Social media approval workflow: a setup guide
A social media approval workflow decides who has to say yes before a post goes live, and what happens when someone says no. This guide sets one up in five steps that work in any tool, from a shared document to dedicated software, then shows how each step runs in Posty.
Step 1: Decide who has to approve, and which posts
List everyone who currently says yes to a post: a team lead, a legal reviewer, a founder, a client. Next to each name, write which posts they actually need to see. Most approval workflows are slow because everyone approves everything.
Then decide who drafts, who approves and who only needs to look. Keep those roles separate in your tool, so a viewer cannot publish by accident and an approver cannot quietly rewrite the post they are approving.
Sees drafts, post history and team-only comments.
Priya can
- Create, edit and schedule posts
- Approve posts
- Upload media and reply in the inbox
Priya cannot
- Connect channels
- Invite people
- Delete posts
Workspaces Priya sees
- BCBloom CoffeeAccess
- NDNorthwind DentalHidden
- HYHarbour YogaHidden
Step 2: Choose how much review each brand needs
There are four sensible levels. No review, for an owner who publishes their own posts. Optional review, where the writer asks for a second look when they want one. Required review, where every post needs one yes. And a two-step chain, where your team approves first and the client gives the final yes.
Set the level per brand or client rather than for the whole company. A café’s weekly specials and a bank’s rate change should not go through the same process.
- TikTok
Connected to this workspace only
Next post for Bloom Coffee
Only your team can see it.
Step 3: Send posts for review in batches
Reviewers decide faster with a week or a month in front of them and a note saying what the batch is for and when you need answers. Send the final copy, media and publish time together, exactly as the post will appear on each network.
Set the deadline early enough to leave room for one round of changes before the first post is due.
- Winter menu launch reelWaiting for your approval
- Barista takeover, part 2Approved
- Where our beans come fromScheduled for Thursday
Sam sees only what is ready for a decision or already decided. Drafts and team-only comments never appear.
Step 4: Handle change requests without losing the thread
Ask reviewers to request changes on the post itself rather than in a separate chat, so the feedback sits next to the version it refers to. Agree who makes the fix and whether the post goes back to the same reviewer.
Keep internal discussion separate from what the client sees. Your team’s debate about a caption is not part of the client’s review.
Spring trail range launch, Monday 9am
Only your team can see it.
Step 5: Publish only the version that was approved
An approval should apply to one version of the post. If someone edits the caption after sign-off, the post needs approving again, or the yes no longer means anything.
Decide whether approval schedules the post straight away or waits for someone to release it. Scheduling on approval is faster; a manual release suits teams that approve weeks ahead and publish in batches.
Sunrise flow, Saturday 6am
Only your team can see it.
Approval modes and the plans that include them
The four levels of review from step 2, as Posty names them in workspace settings, with the plans that include each one.
- No approval
- Anyone who can publish can send posts live without waiting for approval. Included on Starter, Growth and Accelerate.
- Optional approval
- Posts can go straight to publishing, or your team can request a review when they need one. Included on Growth and Accelerate.
- Required approval
- Every post needs one approval before it can be scheduled or published. Included on Growth and Accelerate.
- Team + client approval
- Every post is approved by your team first, then sent to the client for final approval. Included on Accelerate.
Questions and answers
- What is a social media approval workflow?
- It is the agreed route a post takes from draft to published: who reviews it, in what order, what counts as a yes, and what happens when someone asks for a change. Written down, it stops posts going out unchecked and stops reviewers being asked twice.
- How many people should approve a social media post?
- As few as the risk allows. One required approver covers most brands. Add a second, outside approver, such as a client or a legal reviewer, only where a mistake would be expensive, and have your own team review first so the outside approver sees finished work.
- How do I get clients to approve posts on time?
- Send a whole week or month at once with a clear deadline, a week before the first post goes out. Give clients only the posts that need them, and remind them a day before the deadline. In Posty, reviewers get the request by email and on their Today page, and you can remind anyone who has not answered.
- Can clients approve posts without seeing our internal comments?
- Yes, if your tool separates them. In Posty, team comments are never shown to clients, and a client with client visibility sees the posts waiting for them and what is approved, scheduled or published, never drafts or posts still in team review.
- Does approving a post publish it?
- In Posty, approving a post that has a date schedules it, unless you turn that off in the workspace settings. With it off, approved posts wait until someone schedules them.
- Which Posty plans include approval workflows?
- Approval workflows come with Growth at $39 a month per workspace and Accelerate at $49. Accelerate adds team then client approval. Starter publishes without approval.
Set up your approval workflow in Posty
Create a workspace, pick the approval mode and invite the people who sign off. Approvals come with Growth and Accelerate. Paid plans start with a 7 day trial that needs a card and bills the plan you chose automatically unless you cancel.