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Social media approval checklist (free template)

By PhemosReach, a Modus Future product ยท Published

Most bad posts are not bad writing. They are a right message on the wrong account, a price that changed last week, or a link that now asks the reader to sign in. A checklist catches those because it does not rely on anyone remembering to look.

This is the checklist from our approval workflow guide, written out item by item with the reason for each check. Use the full version for anything new and the short version for routine posts. Both are free to download as a text file or a spreadsheet.

How to use it

Run the stages in order and do not skip ahead. The message review is pointless if the brief was wrong, and the finished-post review is where most of the avoidable mistakes are caught.

Tick each item as you check it, not from memory. If an item does not apply, mark it that way rather than leaving it blank, so the next person knows it was considered. Keep the ticked list with the post: it becomes the approval record.

If you work alone, split the stages across two sessions. Write and run the message review in one sitting, then run the finished-post review later with fresh eyes.

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

  1. Names are spelled the way their owners spell them. People and companies notice, and it is the easiest error to prevent.
  2. Every number, price and date matches the source. Check against the source itself, not against an earlier draft.
  3. No claim you cannot show. No guaranteed result, no feature that is only planned, no number without a source.
  4. It sounds like your writing samples. Read it aloud. Remove any word on your banned list.
  5. The first line works on its own. Many platforms cut the caption after a line or two, so the point has to be there.
  6. The call to action matches the destination. "Read the guide" should open a guide, not a pricing page.
  7. Nothing private is visible. No customer names, no screenshots with personal details, no internal links.
  8. 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

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

Stage 4: after it publishes

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

The short version for routine posts

Once a format has gone out cleanly several times, such as a weekly reminder that reuses approved wording, a full review is more than it needs. Use these five checks instead:

  • 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.

Anything with a new claim, a new price, a named person or a new destination account goes back to the full list.

Download the checklist

Both files contain the same 24 checks as this page, plus the short version.

Adapting it to your team

Add items only when a mistake gets through that the list would have caught. A checklist that grows every week stops being used. Write each new item as something a person can see and tick, such as "the link opens without a sign-in", rather than something they have to judge, such as "the post is on brand".

Put platform notes beside the items they affect instead of making a separate list per platform. And review the list every few months: remove any item that has not caught anything in that time.

Using the checklist in PhemosReach

PhemosReach's default review route follows the same order: the script is approved first, then the image, then the finished post is scheduled. Stage 2 of this checklist fits the script review and Stage 3 fits the final review. Keep the downloaded list beside the review queue until the checks become habit.

For the reasoning behind each stage, roles by team size and what to do when a wrong post goes live anyway, read the full social media approval workflow guide.

Questions

What should a social media approval checklist include?

Four stages: the brief before anyone writes, a review of the message, a review of the finished post as it will appear, and a check after it publishes. Most checklists stop at the message, which is why so many correct posts still go out on the wrong account or with a broken link.

How long does it take to run the checklist?

The full list takes a few minutes per post once you are used to it, most of it in the finished-post review. Routine posts that reuse approved wording can use the five-check short version instead.

Can one person use an approval checklist?

Yes. Run the message review when you finish writing and the finished-post review in a later session. The gap does the job a second reviewer would.

Should the checklist change for each platform?

Keep one list and add platform notes beside the items that differ, such as character limits, how the caption is cut off and how images are cropped. One list is easier to keep up to date than five.

Put the workflow into practice

See how PhemosReach works, then compare plans and limits.