Managing and approving draft posts
This article outlines how to create, manage, and approve draft posts within Buffer’s Team plan.
:::warning While drafts are available on all plans, approving drafts is only available on our Team plan. :::
Creating draft posts
All users with access to social channels, regardless of permissions, are able to create draft posts.
There are a couple of different places you can create draft posts:
- From any social channel’s queue
- From any social channel’s drafts tab (shown in the image just below)
- From the calendar
To understand how to best use drafts, head to this article: Saving and scheduling draft posts
Managing draft posts
Your permission level will dictate which options you have available to you when managing draft posts.
Account owners and users with Full Access are able to edit, delete, and move all drafts to the queue.
Users with Needs Approval are only able to edit, delete, and request approval on their own drafts.
Video: Requesting approval on a draft
Watch the video below to learn more about how to manage and approve draft posts.
<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3g6rv9FrBs
Requesting approval on a draft
As a user with Needs Approval access, you will need to request approval on your draft once you're happy with it. To do so, simply click Request Approval and your draft will be moved to the "Approvals" tab.
:::warning If you are the account owner or a user with Full Access, you will not have the option to request approval on your drafts. However, we have a workaround that can help! :::
The option to Request Approval will appear in a few places:
- You'll see the option to Save and Request Approval in the composer:
-
Or if you've chosen to Save Draft, you can always choose Request Approval later by heading to the Drafts tab and finding your draft that you want to submit for approval:
Reverting approval on a draft
If you've already requested approval but want to keep working on your draft, you can move it back to the drafts list by clicking Revert Approval Request.
Adding a draft to the queue
As the account owner or a user with Full Access, you can move any draft from the drafts list to the queue even if the user who created the draft has not yet requested approval. If you're ready to schedule the post, you should see one of two options:
- Clicking Add to Queue means no day and time was selected, so it will get added to the next available queue slot.
- Clicking Schedule Post means it has a pre-set day and time and will be scheduled at the date and time it was pre-scheduled for.
If a user with Needs Approval access has already requested approval on a post, it will appear in the Approvals tab. Account owners and users with Full Access can review and approve posts there.
Editing or deleting a draft
If you want to make modifications to a draft, click Edit, make any changes you like and then click Save Draft. Likewise, if you'd like to remove a draft completely, click Delete and then Confirm. Remember, the account owner and users with Full Access can edit any drafts, while users with Needs Approval access can only edit their own.
Managing approvals
Feel free to watch the video above, which shows the process for users to request approval on a draft post, as well as the process to approve posts: Requesting Approval and Approving Draft Posts
Draft posts that users with Needs Approval access have requested approval on will appear in the Awaiting Approval tab, where both the account owner and users with Full Access are able to review and approve them.
:::info Note: If you'd like to receive an email when a new draft is ready to review, click your profile avatar at the bottom left of your dashboard, choose Settings, then Notifications, and toggle Collaboration on. Once enabled, you'll receive approval-request emails for drafts created in the dashboard, mobile apps, and via the Buffer API. :::
Editing and approving draft posts in the Approvals area
If you'd like to make modifications to a draft post in the Approvals area, click Edit, make any changes you'd like, and then click Save Draft. When the post is ready, simply click the Approve button on the post.
- If you see Add to Queue, it means the post doesn't have a pre-set day and time, so it'll get added to the next available timeslot.
- If you see Schedule Post, there's a day and time set, so it'll get scheduled for the day and time it was pre-scheduled for.
Moving a draft post back to the drafts list
If you'd like to move the post back to the drafts list so that the user can continue to work on it, click Reject, and the user who created the post will receive an email notification as long as they have their "Collaboration" notifications set to enabled.
Deleting a draft post
If you'd like to remove the post completely, click Delete and then Confirm.
Approval workflow via the Buffer API
Posts created by team members with the Needs Approval role will always be saved as drafts awaiting approval, whether they're created in the Buffer dashboard, the mobile apps, or via the Buffer API, the MCP server, or any third-party app that uses the Buffer API. The post stays in Drafts until an approver moves it forward.
Approvers are notified by email the same way they would be for a draft created inside Buffer — whether the draft was created from the dashboard, the mobile apps, or the API. The notification uses the "Collaboration" email you can toggle under Settings > Notifications (see Enabling email notifications in Buffer). If an approver on your team has Collaboration emails enabled, they'll get the same "A draft is ready for your approval" email whichever way the draft was created.
FAQ
Is it possible to see a list of all posts awaiting approval? Can I approve all of my organization's drafts in one place?
Yes, by using our All Channels view, you can access a list of all of your posts that are awaiting approval, making the approval process super easy and efficient. Learn more about How you can use the All Channels view in Buffer here.