Most people study a competitor and copy the wrong layer. They lift the topic, the examples, the exact lines. Then they sound like a worse version of someone else.
A competitor post is not a script to clone. It is a packaging sample. The structure traveled well. The substance belongs to them.
Here is the split I run, every time:
-> Shape, not subject: keep the hook pattern and the slide rhythm. Throw out their topic. -> Format, not phrasing: keep the arrow-list and the save-as-reference tile. Rewrite every line in your own voice. -> Their proof out, your proof in: their case studies leave, your filings, comps, and IC notes come in. -> The voice test: read it aloud. If it could be posted by three other accounts, it is not yours yet.
The common mistake is copying down to the words. The failure mode is a feed of look-alike posts with no point of view. The discipline is to borrow the wrapper and own the contents.
This is the same rule as the rest of the workflow. AI and references build the packaging faster. You still own the judgment about what goes inside.
Save this and run it on your next swipe file.
Educational content only. Not investment advice, and not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Wall Street Prompt.