Post approval workflows let teams review and approve content before it goes live. Team members can submit posts for review, discuss changes, and designated approvers can approve or reject with feedback — ensuring quality control and brand consistency across all your social media content.
Requirements
Post approval workflows require:
- Business plan or higher — This feature is part of Viraly’s team collaboration suite
- Team members — You need at least one other team member to act as an approver
How Approvals Work
The approval workflow follows these steps:
- Team member creates a post and requests approval
- Post status changes to Pending Approval (yellow badge)
- Selected approvers receive email and in-app notifications
- Approvers review the post and can discuss via Team Discussions
- Each approver approves or rejects (with optional comments)
- Once approval criteria are met, the post becomes Scheduled
- If rejected, the post returns to Draft status
Requesting Approval
To request approval on a post:
- Create or edit your post as usual
- Click the dropdown arrow on the Schedule Post button
- Select Request Approval
The Request Approval dialog opens with the following options:
Approval Mode
Choose how approvals should work for this post:
- All approvers required — Every selected team member must approve
- Minimum approvers — Set a specific number of approvals needed (e.g., 2 of 5)
Select Approvers
Choose which team members should review this post:
- Click the Search team members to approve dropdown
- Select one or more team members from the list
- Selected approvers appear with checkmarks
The dropdown shows each team member’s name and email. Use the refresh button to reload the team list if you’ve recently added members.
Note: If you need to add new team members, click the Invite team members link to go to team settings.
Submit for Approval
Once you’ve configured the approval settings, click Create & Request Approval to submit the post for review.
Approval Modes
Viraly supports two approval modes to fit different team workflows:
All Approvers Required
Every selected approver must approve the post before it can be scheduled.
- If any approver rejects, the post immediately returns to Draft
- All approvers must respond before the post can proceed
- Progress shows as “X of Y” (e.g., “1 of 3”)
Best for: Small teams, high-stakes content, or when unanimous agreement is required.
Minimum Approvers
A set number of approvers must approve (you specify the minimum). Once the threshold is reached, the post is automatically scheduled.
- Enter the minimum number of approvals needed
- Some approvers can reject while others approve
- Post is scheduled once minimum is met
- Post returns to Draft if rejections make minimum impossible
Example: With 5 approvers and minimum set to 3:
- 3 approvals → Post is scheduled (even if 2 haven’t responded)
- 3 rejections → Post returns to Draft (can’t reach minimum anymore)
Best for: Larger teams where you need oversight but not unanimous approval.
Notifications
Approvers are notified through multiple channels when they’re requested to review a post:
Email Notifications
Each approver receives an email with:
- Who requested the review
- Post title/content preview
- Scheduled date and time (with timezone)
- Social profile the post will publish to
- Review Post button to open the post directly
In-App Notifications
Approvers also see notifications in the Viraly dashboard:
- Click the notification bell in the top navigation
- Approval requests show as “[Name] requested approval”
- Click to open the post and review
Response Notifications
The post creator receives notifications when approvers respond:
- “[Name] approved your post” or “[Name] rejected your post”
- Includes the approver’s comment if provided
- Final notification when post is scheduled or returned to Draft
Reviewing Posts as an Approver
When you’re requested to review a post, you’ll see a banner at the bottom of the post editor:
“You have been requested to review this post”
With two action buttons:
- Approve — Accept the post for scheduling
- Reject — Send the post back to the creator
Approving a Post
When you click Approve:
- A confirmation dialog appears
- Add an optional comment (e.g., “Looks good to me!”)
- Click Approve to confirm
After approving, you’ll see a green confirmation: “You approved this post” with your comment displayed.
Rejecting a Post
When you click Reject:
- A confirmation dialog appears
- Add a comment explaining what needs to change (recommended)
- Click Reject to confirm
The post creator will see your feedback and can make changes before resubmitting.
Editing During Review
As an approver, you can also edit the post content directly. This is useful for making minor corrections (typos, formatting) without rejecting the entire post.
Viewing Approval Details
To see the full status of an approval request, click the approval indicator in the post header (shows as “X of Y” with a team icon).
The Approval Request panel shows:
Request Status
- Approval Request Active — Still waiting for responses
- Requested by: Name of the team member who requested approval
- Mode: All required or Minimum X
Approver Details
Each approver is listed with:
- Name and email
- Status badge: Pending, Approved, or Rejected
- Response date (when they approved/rejected)
- Their comment (if provided)
The progress shows as “X of Y” (e.g., “1 of 1” when all have responded).
Team Discussions
Every post has a Team Discussions panel where team members can collaborate:
Starting a Discussion
- Click the discussion icon in the post header (shows comment count)
- Type your message in the text field
- Click the send button or press Enter
@Mentions
Tag specific team members to get their attention:
- Type @ followed by their name
- Select from the autocomplete dropdown
- The mentioned person receives a notification
Example: “Yo, what do you think of this? @Christopher”
Attachments
You can attach images to your comments:
- Click the attachment icon (paperclip)
- Select an image file
- The image appears inline in the discussion
This is useful for sharing reference images, mockups, or pointing out specific issues.
Emojis
Click the emoji icon (smiley face) to add emojis to your comments.
Managing Pending Approvals
To find posts waiting for approval:
Filter by Status
- In the sidebar, find the Filters section
- Check Pending Approval to show only posts awaiting review
- The count shows how many posts are pending
Visual Indicators
- Yellow/orange badge on calendar posts indicates Pending Approval
- Team icon with count (e.g., “0 of 1”) shows approval progress
- Discussion icon with count shows team comments
Canceling an Approval Request
If you need to cancel an approval request (as the post creator or workspace owner):
- Open the post
- The approval can be canceled, returning the post to Draft status
- All pending approvals are cleared
This is useful if you need to make significant changes before continuing the review process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I approve my own post?
No, you cannot be an approver on your own post. You must select other team members to review your content.
What happens if an approver is removed from the team?
If an approver is removed from the team while their approval is pending, their approval slot is removed. The remaining approvers can still complete the review.
Can I change my approval decision?
Once you’ve approved or rejected, you can edit your response if the post is still in Pending Approval status.
What happens to the scheduled time when approval is granted?
The post keeps its original scheduled time. If approval comes after the scheduled time has passed, the post will publish as soon as approval criteria are met.
Can I edit a post while it’s pending approval?
Yes, both the post creator and approvers can edit the post during the review process. Changes are visible to everyone involved.
How do I know if someone rejected my post?
You’ll receive a notification when someone rejects your post. The post returns to Draft status, and you can view the approver’s feedback in the Approval Request panel or their comment in the rejection notification.