Social Media Proofing: A Client Media Sign-Off Checklist

Agency media approval

Social media proofing is finished when the approved media matches the saved post that will publish. A client saying yes to a PDF does not establish which image revision is attached, which account will receive it, or whether the carousel still has the approved order. Record that match before approval, then check the queued post again before release.

In short

• Tie sign-off to a saved post ID and a specific account and format.
• Match every attachment to its approved export, including the sequence and cover.
• Treat later media changes as a new review, with a named person responsible for the final queue check.

Approval belongs to a saved version, not a PDF

An approval has a scope: the materials reviewed and where they will appear. Your record should make that scope explicit enough for another scheduler to check without asking the designer.

Illustrative scenario: a client approves revision r04 of a launch carousel. The scheduler still holds r03, where the offer ends on the wrong date. The caption is correct. The approval email is genuine. The post is still wrong.

That gap sits after creative review and before publication. The broader client approval workflow covers routing drafts to a decision-maker. This checklist covers the handoff between that decision and the actual loaded media.

Keep creative approval and the final attachment check as separate entries. One person can perform both, but neither entry substitutes for the other.

A sign-off sheet must identify the loaded media

Keep a separate sign-off record for each saved post and target account/format. Cross-posting the same campaign does not make one approval record sufficient when the exports or presentation differ.

Download the media sign-off sheet for a blank CSV. Fill it in manually; PostSider does not populate this download. The CSV uses one row per asset, grouped by post ID; the table below summarizes a whole post. Record each asset’s carousel position and repeat the approval details across that post’s rows. Add its native publication URL after release.

Copy this table into your spreadsheet. The completed row is illustrative, including the names and post ID. Replace it with your own records; keep the column headings.

Post ID	Target account / channel / format	Asset filename + revision	Carousel order	Cover / thumbnail	Preview findings	Approver	Approval time	Changes after approval	Final check
Q-1042	Cedar Studio / Instagram @cedarstudio / feed carousel	cedar-launch-s01-r04.jpg; cedar-launch-s02-r04.jpg; cedar-launch-s03-r04.jpg	1: s01; 2: s02; 3: s03	s01-r04; no separate cover	All slides checked; offer date readable; no open issues	Alex Chen, client marketing lead; APPROVED	2026-10-22 14:10 UTC	None at final check	Maya Ortiz; 2026-10-22 14:25 UTC; PASS

Make the post ID a link to the saved post when possible. In the asset cell, add a link to the retained export folder and any stored media identifiers needed to distinguish uploads. Use N/A for a genuinely unused field, never a blank that could mean “not checked.”

Record the decision evidence beside the approver’s name: a review reference or the client’s written approval. Preserve each review round rather than overwriting the earlier decision. Use timestamps with a timezone.

Match the saved attachments before requesting approval

The designer supplies identifiable exports; the scheduler proves those exports are loaded. Do the comparison after saving and reopening the post, not only while uploading files.

1. Freeze the review package. Put the exact exports in a revision folder, such as cedar-launch-r04. Name each slide by position and revision. Retain older folders; do not replace a file behind the same shared link and keep calling it approved.
2. Build the actual target. Select the account and intended format. Load the export set, arrange the sequence, and select the cover where that publishing route supports one. Save the post and copy its ID into the sheet.
3. Reopen the saved post. Compare its attachments with the retained exports. Check the detail that changed between revisions, such as an offer date or corrected product label. A familiar color scheme is weak evidence.
4. Resolve renamed uploads. If the scheduler stores files under different names, record the stored media ID or URL beside the original filename. Open the full attachment when a thumbnail cannot establish the match. If you cannot identify the revision, hold the post and replace the ambiguous upload with the known export.
5. Request a scoped decision. Give the reviewer the saved-post reference and the matching sheet row. Ask them to approve that target and media set. Capture any objections before treating the decision as complete.

Use the social media image sizes sheet when preparing exports. It answers the dimensions question; it cannot establish which export someone uploaded.

The cover and every slide need their own check

A correct first image does not clear the rest of a carousel. Review the full sequence at readable size, and treat a separate cover or thumbnail as another asset with its own revision.

For a carousel, compare every position with the sheet. Check for a repeated slide, a missing disclaimer, or a closing call to action moved into the middle. Read text baked into images separately from the caption.

For video, play the saved attachment through the ending with audio on. Check subtitle wording and timing against the spoken offer, then inspect the selected thumbnail. A video still in a preview does not establish which cover the platform will use. Refer to the social media video specs sheet for export requirements rather than using visual approval as a technical check.

YouTube’s thumbnail guidance notes that changes can take time to appear. Record what you selected and check what appears after processing; an immediate old thumbnail does not establish that the new file failed.

Link cards need a separate check too. Hootsuite’s official guidance explains that social networks generate link previews differently. Inspect the destination URL and its displayed image or title using the network’s available tools. Approval of an uploaded image does not approve a different image pulled from a website.

A changed asset needs a new decision

Reapproval follows the reader-visible change, not the editor’s description of it. Calling a replacement “just a small fix” does not carry the old approval forward.

Agree to the following policy with the client before using it:

Change after approval	Required action
Replace a file, including a new export with the same filename	Assign a new revision, update the asset record, and obtain reapproval.
Change a crop, trim, subtitle, audio track, or visible text	Review the changed media in its target format and obtain reapproval.
Reorder, add, or remove carousel slides; change a cover	Review the resulting sequence or cover and obtain reapproval.
Change the account or publishing format	Create a target-specific record and obtain approval for that destination.
Move only the publication time	Follow a written scheduling exception; record the move and repeat the final check. Date-sensitive offers need reapproval.
Edit an internal note with no published effect	Log it if relevant; creative reapproval is unnecessary.

When a change starts, mark the sheet HOLD and prevent the affected post from publishing before editing. HOLD here is your sheet status, not a promised scheduler feature. Recheck the changed attachment and its relationship to the other slides, then capture a fresh decision.

Illustrative scenario: a designer replaces the closing slide after approval to correct a price. Record r05 and the reason, get approval for the resulting carousel, and repeat the saved-post comparison. The old r04 approval remains historical evidence only.

PostSider supports review; the sheet records the version match

PostSider has composer previews for selected channels and an approval queue that displays the target channel, caption, and attached media. Those views support visual review; the version-matching sheet remains a manual agency control.

I build PostSider, so the boundary matters here. A composer preview is an approximation, not a guarantee of the native crop or link card. It also does not establish that a platform will accept and publish the post.

The approval queue offers an approve-and-schedule action. Finish the saved-media match before using it, and leave enough time for the separate final queue check. Do not assume that an approval automatically compares file revisions, locks approved media, or triggers another approval after an edit. The reapproval policy above belongs to your team.

For the wider scheduling setup, see PostSider for agencies. Keep the sheet alongside whichever client review record you use.

A final queue check closes the handoff

The last checker compares the queued post with the signed row, without making silent edits. A mismatch stops release until the record and the loaded post agree.

Give that person a short release check:

• Open the exact saved post and confirm the destination account and format.
• Compare all loaded attachments and their order with the approved revision record. Confirm the selected cover where applicable.
• Read the changes-after-approval cell. It must say “None” or point to a completed new review round.
• Confirm the publishing time, including its timezone, and resolve any outstanding technical warnings.
• Add a name and check time. Record PASS only when there are no unresolved differences.

After publication, inspect the native post and retain its URL with the row. That confirms the outcome; it does not replace the earlier approval. The record should let someone answer a specific question: “Is this the media the client approved for this account?”

Lukasz Blania is the founder of PostSider.