Module 5: Scatter — Distribute Natively
Pebbles only work if they feel at home where they land. Scatter is native distribution: each pebble formatted for its platform, posted on a rhythm your audience can set a watch by. This module covers native formatting, the weekly calendar, and captions that earn the click.
Native or nothing
Every platform has a native shape, and each one quietly punishes foreigners. Vertical video (9:16) for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts — a square video with black bars screams "I didn't make this for you" and gets swiped. Clean square or 4:5 images for Instagram and Facebook feeds. Multi-slide carousels for LinkedIn and Instagram. Plain-text threads for X. Reformatting is not optional polish; it's the price of admission. The good news: you're reformatting one idea you already made, not creating from scratch — ten extra minutes per pebble, tops.
Two more native rules. First, use each platform's own tools where it matters: native captions, native scheduling, native music libraries. Platforms reward content made inside their walls. Second, never post the identical file everywhere simultaneously.
Check each platform's current native preferences quarterly — they shift. What gets rewarded this year (original audio, longer watch time) might change next year. But don't chase every shift; the fundamentals (native format, no watermarks, real captions) have been stable for years. Adapt to big changes, ignore small ones, and never let platform-chasing override serving your actual buyer.
Build brief
Which two or three platforms do your buyers actually spend time on? (Not the ones you like — the ones they use.)
Saved
The weekly scatter calendar
Twelve pebbles, one week, two to three platforms: you need a calendar or pebbles pile up unpublished. Here's a rhythm that works for most small businesses. Monday: clip + tip post. Tuesday: quote card + thread. Wednesday: clip + carousel. Thursday: tip post + quote card. Friday: clip + thread. Weekend: one carousel, rest. Two pebbles a day is plenty — consistency of rhythm matters more than volume. Your audience should feel your presence without being able to predict the exact post, like a good radio station.
Schedule it all in one sitting during your scatter hour using each platform's native scheduler (all the major ones have one now, free). Write every caption in that same sitting — captions written fresh at posting time are where consistency goes to die. Copy the template below, fill it Sunday night or Monday morning, and the week's distribution runs itself.
Leave one slot per week unscheduled for reactive pebbles — something timely, a reply to a comment, a quick reaction to industry news. A fully scheduled week feels robotic; one spontaneous post keeps you human and lets you capitalize on moments. The calendar is the skeleton; the reactive slot is the personality. Plan the spontaneity — that's not a contradiction, it's a system.
The calendar
The weekly scatter rhythm
| Day | Pebbles |
|---|---|
| Monday | Clip + tip post |
| Tuesday | Quote card + thread |
| Wednesday | Clip + carousel |
| Thursday | Tip post + quote card |
| Friday | Clip + thread |
| Weekend | One carousel + one reactive slot |
The weekly scatter calendar
Monday
Clip + tip post
Tuesday
Quote card + thread
Wednesday
Clip + carousel
Thursday
Tip post + quote card
Friday
Clip + thread
Weekend
One carousel, rest
WEEKLY SCATTER CALENDAR — week of __________ Bedrock this week: MON: [pebble] -> [platform] | [pebble] -> [platform] TUE: [pebble] -> [platform] | [pebble] -> [platform] WED: [pebble] -> [platform] | [pebble] -> [platform] THU: [pebble] -> [platform] | [pebble] -> [platform] FRI: [pebble] -> [platform] | [pebble] -> [platform] SAT: [pebble] -> [platform] SUN: rest (listen + reply day)
Your turn: Draft next week's scatter calendar — which pebbles go to which platforms on which days. Use the template above as your starting point.
Saved.
Scatter output planner
Play with the numbers — everything updates live.
Pebbles per week: 0
Pebbles per month: 0
Posts per platform per week: 0
Build brief
What posting rhythm can you honestly sustain every week — and which day will be your scheduling hour?
Saved
Captions, hooks, and the ask
A pebble with a weak caption is a gift left on the doorstep. The first line is everything — it's the hook, the only part everyone reads, and it decides whether the rest gets seen. Lead with the payoff or the provocation, never with throat-clearing: "The pricing mistake costing you $400 a month" beats "Hey guys, quick thought on pricing." Then deliver the pebble's value in as few words as the platform allows.
End every pebble with exactly one ask — the single action you want. Comment, save, share, follow, click the link. One ask, matched to the platform's strengths: saves and shares where they count most, comments where conversation helps, link clicks only where links actually work. Never end with two asks; the audience will do neither. Rotate your asks through the week so no single one wears out, and keep a swipe file of your best-performing asks to reuse.
Study your best-performing captions like you'd study anything else: save the top ten by engagement and look for patterns. Do questions outperform statements? Do short captions beat long ones on your audience? Your caption voice — the tone, the length, the ask style — should evolve from your own data, not from copying creators with different audiences. The swipe file isn't just for hooks; it's for everything that touches the audience.
Scatter calendar
Mon: ___ on ___ Tue: ___ on ___ Wed: ___ on ___ Thu: ___ on ___ Fri: ___ on ___
Nadia turns each week's video into twelve pebbles, but she exports one square video file and posts the identical file to TikTok, Reels, and YouTube. TikTok views are weak. What's her best fix?