Social posts move through a controlled lifecycle so preparation, approval, timing and publication can be reviewed separately.
Common states
- Draft is still being prepared.
- Ready for review or an approval state requires the relevant editorial decision.
- Approved can be scheduled when the target is ready.
- Scheduled, Publishing, Published and Failed describe later delivery stages.
- Manual publish required means the channel requires a manual action rather than automatic publication.
Important
Do not change a post status to imply it was published. Review the target and recorded outcome for the actual publication result.
From approval to delivery
Check the post copy, media and target before approval. An approved post may then be scheduled for a future time. Publishing and Published are delivery states; Failed and Manual publish required need a person to review the recorded reason and next available action.
Do not alter history
Use the normal post workflow rather than manually changing a status to make a draft look published. Check the target connection and provider result when a published outcome matters.