# Social media approval checklist

From the PhemosReach guide: https://phemosreach.com/guides/social-media-approval-checklist  
Last updated 19 October 2026

Post:  
Checked by:  
Date:

Run the stages in order. Tick each item as you check it, not from memory. If an item does not apply, write N/A beside it so the next person knows it was considered.

## Stage 1: the brief, before anyone writes

- [ ] **1. One reader is named.** A post written for everyone reads as if it was written for no one.
- [ ] **2. One point is stated in a sentence.** If you cannot write the point in one sentence, the post is not ready to draft.
- [ ] **3. One next step, with its link.** The reader should know what to do next and where it takes them.
- [ ] **4. A source for every fact, with the date it was checked.** Claims drift. The date tells the reviewer whether the source is still current.
- [ ] **5. A draft owner and a reviewer are named.** In a one-person business, name two sessions instead of two people.

## Stage 2: the message review

- [ ] **6. Names are spelled the way their owners spell them.** People and companies notice, and it is the easiest error to prevent.
- [ ] **7. Every number, price and date matches the source.** Check against the source itself, not against an earlier draft.
- [ ] **8. No claim you cannot show.** No guaranteed result, no feature that is only planned, no number without a source.
- [ ] **9. It sounds like your writing samples.** Read it aloud. Remove any word on your banned list.
- [ ] **10. The first line works on its own.** Many platforms cut the caption after a line or two, so the point has to be there.
- [ ] **11. The call to action matches the destination.** "Read the guide" should open a guide, not a pricing page.
- [ ] **12. Nothing private is visible.** No customer names, no screenshots with personal details, no internal links.
- [ ] **13. Mentions and hashtags point where you think they do.** Tagging the wrong account is public and hard to take back.

## Stage 3: the finished-post review

- [ ] **14. The account and brand are right.** Read the account name, not the avatar. Two brands under one login look identical.
- [ ] **15. The format fits the platform.** Within the character limit, thread posts in the right order, the right aspect ratio.
- [ ] **16. The image crop works in the preview.** Check the feed preview, and check that any text inside the image is readable on a phone.
- [ ] **17. Alt text and captions are in place.** Describe images for people using screen readers and caption any video with speech.
- [ ] **18. The link opens the right page.** Click it from the finished post. No sign-in wall, and any campaign parameters survive.
- [ ] **19. Date, time and timezone are right.** Confirm the timezone on the post, not just the time.
- [ ] **20. It is not a duplicate.** Check nothing with the same message is already scheduled on the same account.

## Stage 4: after it publishes

- [ ] **21. The post is live when expected, and its public URL is recorded.** A scheduled entry is a plan; the URL is the outcome.
- [ ] **22. The link works from the live post.** Click it once more from the published version.
- [ ] **23. If it failed, check before retrying.** Look for an existing post first, so a retry does not create a duplicate.
- [ ] **24. The approval is recorded.** Who approved it, when, and which version went out.

## Short version for routine posts

For a format that has gone out cleanly several times and reuses approved wording. Anything with a new claim, a new price, a named person or a new destination account goes back to the full list.

- [ ] The wording matches the last approved version, or every change has been reviewed.
- [ ] Any date, number or price has been checked against the source today.
- [ ] The account, date, time and timezone are right.
- [ ] The link opens the right page from the finished post.
- [ ] The live post and its URL are checked after publishing.

## Notes

Approved caption and media version:  
Public URL, or failure note: