horizontal, phone turned sideways). Keep the rod or subject centered with good headroom and empty space on both sides of the subject. This gives us a vertical 9:16 crop for TikTok and Reels (center 60% of the frame) AND the landscape version for YouTube and the website from the same footage. Film landscape. Center everything. We handle the crop in edit.

Every clip:

4K landscape, subject centered
Natural light whenever possible. Open a door or move to a window if the shop is dark.
Film 15 seconds even if the prompt calls for 10. Gives edit room.
No need to talk unless the prompt says speak.
Real shop. Real rods. Real mess. Don't overcorrect it.

VIDEO 1: "Meet the Donkey" (Origin / Intro)

T-Rich is the talent. This is the maker's introduction.

Shot 1: Close on T-Rich's hands wrapping thread onto a blank. Slow. No face yet. Just the hands and the craft.

Shot 2: Wide of the build space. Rods on the wall, rods on the bench, rods everywhere. The productive mess of someone who actually does this for a living.

Shot 3: T-Rich holds a finished rod up toward a window or door frame and rotates it slowly. Light catches the guide wraps.

Shot 4: Lay a completed rod on the workbench like you mean it. Hold the shot for 5 seconds.

Shot 5: Camera pulls back slowly from the Donkey Styx badge. On a sticker, hang tag, or the rod itself. Let it reveal.

Shot 6 (speak, look at camera): T-Rich looks up from the bench, straight to camera: "We build custom rods in Texas. And yeah, the name is exactly what it sounds like." Back to the rod. Done.

VIDEO 2: "The Bend Test" (Durability)

T-Rich plus one other person, or T-Rich bracing it solo.

Shot 1: Two people on opposite ends of the rod. One holds the butt. The other applies steady pressure to the tip. Let the full bend show.

Shot 2: Extreme close on the guides and blank under load. Hold it. Let the tension breathe.

Shot 3: Release. The rod snaps back straight. Catch that snap.

Shot 4: T-Rich looks at the other person. Shrugs. Nods once. No words. That's the bit.

Shot 5: T-Rich runs a thumb down the blank checking for damage. Finds none. Goes back to whatever he was doing.

Shot 6 (optional, speak): "We didn't design it to survive that. But it does. Every time." Hold the rod up. Cut.

VIDEO 3: "POV: Out-Casting the $400 Rod" (Comedic Flex)

T-Rich as the angler, or someone he fishes with. POV or over-shoulder.

Shot 1: Two rods side by side. Donkey Styx on the left, a clearly "expensive" big-brand aesthetic on the right. No comment. Just the comparison.

Shot 2: A cast from the angler's POV or just over the shoulder. Rod loads. Releases. Line goes out.

Shot 3: Tight on the reel. Line peeling. Let it run a beat.

Shot 4: A fish on. Doesn't have to be big. Just on. Let the fight play.

Shot 5: Fish up toward the camera. No gloating. Just... there it is.

Shot 6 (on-screen text or speak): "We're not saying our rod is better. We're just saying..." Cut to the fish. The fish is the punchline.

VIDEO 4: "From the Bench" (Craft Beauty)

T-Rich. His hands, his tools, his rods. No talking.

Shot 1: Thread wrapping in macro. Blank rotating slowly, thread catching light and laying clean.

Shot 2: Epoxy applied to guide wraps with a small brush. Smooth. Deliberate. Let it pool.

Shot 3: Rods in a turner or drying rack. Let them spin slowly if possible.

Shot 4: A guide being aligned before securing. T-Rich eyeballing it. Adjusting. Nodding.

Shot 5: Camera moves tip to grip along a finished rod, slow and steady. End on the grip.

Shot 6: The finished rod handed off. T-Rich to another set of hands. Simple. No words.

B-ROLL GRAB BAG (shoot whenever there's 10 minutes)

Morning light hitting rods on a rack in the shop
Hand writing a customer name or spec on a build card
Different guide styles laid out on a workbench, side by side
Thread spools in a row, all colors, well-lit
A raw blank before any work. Plain. Nothing on it yet.
A completed rod next to the blank it started as
T-Rich laughing or reacting to something. Candid only, don't stage it.
The Donkey Styx badge on any surface: sticker, hang tag, truck, wall
Texas water at sunrise or dusk. No fish required.
A cooler being opened. People love this for reasons nobody can fully explain.
Hands doing anything fishing-adjacent: tying a knot, threading guides, stringing up a rod
The frog rod specifically, close up. (Kristen's photo is a start. Video of the actual rod is better.)
A customer review on a phone screen (if Richard is comfortable sharing it on camera)

FLAGS, CONFIRM BEFORE GOING LIVE

Handle TBC. @donkeystyxrodco is the likely handle based on the brand email donkeystyxrodco@gmail.com. Confirm before any caption tags it or any bio is written.
Website / link-in-bio URL TBC. Needed before any CTA points to it. The BTO configurator or inquiry form needs to be live before Build Yours posts go out.
Customer reviews from Richard. The Y'all Caught This and Our People slots are ready for them. Post straight, no editing.
Real UGC catches. The sooner Kristen or Richard can supply 1-2 customer catch photos, the stronger those community posts land.
Kristen's frog rod photo. Built-in story angle for a From the Bench or Built Tough post. Share when available.
East Texas fishing spots. The Donkey-Approved Fishing Spots concept (Hooked & Hollerin' carousel) needs real locations T-Rich actually fishes. Lakes, rivers, bays. A 5-minute voice note from Richard covers it.
Limited drop details. The Drop template only fires when T-Rich has an actual run ready and an actual count. Confirm the build, confirm the quantity, then schedule. Never before.
Collab targets. The Collab Invite template works as-is for a general post. Gets stronger if T-Rich has specific anglers or creators in mind. Drop those names and we can personalize it.

Donkey Styx, Social Visual System

Author: Iris (PixelDrip Creative Direction) Date: 2026-06-22 (revised 2026-06-22 with shoot/talent context from May 20 call) Status: SYSTEM + PLAN, retouching executes once real files land in Drive.

Purpose

This document is the complete visual direction for Donkey Styx's organic social presence across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. It covers template specs, photo cleanup workflow, and hero video storyboards. Nothing here is executed speculatively against real assets; this is the repeatable system designers and editors pick up once rod photos arrive in Drive.

Key confirmed context (May 20 Google Meet): Richard Weathersby ("T-Rich") is the maker and the on-camera talent. He is confirmed willing to appear in videos. The production standard is 4K landscape capture with a vertical-safe center framing so one shoot yields both a 1080x1920 vertical crop (TikTok/Reels primary) and a 16:9 landscape master (YouTube + website hero). See Section 3 for framing guidance per video.

1. STATIC + REEL TEMPLATE KIT

1.1 Palette Application Rules

Role	Hex	Usage
Primary BG	`#170E05`	Dark-mode base for nearly all templates
Secondary BG	`#302014`	Card overlays, lower thirds, caption boxes
Texture/Mid	`#6B4628`	Divider lines, icon fills, decorative brush strokes
Accent (Gold)	`#BF854B`	Wordmark bar, callout text, rule lines, "BUILT TOUGH" stamp
Cream	`#F5E6CE`	Body copy, descriptive subheads, watermark overlays
Pure Black	`#18130F`	Full bleed fallback when photography bleeds through

Never use solid white. Cream (#F5E6CE) is the lightest value in the system. Pure white feels off-brand and breaks the warm, tobacco-and-leather tonality.

1.2 Typeface System

The brand has two locked typographic voices. Do not introduce any third typeface.

Display / Wordmark Voice

Source: The DONKEY STYX bold slab wordmark from the master .ai file (Drive Branding folder).
Use for: Post titles, pillar labels, pull quotes, video overlay titles.
Style rule: Always tracked wide (at least +100 tracking / 0.1em letter-spacing). All caps. Never set in lower case.

S T Y X Dashed Bar

The thin "S T Y X" letterspaced bar with tan dashes on either side is a recurring brand graphic device, not body copy.
Use on: Lower thirds, pillar badges, caption card headers.
Color: Always #BF854B (tan/gold), never cream, never dark brown.

Body / Caption Voice

A clean, condensed sans-serif (e.g. Barlow Condensed SemiBold, or match whatever is spec'd in the Brand Sheet when confirmed with Terry). If the Brand Sheet is silent on body text, use Barlow Condensed as a placeholder until the font stack is locked.
Use for: Caption cards, stat callouts, "FISH SMARTER" tip text, CTA overlays.
Style rule: Cream (#F5E6CE) on dark backgrounds. Gold (#BF854B) only for a single highlighted word or number.

1.3 Canvas Sizes

Format	Dimensions	Primary Use
Feed Square	1080 x 1080 px	Facebook grid posts, IG grid carousels (optional)
Feed Portrait	1080 x 1350 px	Default IG feed post, Facebook feed
Vertical Full	1080 x 1920 px	TikTok, IG Reels, IG Stories, FB Reels

Default to Feed Portrait (1080x1350) for statics. Design at 1080x1920 for Reels, then center-crop to 1080x1350 to confirm the important content reads at feed size. Safe zone for 1080x1920: keep all text/logo above 1700px and below 200px to clear platform UI chrome.

1.4 Grid / Layout System

All templates use a four-zone anatomy:

+----------------------------+
|  ZONE A, Brand bar        |  ~80-120px tall
|  Logo mark + "DONKEY STYX" |
+----------------------------+
|                            |
|  ZONE B, Hero visual      |  fills remaining height
|  (photo, video still,      |  minus caption zone
|   illustration, or graphic)|
|                            |
+----------------------------+
|  ZONE C, Title/Copy block |  ~160-200px tall
|  Bold slab headline        |
|  S T Y X bar (optional)    |
+----------------------------+
|  ZONE D, Pillar badge     |  ~60px, tightly kerned
|  e.g. [BUILT TOUGH]        |
+----------------------------+

Zone A: #170E05 bar with the circular donkey-hat badge at 48px left-inset, "DONKEY STYX" wordmark at 60-70% scale to its right. No clutter in this zone.
Zone B: Full-bleed photo or gradient-over-photo. Apply a subtle vignette at bottom (dark brown to transparent) so Zone C text always lifts off clearly without a hard box.
Zone C: White/cream headline in display slab, 2-3 words max per line. Below the headline, the gold "S T Y X" dashed bar as a divider.
Zone D: A single pill or stamp badge in #302014 with gold text naming the content pillar.

For 1080x1080 (square) templates, collapse Zone A to 64px and Zone D to 48px to preserve the visual breathing room in Zone B.

1.5 Additional Template Cards

Beyond the four content-pillar templates, these purpose-specific card types are part of the kit.

LIMITED-EDITION DROP CARD (Announcement + Teaser)

Dimensions: 1080x1350 (feed) and 1080x1920 (Stories/Reels cover).

Layout: Full-bleed dark canvas (#170E05). No Zone B photography for teaser cards; use a single atmospheric element instead (smoke-style gradient, or the donkey badge at 40% opacity as a watermark behind everything). For announcement cards (the drop is live), use a cleaned rod photo or merch flat-lay in Zone B.

Typography treatment:

Zone A: Standard brand bar (donkey badge + DONKEY STYX wordmark).
Zone C top: Small-caps cream label "LIMITED EDITION" in body voice, 28px, loosely tracked.
Zone C headline: Product name in display slab, 2 lines max. E.g. "THE FROG ROD." Gold (#BF854B).
Zone C sub: Release window or quantity in cream body, 24px. E.g. "Only 12 made. Dropping Friday."
Zone D: No pillar badge on drop cards. Replace with a single 1px gold rule as the bottom boundary.

Teaser vs. announcement distinction:

Teaser (before drop): No product in Zone B. Let the atmosphere carry it. Text can be cryptic. "Something's coming." is enough.
Announcement (drop live): Rod or merch photo in Zone B, full price/link info in caption (not on the card itself; keep the card clean).

MERCH MOMENT CARD

Covers two use cases: (a) the Gildan tee flat-lay or lifestyle wear shot, and (b) the 2-inch clear die-cut rod decal showcase.

Dimensions: 1080x1350 primary.

Layout: Follows standard four-zone anatomy.

Tee flat-lay treatment:

Zone B: Prairie Dust tee laid flat on a warm surface (raw wood workbench, burlap, dry grass), or T-Rich wearing it at the bench. White background on the garment = strip to alpha (see Section 2.2) before placing on dark canvas.
Zone C headline: "WEAR THE BRAND." or "REPPING DONKEY STYX." in display slab.
Pillar badge: BUILT TOUGH or HOOKED + HOLLERIN depending on styling of the shot.

Decal treatment:

Zone B: Close macro shot of the 2-inch die-cut on a rod blank, a truck window, or a tackle box. Clear substrate = the logo appears to float on the surface. Shoot against a surface with texture so the die-cut pops.
Zone C headline: "PUT IT ON ANYTHING." Display slab, cream.
No pillar badge; replace with "DONKEY STYX DECALS" in small-caps body text at Zone D.

Carousel option: Tee + decal together in a 2-3 slide carousel (tee slide, decal slide, combined flat-lay or T-Rich wearing the tee with a rod in hand). Last slide = caption card (Section 1.6) with a soft CTA to shop.

SOCIAL-PROOF REVIEW CARD

For customer review quotes once they start arriving. Single post or carousel closer.

Dimensions: 1080x1350.

Layout:

BG: #302014 full bleed (same as caption card, but structured differently).
Top third: The donkey-in-hat badge, centered, at 80px. Cream fill.
Center: Review quote in body condensed, cream, 32-36px, italicized. 3-4 lines max. Attribute with first name + state only (e.g. "-- Jake W., East Texas"). Never attribute a full last name without written permission.
Divider: 1px gold rule below the quote.
Bottom: "REAL ANGLERS. REAL RODS." in small-caps display slab, gold.
No pillar badge. No Zone A bar. This card breaks the standard layout intentionally to feel like a testimonial, not a content post.

Note: Quote text must be verbatim from the actual review. Never paraphrase or clean up grammar unless the customer specifically requests it.

1.6 Pillar Badges

Each of the four pillars gets a fixed badge treatment. These are the only four badge variants; never improvise a new one without a strategy session.

Pillar	Badge Label	Badge Color
Built Tough	BUILT TOUGH	`#302014` bg, `#BF854B` text
Hooked & Hollerin'	HOOKED + HOLLERIN	`#302014` bg, `#F5E6CE` text
Fish Smarter	FISH SMARTER	`#302014` bg, `#BF854B` text
Our People	OUR PEOPLE	`#302014` bg, `#F5E6CE` text

Badge shape: Tight rectangular pill with 6px border-radius. 2px stroke in #6B4628. No drop shadow.

1.7 Caption Card Style

Carousels and tip posts get a dedicated "Caption Card" slide (always the second slide in a carousel, or the final slide before a CTA). Spec:

BG: #302014 full bleed.
Top: The "S T Y X · BUILT TOUGH · CAST PROUD" dashed bar at top center, #BF854B.
Body: 3-5 lines max, cream body text at 32-38px, line height 1.3.
Bottom: If a soft CTA is present, set it in small-caps gold slab, e.g. "FOLLOW FOR MORE."
No decorative elements beyond the dashed bar at top and a single 1px gold rule below the body text.

1.8 Video Cover-Frame Style

Every Reel/TikTok/video post needs a designed cover frame that reads as part of the feed grid, not a random freeze-frame. Spec:

Pull a strong single frame from the video (rod bend, beauty close-up of wrapping, fish splash).
Apply the full Zone A-D grid overlay above, with the video title set in display slab in Zone C.
Add a subtle 15% dark vignette over the entire frame so the overlay text lifts off without a hard box.
Pillar badge in Zone D.
Export this cover at 1080x1350 (feed portrait) for IG and 1080x1920 (vertical) for TikTok/Reels.

Result: the feed grid looks like a designed editorial system, not a random collection of screenshots.

2. PHOTO-CLEANUP PLAYBOOK

2.1 Philosophy

"Elevated but authentic, never fake-polished." Kristen's iPhone shots are real. They look like what they are: a craftsperson's workshop photos taken under imperfect conditions. The goal is to make them feel intentional and beautiful within the brand palette without making them look like a professional studio shoot. Overprocess = breaks the authenticity. Underprocess = wastes the frame.

Target quality bar: A frame a skilled hobbyist would be proud of on their own feed. Not a catalog shot. Not a phone snapshot.

2.2 The Knockout Rule

White-background shots placed on dark panels read as bright placeholder rectangles. Before placing any rod photo on the dark brand canvas:

Strip white to alpha using ImageMagick: convert in.webp -fuzz 5% -transparent white -quality 90 out.png
Alternatively, use the Adobe Remove Background tool for cleaner subjects.
Feather the edge at least 1-2px after knockout so the rod doesn't look cut with scissors.
Place the knocked-out rod on the dark background with a subtle ground shadow (drop shadow at 60% opacity, 15px blur, matching #302014).

2.3 The Brighten Rule

Dark or dim photos scaled down into a tile or thumbnail read as black voids. Before placing any dark photo:

Apply an auto-tone pass first to confirm the histogram isn't completely clipped.
Boost brightness +20 to +30 and contrast +10. Evaluate at 25% zoom (tile size) before committing.
Add a directional gradient base (bottom edge, dark-to-transparent) on the canvas layer UNDER the photo so Zone C text never fights a light sky or bright reflection.

2.4 Step-by-Step Cleanup Sequence

This sequence uses Adobe image tools (available via the Adobe MCP). Run in this order.

Step 1: Crop and Straighten

Tool: image_auto_straighten then image_crop_and_resize
Target composition: rod should occupy at least 60% of frame height. If the rod is horizontal, rotate the frame to place it diagonally (more dynamic, fits portrait canvases better).
Output size: 1080x1350 for feed, 1080x1920 for Reels.

Step 2: Auto Tone

Tool: image_apply_auto_tone
This is a quick sanity check only. Do not rely on it as the final adjustment.

Step 3: Exposure + Brightness/Contrast

Tool: image_adjust_exposure (if clipped highlights), then image_adjust_brightness_and_contrast
Typical starting values for an iPhone indoor shot: Brightness +20, Contrast +15. Adjust by eye.
Goal: The rod finish, wrapping, and guides should be readable. The background (even if left in) should feel slightly moody.

Step 4: Color Temperature

Tool: image_adjust_color_temperature
Nudge warmer (not cooler). These rods are warm-toned, organic, handbuilt. Cool-shifted photos fight the brand palette. Aim for a reading that feels like late-afternoon sunlight, even if the shot was taken in a garage.

Step 5: Highlights + Dark Portions

Tool: image_adjust_highlights (pull back any blown-out guide hardware or wrapping thread), then image_adjust_dark_portions (lift the deep shadows slightly so the rod body detail emerges)

Step 6: Background Cleanup or Knockout

If the background is distracting (cluttered workshop, ugly wall): image_remove_background, then place on brand canvas.
If the background is acceptable but muddy: apply image_apply_gaussian_blur to the background only (select subject first with image_select_subject, invert selection with image_invert_selection, then blur).
If the frame is too tight and cuts off the rod tip or handle: use image_generative_expand to extend the canvas and inpaint natural-looking content.

Step 7: Optional Grain

Tool: image_add_grain at a low intensity (3-5% strength).
This prevents the photo from reading as over-processed or artificially smooth. Adds a slight analog character that fits the handbuilt, Texas-craft personality. Do not skip this step.

Step 8: Final Composite

Place the cleaned photo into the Zone B area of the appropriate template (1080x1350 or 1080x1920).
Apply the Zone C text overlay and Zone A brand bar.
Evaluate at 25% scale (feed tile view) to confirm the rod reads at small size.

2.5 Execution Gate

Do NOT run any of the above steps until the actual files land in Drive. This playbook is the plan. The moment Kristen's photos are dropped in, pull them via the Drive MCP and run the sequence. The sequence was designed to be executed in a single agent pass once assets exist.

3. HERO VIDEO STORYBOARDS

General Video Spec (all four videos)

Length: 30-60 seconds for TikTok/Reels (sweet spot is 38-45 sec).
Capture standard: 4K landscape (confirmed production standard). T-Rich shoots landscape on a capable camera or phone in 4K mode. Frame vertically safe on every shot (see below).
Aspect ratio delivery: Two exports from every shoot.
- PRIMARY: 1080x1920 (vertical 9:16) center-crop for TikTok, IG Reels, FB Reels.
- SECONDARY: 16:9 landscape master for YouTube and the website hero/background. Export at native 4K or downscale to 1920x1080 for web.
Vertical-safe framing rule (applies to T-Rich on every shot): The main subject (T-Rich's face, the rod in action, the key detail) must land in the center third of the landscape frame. Headroom above, leg room or bench below. Leave at least 25% dead space on both left and right sides. This way, the center-crop to 9:16 captures the subject cleanly without reframing in post.
Audio: Keep ambient audio when strong (drag on rod, creek sounds, shop noise). Add music bed underneath (royalty-free, Americana/country-adjacent or acoustic instrumental). Music at ~70% so voice and ambient lead.
Captions: Always. Auto-caption via TikTok or CapCut, then manually spot-check. Caption style: pill-shaped soft-white box, lowercase, matching the Barlow Condensed body voice. Not the slab display. Captions live in the lower third (outside the safe zone bottom).
Cover frame: Select and design per the spec in Section 1.8.

Video 1: "Meet the Donkey"

Purpose: Origin/intro post. Wk1, first or second post. Sets who Donkey Styx is, fast.

Tone: Warm, real, a little funny. Not an ad. A neighbor introducing themselves.

Length target: 38-45 seconds.

Talent: T-Rich on camera. He introduces himself at the bench. He is the brand.

Framing for both crops: T-Rich stands or sits at the bench with the bench running left-to-right in frame. Keep him centered horizontally so the 9:16 crop catches his face and upper body cleanly. The landscape master captures the full bench context (rods, tools, workspace) on either side. Avoid having him walk toward the edge of frame without recentering.

Shot sequence:

Shot	Duration	Visual	Audio/Text overlay
1	0:00-0:04	Cold open: extreme close-up of thread wrapping on a rod blank in T-Rich's hands. Slow pull back. No text yet.	Ambient shop sounds. Music fades in underneath.
2	0:04-0:08	Cut to the circular donkey-hat badge (physical shirt T-Rich is wearing, or a sticker on the bench). Zoom in slightly.	Text overlay: "DONKEY STYX" in display slab, fades in centered.
3	0:08-0:18	Wide bench shot: T-Rich looks up from his work, gives a slight nod to camera. Rods laid out, tools visible. Center-framed.	T-Rich VO or text cards: "We build custom fishing rods from scratch. Right here in Texas."
4	0:18-0:28	Close-up montage (3 quick cuts, 3 sec each): rod guide being seated by T-Rich's hands, cork grip shaped, finished rod tip glinting. Each shot close enough that the 9:16 crop works regardless of landscape framing.	Text card: "BUILT TOUGH." appears on last cut, in slab, gold, centered.
5	0:28-0:38	T-Rich on water casting, or holding up a finished rod against sky/treeline, centered in frame.	T-Rich VO or text: "Cast Proud."
6	0:38-0:42	End card: brand mark centered on dark `#170E05`. Donkey-in-hat badge at 50% opacity behind. Text below: "FOLLOW ALONG." soft CTA.	Music fades slightly. No hard CTA.

Animated still technique: For shots where live video is short or missing, use a single sharp photo with a slow Ken Burns push (0.8x to 1.0x zoom over 3 seconds) in CapCut or DaVinci Resolve. Add a subtle grain overlay at 5%. This reads as intentional, not as a static slide.

Video 2: "Built Tough Test"

Purpose: Durability credibility. Real bend-test demonstration. Wk2 or Wk3.

Tone: Confident, a little dramatic, fun. Not a lab test. T-Rich knows his rod will not snap.

Length target: 30-40 seconds. Short and punchy.

Talent: T-Rich on camera doing the test himself. His confidence is the whole point.

Framing for both crops: The bend test needs to be shot in landscape so the full arc of the rod is visible in the 16:9 master. T-Rich should be centered in the frame, with the rod extending to both sides. For the 9:16 crop, the peak-bend moment (the rod at maximum load) is the key frame; make sure T-Rich's hands and the rod tip are both visible within the center third at that moment. Shoot 4K so there is enough resolution to crop tight in post if needed.

Shot sequence:

Shot	Duration	Visual	Audio/Text overlay
1	0:00-0:03	Cold open: T-Rich's hands grip the rod handle close on camera. Rod angled into frame from below. He does not look up yet.	Silence or low ambient. No text. Hook: the viewer doesn't know what's coming.
2	0:03-0:06	T-Rich looks straight into camera. Slight smirk. Holds the rod up.	Text overlay drops in: "THINK IT'LL BREAK?" Display slab, cream, centered. Music starts, uptempo.
3	0:06-0:20	The bend test. T-Rich loads the rod (tip against a surface or held down by a second person). Full parabolic arc. He holds it. 4K slow-motion if camera supports it (shoot at 120fps, playback at 24fps for the bend peak).	Text overlay at peak bend: "DIDN'T THINK SO." Gold slab, appears mid-bend.
4	0:20-0:28	T-Rich releases. Rod snaps back. He holds it up, perfectly intact. Close-up of wrapping or guide seat still clean.	T-Rich VO or text: "Hand-built to handle whatever the water throws at you."
5	0:28-0:34	Brand end card. Same format as Video 1.	"BUILT TOUGH. CAST PROUD." tagline under badge.

Credit note: Do not spend Higgsfield credits on this video. The value is T-Rich's authentic confidence, not visual polish.

Video 3: "POV: Out-Casting the $400 Rod"

Purpose: Comedic flex. Personality pillar, Hooked + Hollerin'. Wk2. This is the bait-the-hook post, built to be shared.

Tone: Self-aware, fun, slightly absurd. NOT mean, NOT punching at competitors by name.

Length target: 30-40 seconds.

Talent: T-Rich on the water for the casting shot. POV opener = camera held by T-Rich looking down the rod, so the cast is first-person.

Framing for both crops: The POV shot (camera looking down the rod) works well for 9:16 crop naturally since the rod runs vertically in the frame. For the landscape master, the cast shot and the follow-up close-ups should still be center-framed so the 9:16 crop stays clean.

Shot sequence:

Shot	Duration	Visual	Audio/Text overlay
1	0:00-0:03	POV: T-Rich holds camera looking down the rod on the water. Classic TikTok POV opener.	Text overlay: "POV: you bought a Donkey Styx rod instead of the $400 one." Cream, body voice, NOT slab. Small, caption-style.
2	0:03-0:10	T-Rich's cast goes out. Line sailing across water, slow-mo if the 4K camera supports 120fps.	No text. Music plays. Ambient water sound.
3	0:10-0:20	Cut to: close-up of the rod handle in T-Rich's hand. Then cut to the donkey badge on his shirt or a sticker on the rod.	Text card: "Same fish. Way less money."
4	0:20-0:28	T-Rich holds up a caught fish with the rod, or holds the rod up grinning at camera. If no fish clip yet, animated still of the rod on water (Ken Burns).	Text: "Built in Texas. Not in a factory."
5	0:28-0:34	End card. Donkey badge centered.	"BUILT TOUGH. CAST PROUD." Soft CTA: "Find yours in the link."

Production note on the $400 joke: Keep it self-deprecating and aspirational, not a competitor attack. The brand personality is "we know what we are and we're proud of it." The joke lands because Donkey Styx confidence is the punchline, not the $400 rod maker.

Video 4: "From the Bench" (Craft Beauty Video)

Purpose: Brand prestige. The slowest, most beautiful piece. Shows the craft process end-to-end. Wk3 or ongoing anchor content.

Tone: Quiet, confident, reverent. This is the video that makes a lurker stop scrolling and genuinely wonder "how did they make that."

Length target: 45-60 seconds. This one earns the extra time.

Talent: T-Rich at the bench throughout. His hands, his face, his craft. He does not need to speak. The work is the VO.

Framing for both crops: This video lives in close-ups, which are naturally vertical-safe because the subject (rod, hands, thread) is narrow enough to sit in the center third of any landscape frame. The one wider shot (Shot 1 or 4, T-Rich at the full bench) should position him center-frame with bench extending left and right. The 4K landscape master becomes a natural website hero or YouTube cover; the 9:16 crop becomes the Reels/TikTok version.

Shot sequence:

Shot	Duration	Visual	Audio/Text overlay
1	0:00-0:05	Black open. Slow fade to a wide bench shot: T-Rich seated at his bench in profile or three-quarter, head down working. Center-framed.	Music only. No text. Ambient: faint shop hum or silence.
2	0:05-0:15	Montage: T-Rich's hands choosing thread from a spool, thread meeting blank, first wrap. 3-4 shots, 2-3 sec each. Tight close-ups, slow push-in. Each shot centered.	Light text: "It starts with a blank." Cream, small, lower-left justified. Fades out.
3	0:15-0:28	Montage: T-Rich seating a guide, applying epoxy with a fine brush, setting the winding check. Real close-ups. Where shots are thin, animated stills with Ken Burns and a shallow-depth blur vignette work.	No text in this window. Let the work speak. Music swells slightly.
4	0:28-0:40	The finished rod. T-Rich holds it up at the bench and inspects it. Then a slow pan from tip to handle of the rod laid flat. Center-framed throughout.	Text card fades in: "BUILT TOUGH." Fades out. Then: "CAST PROUD."
5	0:40-0:50	T-Rich on water with the finished rod. He casts once, then holds the rod up against the sky. If no water footage yet, animated still at golden hour (Ken Burns).	Text: "From our bench to your hands."
6	0:50-0:58	Brand end card. Donkey badge.	Tagline. No CTA on this video. It is pure brand.

Animated still technique for missing shots: When a full motion sequence is unavailable, shoot one sharp 4K still frame per stage (blank, thread, guides, finished rod), then in CapCut: 3-second duration per still, Ken Burns push at 0.9x-1.0x, light 10% grain overlay. Directional vignette around edges. The result reads as intentional craft cinematography, not a slideshow.

4. ASSET GATES + CREDIT DISCIPLINE

What to pull from Drive before execution begins

The following assets need to be pulled via the Drive MCP (folder ID: 14nRAWzd2CYmdTCPwBqjjlMFfWQRJyBov) before any template-building or photo processing begins:

Branding/DS - Brand Sheet.jpg -- confirm palette values against spec above, and check if a body font is specified.
Branding/*.ai (logo master files) -- extract the wordmark and the donkey-in-hat badge as SVG or high-res PNG for template use.
Print media/T-Shirts/DS - T-Shirt Mockups.ai -- optional reference for pillar badge design language.
Kristen's rod photos (not yet in Drive as of 2026-06-22) -- when they land, pull and run the cleanup sequence in Section 2.

Credit discipline

Explore all visual directions in ChatGPT (free image generation) before any credits are spent. Higgsfield credits are reserved for:

Confirmation renders (once a visual direction is locked from free exploration)
Finals (hero images going live on the feed)

Do not generate speculative or test renders with Higgsfield. The Adobe image tools are the primary pipeline for photo cleanup once assets exist.

5. CONFIRMED FROM MAY 20 CALL

T-Rich (Richard Weathersby) is the maker and on-camera talent. Storyboards updated to reflect this. He is the face of the brand.
4K landscape is the production standard. All storyboards now include dual-crop framing notes. The 9:16 vertical crop is the social primary; the 16:9 landscape master feeds YouTube and the website.
Gildan tees + 2-inch clear die-cut decals are live merch. Merch Moment card template specced in Section 1.5.
Limited-edition drops are a planned demand mechanic. Limited Edition Drop card template specced in Section 1.5.
Social-proof review cards are planned once customer reviews arrive. Card style specced in Section 1.5.

6. OPEN FLAGS FOR TERRY / FELICIA

Body typeface not confirmed. Pull DS - Brand Sheet.jpg from Drive and check. Barlow Condensed is the placeholder; substitute before building templates if the Brand Sheet names something else.
Kristen's rod photos not yet in Drive. Photo-cleanup sequence in Section 2 is ready; execution blocked until files arrive. Kristen's email is donkeystyxrodco@gmail.com (from Nova memory).
Music licensing source. Confirm preferred platform (TikTok Commercial Music Library, Epidemic Sound, or Artlist). TikTok's own library covers TikTok distribution at zero cost but is restricted on Facebook/Instagram -- Epidemic Sound or Artlist is safer for cross-platform repurposing.
"Frog rod" -- limited drop candidate? If this is a branded colorway or specialty build, it is a natural first limited-edition drop post (Section 1.5 Limited-Edition Drop Card). Confirm whether it should be featured early or held for a future drop.
Second shooter / camera operator. The bend test (Video 2) is stronger with a second person loading the rod so T-Rich can face the camera. Confirm if someone is available on shoot day or if the setup needs a tripod workaround.

Donkey Styx, Social Search Strategy

Rune / PixelDrip Studio Last updated: 2026-06-22

This doc gives Donkey Styx the content ideas, hashtag sets, caption habits, and profile setup needed to get found inside TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook search. It is a posting strategy, not an ongoing managed service.

1. How Social Search Works (Quick Brief)

Platform discovery works differently on each channel.

TikTok indexes four layers of every video simultaneously: spoken audio (every word said is a keyword), on-screen text, caption text (first 150 characters matter most), and hashtags. Saying a keyword out loud in the first 5 seconds works like a headline for search.

Instagram shifted heavily toward keyword context in late 2025. Captions and bios now carry more weight than hashtags for discovery. The hashtag cap dropped to 3 per post. Alt text on images and Reels cover text are also indexed.

Facebook hashtag discovery is weak. The real fishing audience on Facebook lives in Groups. Post natively (not a TikTok reshare link), join Texas fishing groups, and end posts with a question to drive comments.

2. Content Ideas by Pillar (What Texas Anglers Search)

These are topic clusters grounded in TikTok and Instagram search behavior as of mid-2026. Use them as a content idea bank: each term is something real anglers type in-app.

These represent observed in-app search patterns, not Donkey Styx performance data.

BUILT TOUGH, Craft + Product

Make videos about the build process, rod specs, and "custom vs. store-bought" comparisons. This is buyer-intent content.

What to make videos about:

custom fishing rod / handmade fishing rod
rod building process / custom rod wraps / epoxy rod finish
how are fishing rods made
custom fishing rod vs store bought
build your own fishing rod / custom bass rod Texas

Technique-specific rod searches (high buyer intent):

best frog rod / frog fishing rod
flipping stick bass / best flipping stick
crankbait rod setup / best crankbait rod
inshore fishing rod / best rod for redfish / best rod for speckled trout
custom inshore rod

These work because the angler already knows their technique. A video titled "best rod for frog fishing" that shows a Donkey Styx build answers their exact question and points straight to an order.

Content formats:

Build-process reels (blank to finished rod, time-lapse or step-by-step)
Close-up wrapping and finishing detail with spoken narration: "This is a custom inshore rod built right here in Texas..."
Technique-to-rod explainers: "If you frog fish, here are the exact rod specs you need"

HOOKED AND HOLLERIN', Personality + Humor

This pillar drives reach, not search. Discovery comes from the algorithm pushing it to the FYP/Reels feed, not from keyword queries. A few context terms help the algorithm categorize it correctly.

Useful context terms:

fishing humor / fishing fails / fishing life
Texas fishing / fishing meme
donkey (the mascot's novelty earns curiosity clicks)

Content formats:

The donkey mascot in unexpected fishing scenarios
Relatable "you know you're a Texas angler when..." format
Reaction videos and challenges using trending audio

FISH SMARTER, Tips + Value

The most important pillar for in-app search. Tutorial and how-to content has the highest search-intent volume on TikTok and Instagram. Build each video around one specific question, answer it clearly, and say the keyword aloud in the first 5 seconds.

Bass fishing topics (high Texas volume):

bass fishing tips / bass fishing Texas
how to catch more bass / Texas rig bass fishing
fishing knots for bass / Palomar knot tutorial
baitcaster tips beginners / how to avoid backlash baitcaster
Senko fishing tips / drop shot rig tutorial

Inshore + Gulf Coast topics:

inshore fishing tips / inshore fishing Texas
how to catch redfish / redfish fishing tips
speckled trout fishing Texas / Galveston fishing tips
best lures for redfish / wade fishing tips

Knots + rigging (evergreen, highest search volume in the fishing category):

fishing knots tutorial / easy fishing knots / strongest fishing knot
how to tie a Palomar knot
how to tie a double uni knot / best knot for braid to fluorocarbon
fishing line setup for inshore

Rod selection (bridge to the shop and BTO configurator):

best fishing rod for inshore / what fishing rod do I need
medium heavy vs medium rod / spinning vs baitcasting rod
fishing rod action explained / custom fishing rod worth it
build your own rod vs buy

Content format: One question, answered in under 60 seconds. Open by saying the search term aloud. End with a CTA: "Follow for more Texas fishing tips" and a mention of the link in bio. Rod-selection videos work well with: "Link in bio to build yours, tell us your technique, we'll build the rod."

OUR PEOPLE, Community + UGC

Not a primary search driver. Reach comes from tagging, resharing, and community participation.

Useful context terms:

Texas fishing community / Texas angler
catch and release Texas / fishing with friends

3. Hashtag Sets Per Platform

TikTok (3-5 per post)

Lead with one broad term, add one or two niche terms, and close with a local or community tag. Always include the branded tag.

Pillar	Hashtag set
BUILT TOUGH	`#customrodbuilding` `#builtnotbought` `#texasfishing`
HOOKED AND HOLLERIN'	`#fishing` `#fishtok` `#texasfishing`
FISH SMARTER, bass	`#bassfishing` `#fishingtips` `#texasfishing`
FISH SMARTER, inshore	`#inshorefishing` `#redfishing` `#texasfishing`
FISH SMARTER, knots	`#fishingknots` `#fishingtips` `#fishtok`
OUR PEOPLE	`#texasanglers` `#fishtok` `#customrodbuilding`

Branded tag: Add #donkeystyx (or #donkeystyxrodco if that's the confirmed handle) to every single post from day one. Pick one and never switch.

Instagram (3 per post)

Hashtags supplement keyword-rich captions. Pick 2 niche + 1 branded.

Pillar	Hashtag set
BUILT TOUGH	`#customrodbuilding` `#builtnotbought` `#donkeystyx`
FISH SMARTER, bass	`#bassfishing` `#fishingtipsandtricks` `#donkeystyx`
FISH SMARTER, inshore	`#inshorefishing` `#texascoast` `#donkeystyx`
HOOKED AND HOLLERIN'	`#texasfishing` `#fishinghumor` `#donkeystyx`
OUR PEOPLE	`#texasanglers` `#fishingcommunity` `#donkeystyx`

Facebook (1 per post, optional)

Hashtags barely move the needle on Facebook. The better play: post natively, join and participate in Texas fishing groups ("Texas Bass Fishing," "Texas Inshore Fishing," "Gulf Coast Fishing Texas"), and end every post with a question to drive comments. Comment activity is the primary Facebook reach signal.

If you use a hashtag, use one: #texasfishing or #inshorefishing.

4. Caption and Post Basics

Three habits that make every post more findable:

1. Say the keyword aloud in the first 5 seconds. TikTok and Instagram both transcribe video audio and index the words. Speaking the search term is the single highest-leverage thing you can do for discovery.

Example opening: "Today I'm showing you the strongest fishing knot for braid to fluorocarbon, the double uni knot." That one sentence indexes three search terms.

2. Front-load the keyword in the caption. The first sentence of any caption carries the most weight for the algorithm.

Less findable: "Donkey Styx is out here doing it again..." More findable: "How to catch more redfish in Texas, one rigging change that makes a real difference."

3. Put the keyword on the cover/thumbnail text. The text on the first visible video frame is OCR-indexed on TikTok and used as context on Instagram Reels.

Examples: "BEST REDFISH LURE TEXAS" or "HOW TO TIE A PALOMAR KNOT"

Location: Work a Texas reference into captions and spoken audio naturally when it fits. "Made right here in Texas," "fishing the Texas coast," "perfect for Galveston Bay." These terms surface the content to location-matched users.

Alt text (Instagram): Set manual alt text on every Instagram post. Keep it descriptive and specific. Example: "Custom handmade inshore fishing rod built for Texas redfish and speckled trout, made by Donkey Styx."

5. Profile Setup for Discovery

Handle TBC: the brand email is donkeystyxrodco@gmail.com, so the primary candidate is @donkeystyxrodco. Check availability on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook before creating any profiles. Whatever handle is clean across all three, use it everywhere.

The display name field is indexed separately from the handle on every platform. Use it to carry a searchable phrase.

Platform	Handle (TBC)	Display Name
TikTok	@donkeystyxrodco	Donkey Styx Custom Fishing Rods
Instagram	@donkeystyxrodco	Donkey Styx Custom Fishing Rods
Facebook Page	Donkey Styx Rod Co	Donkey Styx Custom Fishing Rods

Fallback handles if @donkeystyxrodco is taken: @donkeystyxrods, @donkeystyx_rods, @donkeystyxco

TikTok Bio (80 char max):

Texas custom fishing rods. Built Tough. Cast Proud.
Build yours: [URL]

Instagram Bio (150 char max):

Custom fishing rods built in Texas
Bass. Inshore. Built to order.
Real rods for real anglers.
Build yours below

Facebook Page About:

Donkey Styx Rod Co builds custom handmade fishing rods right here in Texas.
Built for bass, inshore, and everything in between.
Every rod is hand-wrapped, built to order, and made to last.
Built Tough. Cast Proud.
Website: [URL]

Website URL: Replace [URL] throughout with the confirmed live URL. The link-in-bio should point to the site itself, not a third-party service like Linktree. Keeping traffic on the brand's own domain builds search authority over time.

6. Quick Post Checklist

Before posting:

Keyword spoken aloud in the first 5 seconds
First caption sentence front-loads the keyword
Cover or thumbnail text matches the search term
Hashtags: 3-5 on TikTok, 3 on IG, 1 on FB (optional)
Branded tag on every post
Location tag applied
Alt text written (Instagram)
BUILT TOUGH and sales-adjacent posts include a link-in-bio CTA
Facebook video posted natively, not as a TikTok reshare link

7. SEO-Guided Content Spine (Building Toward the Future Site)

The single-page site is the home base today. Eventually Donkey Styx will want a full site: product pages, a BTO configurator, maybe a blog. The good news is that every post made now can quietly seed the authority, audience, and content that site will need. No extra work required. Just knowing the map.

The Topic Pillars the Full Site Will Want to Own

These are the topic areas a mature Donkey Styx website should rank for. They map directly to what the social content is already covering:

Topic	What the site will want
Custom + handmade rods / BTO	The flagship product pages and configurator
Technique-specific rods	Individual pages per technique (frog rod, flipping stick, crankbait rod, inshore rod)
Texas bass fishing	Audience-match content, drawing in the core buyer
Texas Gulf Coast / inshore fishing	Second audience leg, redfish and speckled trout anglers
The craft and build story	Brand differentiation, the "why Donkey Styx" layer
The brand itself	Branded search: anyone who sees a post and Googles the name

How the Social Pillars Map to Those Topics

Social pillar	What it seeds for the future site
BUILT TOUGH, build process and craft content	Custom rod pages, BTO configurator, the brand story page
FISH SMARTER, technique and tip content	Technique-rod pages, a fishing tips blog, local Texas audience
HOOKED AND HOLLERIN', personality and humor	Brand awareness, the memorable brand identity that makes people search the name
OUR PEOPLE, customer catches and reviews	Testimonials section, customer gallery, social proof across every product page

A series like "Frog Rod Friday" is not just entertaining content. It is months of video building search association between Donkey Styx and frog rods before there is ever a product page to rank. When that page goes live, the audience and the association are already there.

The Payoff When They Ramp the Site

When Donkey Styx is ready to build out the full site, the social content will have already done four things:

Warm audience. Followers who already know the brand are ready to buy when a shop goes live. Cold traffic converts at a fraction of the rate.
Repurposable content. Months of video and photos can become product page media, a fishing tips blog, and brand story content without starting from scratch.
Reviews and customer catches. OUR PEOPLE posts become the testimonials and gallery sections the site needs for conversion.
Brand-search volume. When the site launches, "Donkey Styx" is already something people have searched. Google treats brand search volume as a trust signal.

The social content is not just posting. It is the pre-work that makes the website launch easy instead of cold.

Optional, If You Want to Go Further

These are not part of the current scope but are available as separate services:

Google Business Profile. A service-area GBP listing gets Donkey Styx into Google Maps results for searches like "custom fishing rod Texas" or "rod builder near me." It's a strong local visibility win for a Texas maker. We can set this up separately if they want it.

Creator collaborations. Seeding product to Texas fishing creators on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube is one of the most effective reach tactics for a brand like this. We can research and run that as a separate engagement.

Open Items

Website URL is TBC. Confirm before finalizing any bio copy.
Handle availability (@donkeystyxrodco) needs a live check on each platform before profiles are created.
Instagram's 3-hashtag cap came from late 2025 reports. Verify against current Instagram docs before sharing this guide directly with the client.