narrative-diagnostic

Narrative Diagnostic

Run a structured narrative audit on a Web3 protocol. The output is a scorecard with evidence, severity flags, and rewrites — not opinions.

This is the narrative layer of the 6-pillar Web3 Growth Audit methodology (Website + Social Media pillars), adapted for self-serve use.

When to use

• The protocol has traffic or followers but weak conversion
• The team can't explain what they do in one sentence without jargon
• A competitor with a worse product is out-narrating them
• Before spending on ads, KOLs, or a rebrand

Inputs to collect first

Ask the user for (or fetch if you have browsing tools):

1. Homepage URL
2. Docs or litepaper URL
3. X/Twitter handle (bio + pinned post + 10 most recent posts)
4. The team's own one-sentence description of the protocol
5. Who they believe their ideal user is

Do not start scoring until you have at least the homepage and the X bio. Missing surfaces are findings, not blockers — mark them ❌ MISSING.

Workflow

Step 1 — The one-sentence test

Read only the homepage hero (headline + subline). Write down, without scrolling further: what does this protocol do, for whom, and why should that person care?

• If you can answer all three: ✅
• If you can answer one or two: ⚠
• If you're guessing or the answer is category jargon ("the liquidity layer for modular restaking"): ❌ Critical

Step 2 — ICP clarity

From the homepage and docs, identify who this is written for. Score:

• Named, specific user with a named problem: ✅
• "Traders / users / everyone in DeFi": ⚠ High
• Written for other builders or VCs instead of users: ❌ Critical

Step 3 — Differentiation

List the protocol's claimed differentiators. For each one, ask: could a direct competitor paste this claim onto their own site unchanged?

• At least one claim only this protocol can make: ✅
• All claims are category table stakes (fast, secure, decentralized, audited): ❌ High

Step 4 — Proof and evidence

Inventory every number, integration logo, audit badge, and user quote on the homepage. Score:

• Specific, verifiable numbers (TVL, users, transactions) with sources: ✅
• Vague social proof ("trusted by thousands") or none: ❌ High
• Numbers that contradict public data (check DefiLlama/CoinGecko if available): ❌ Critical — flag explicitly, this destroys trust

Step 5 — Message consistency

Compare: homepage headline vs X bio vs pinned post vs docs intro. They should tell one story at different depths.

• Same positioning, same vocabulary: ✅
• Different framings per surface (site says "payments," X bio says "RWA infra"): ❌ High — this is the most common Web3 narrative failure

Step 6 — Jargon test

Take the hero copy and X bio. Count terms that require Web3-insider knowledge beyond the protocol's actual ICP. A DeFi power-user ICP tolerates "restaking." A mainstream wallet ICP does not.

• Jargon matches ICP sophistication: ✅
• Jargon exceeds ICP sophistication: ⚠ Medium (High if ICP is mainstream)

Output format

Produce exactly this structure:

# Narrative Diagnostic — [Protocol]

## Scorecard
| Check | Status | Severity | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-sentence test | ✅/⚠/❌ | — /Medium/High/Critical | [quote the actual copy] |
| ICP clarity | ... | ... | ... |
| Differentiation | ... | ... | ... |
| Proof & evidence | ... | ... | ... |
| Message consistency | ... | ... | ... |
| Jargon test | ... | ... | ... |

## The #1 narrative gap
[One paragraph. The single finding that, fixed first, unlocks the most.
Quote the current copy as evidence.]

## Rewrites
[For each ❌ finding: current copy → suggested copy. Match the protocol's
existing tone. No hype vocabulary: never "revolutionary," "game-changing,"
"unlock," "seamless."]

## What this diagnostic can't see
[1-3 lines. Be honest: conversion data, on-chain funnel, community health,
and competitive share of voice are outside this skill's scope.]

Rules

• Every claim needs quoted evidence from the actual surface. No abstract criticism.
• Severity is about business impact, not aesthetics.
• If every check passes, say so plainly and point to distribution or on-chain activation as the more likely bottleneck (see the companion skills distribution-competitive-scan and post-tge-growth-system).

Going deeper

This skill covers the narrative layer. The full Web3 Growth Audit runs all six pillars — Website, dApp, Social, Community, SEO, PR — with on-chain cohort data (Dune) and competitive social intelligence, delivered async with a fixed scope and price:

https://mangabeira.net/services/web3-growth-audit