ApproveThis manages your Buffer approvals.

When Approval Workflows Meet Social Media Chaos

Let's be real: coordinating social media approvals feels like herding cats armed with hashtags. Marketing teams juggle draft posts, compliance reviews, last-minute edits, and the eternal "who approved this?!" panic. Meanwhile, operations leads waste hours chasing down stakeholders buried in Slack threads. This is why combining Buffer's social scheduling muscle with ApproveThis' approval automation creates something actually useful – like giving your team a bureaucratic exoskeleton.

What Each Tool Does (And Where They Collide)

Buffer handles the social media grind – scheduling posts, analyzing metrics, and keeping your brand from going radio silent. ApproveThis operates like a traffic controller for decisions, automating who needs to sign off on what, when, and with which rules. Together via Zapier, they turn content bottlenecks into a straight shot from draft to publish.

The Nuts and Bolts

Buffer's Team Plan (non-negotiable for this setup) lets contributors submit posts for review. ApproveThis adds layers like legal compliance checks, budget approvals for boosted posts, or cross-department sign-offs. The kicker? External approvers (like clients or legal) don't need Buffer seats – just email access. No more paying $12/month for your lawyer to approve one tweet.

Four Ways This Combo Actually Solves Problems

1. Killing the "Approval Black Hole"

Scenario: Your e-commerce team wants to run a 24-hour Instagram promo. Normally, this involves Slack pings to finance (budget check), legal (terms review), and the CMO (brand voice). With the integration:

• Buffer contribution → Auto-creates ApproveThis request
• Finance auto-approves if under $5k via thresholds
• Legal gets emailed with one-click approve/deny
• Post schedules only after green lights

Real impact: Holiday sales go live without the 11pm "wait, did legal OK this?" disaster.

2. Stopping Brand Embarrassments Before They Happen

Agency teams managing 10+ client accounts use approval groups to route drafts to the right client contacts. If Karen from Acme Co. tries to push a meme that doesn't match their corporate vibe, ApproveThis enforces sequential approvals from her team lead first. Bonus: Vacation delegation means no holds when someone's off-grid.

3. Auditing Without the Headache

Publicly traded company? You need proof that compliance reviewed every tweet. ApproveThis logs every decision with timestamps and comments, while Buffer handles the actual posting. During audits, filter by "denied" requests to show proactive risk management.

4. Cutting Content Calendar Drama

ApproveThis' calculated fields automatically flag posts needing extra scrutiny – like detecting high-risk keywords (e.g., "guarantee" or "FDA-approved") that trigger mandatory legal review. Buffer then schedules clean posts based on true priorities, not whoever yelled loudest in the meeting.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

Zapier's the middleman here, but don't overcomplicate it:

1. Connect Buffer + Zapier (Team Plan required)
2. Pick a trigger: "New Contribution" or "New Queue Item"
3. Map key fields: Post copy, scheduled time, links
4. Connect ApproveThis, set approval rules (e.g., "Route to legal if post contains 'sale'")

Pro tip: Use ApproveThis' conditional logic to skip unnecessary steps. Example: Posts under 100 characters auto-approve (because nobody’s writing essays), while video posts get extra stakeholder reviews.

Who Actually Benefits (Beyond the Obvious)

Marketing Teams: More Than Just Cat GIFs

Beyond avoiding typos, structured approvals help prove ROI. Track how approval delays impact post performance, or use approval data to justify hiring another copywriter.

Compliance Officers: Sleep Better

Auto-escalate posts mentioning regulated terms (like "medical advice") without manually scanning every draft. ApproveThis becomes your first line of defense.

External Clients: Less Email, More Trust

Agencies can give clients a branded portal to approve drafts, comment directly, and see what's queued – without sharing Buffer logins or dealing with PDF markups.

Why This Isn't Just Another Integration

Most approval tools treat social media like any other workflow. ApproveThis adds context-aware features:

• Version control: Compare post edits side-by-side during approvals
• Real-time previews: See exactly how the post will look on Instagram vs. LinkedIn
• Approval throttling: Limit last-minute requests to 2x/week per team

Meanwhile, Buffer keeps analytics in the loop. Denied a post for low engagement potential? The data backs you up next budget meeting.

The Bottom Line for Grown-Up Companies

If your social media process still runs on Slack thumbs-ups and email threads, you're leaving two big things on the table:

Speed: Auto-approve routine posts (employee spotlights, blog shares) while focusing human eyes on high-stakes content.

Accountability: Every approval or denial ties to a name, timestamp, and reason. No more "I thought YOU checked that!"

It's not about bureaucracy – it's about removing friction from creativity. When your team isn't chasing approvals, they can actually focus on campaigns that move metrics.

Getting Started (Without the Usual BS)

No need for a PhD in workflow design. ApproveThis offers pre-built Buffer templates that handle common setups:

• Client content approval portals
• Compliance-heavy industries (healthcare, finance)
• Multi-location franchises with local/central approvals

Book a 15-minute demo, and we'll literally build your first workflow live. Or go rogue with a free trial – we won't make you talk to sales.