What statuses should a social media approval process use?
Start with Draft, Ready for review, Changes requested, Approved, Scheduled, and Published. Use Blocked for an external dependency and Failed for a publishing exception.
Free approval template
Social media approval process template
Turn a scattered review process into a visible queue. The template defines who creates, who reviews, what must be checked, when the decision is due, and who confirms the final result.
CSV for Google Sheets or Excel. No email required.
Clear decision statesRole ownershipRisk checkpointsNo email required
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The approval stages
Use a small set of states with one owner at each step. Every transition should name the person responsible and the due time.
Draft and self-check
Creator verifies the brief, platform format, links, rights, spelling, and account.
Review and revision
Reviewer either approves or requests a concrete change with a new deadline.
Schedule and confirm
Publisher verifies the final account and time, then records the live URL or exception.
Match review depth to risk
Routine evergreen posts should not wait on a large committee. Add legal, compliance, or subject-matter review only for claims, regulated topics, sensitive events, contests, rights questions, or high-impact campaigns.
Track exceptions separately
A failed publish is not the same as a rejected draft. Preserve the approved copy, record the technical issue, assign a repair owner, and keep the retry visible.
Frequently asked questions
Questions people ask before choosing
How many approvers should a post have?
Use one accountable approver for routine work. Add specialists only when the post's risk or subject matter requires them.
Can clients use this template?
Yes. Give the client a filtered view with the content, due date, decision, and notes fields they need.
Can PostTempo replace the spreadsheet?
PostTempo can move the workflow into connected planning, approval, scheduling, and status views when the spreadsheet becomes too manual.
Move from research to a real weekly plan.
Try PostTempo's free best-time planner, then compare the publishing workflow with your actual accounts and reviewers.
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