> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://syncly-a76215af.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create Content guides

> Turn one reference video into a ready-to-use plan for making a similar video of your own.

A **Content guide** turns one reference video into a plan for your own video. Syncly analyzes what makes the reference work, then lays out how to make something similar for your brand: the production direction, a scene-by-scene plan, and how to handle visuals and audio.

Content guides work with **TikTok**, **Instagram Reels**, and **YouTube Shorts** posts.

## Before you start

* You need Editor or Admin permission to create a Content guide. Viewers can view existing guides.
* Pick a reference video that's close to what you want to make. A guide is based on one video at a time.

## Create a guide

You can start a guide from:

* **Top posts**: Select **Create content guide** on any post.
* **A post's detail view**: Select **Create content guide** at the top of the post.

Then:

1. Select **Create content guide**.
2. Wait while Syncly builds the guide. This takes **a few minutes**, so you can keep working in the meantime.
3. Open the finished guide in **Content > Content guides**.

Guides are written in your workspace's language.

## What's in a guide

**Reference analysis** breaks down the original video:

* **What's in the video**: What was actually observed
* **Hook**: How the opening grabs attention
* **Core message**: The main point the video gets across
* **Flow**: How the video unfolds
* **Recurring techniques**: The directing style it repeats
* **Interpretation**: Why those choices work

**Production plan** turns that into a plan for your video:

* **Production direction**: How to apply the idea to your own content
* **Scene-by-scene plan**: Each reference scene, analyzed and matched with a plan for your version
* **Visual direction**: Framing, shots, and on-screen elements
* **Audio direction**: Voiceover, music, and sound

![A Content guide with the reference analysis and production plan](https://mintcdn.com/syncly-a76215af/iabM2-ttpm2aE3kT/images/Screenshot-2026-10-29-180702.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=iabM2-ttpm2aE3kT\&q=85\&s=79f8a9364193276af72aee7b1cf0e5fd)

## Manage your guides

In **Content > Content guides**, you can:

* Open any guide to read it in full
* Edit a guide's title and description
* Copy a guide or download it as a PDF to share with your team or creators
* Delete guides you no longer need
* Filter guides by reference post

If you create a guide from the same post again, Syncly reuses the existing one instead of starting over. If a guide fails, select **Retry**.

## Content guide vs. Content strategy

* [**Content strategy**](https://syncly-a76215af.mintlify.site/en/analysis/content-strategy.md) breaks down how an existing video was made, across six dimensions.
* **Content guide** goes a step further and turns a reference video into a plan for your next one.

Use a guide as a starting point. Film your own footage with your own product and voice, rather than copying the original.

## Troubleshoot

| Symptom | What to check |
| - | - |
| The guide is still generating | Guides take a few minutes. Check back in **Content guides**. |
| The guide failed | Select **Retry** on the guide. |
| I can't create a guide | Check that the post is a TikTok, Reels, or Shorts video, and that you have Editor or Admin permission. |

## Related features

* [Review top posts](https://syncly-a76215af.mintlify.site/en/content/top-posts.md)
* [Read content structure with Content strategy](https://syncly-a76215af.mintlify.site/en/analysis/content-strategy.md)
* [Review content and performance in post detail](https://syncly-a76215af.mintlify.site/en/analysis/post-details.md)


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.