"This post needs to go live in an hour!"
"Has legal approved this yet?"
"Can we make just one more change?"
Is your blood pressure spiking? Most social media marketers will know these phrases all too well. Behind every delayed campaign or rushed post is a common workflow challenge: content trapped in approval limbo, watered down by revision cycles, or caught in last-minute fire drills.
Fortunately, most workflow bottlenecks are preventable with the right tools and processes. Let's explore seven common workflow issues that social media teams face — and how to solve them.
1. "Have you had time to review my post yet?"
The problem: approval workflows that create bottlenecks
Every social media manager knows the pain of watching a perfectly timed post gather dust in someone's inbox. By the time stakeholders finally respond, that trending topic you wanted to capitalize on is internet history.
Usually you have to rush to get content created far enough in advance that busy stakeholders have time to review it, but then face multiple rounds of approval from managers, clients, and different stakeholders. One missing approval can hold up everything, turning a simple post into an ordeal.
And if there’s a sizable change — like needing a freelance graphic designer to rework an infographic — these delays can set you back weeks.
The fix: streamlined approval processes
The key to preventing approval bottlenecks is creating a clear, documented workflow that everyone understands and follows. Start by mapping out exactly who needs to approve what content, and in what order. Not every post needs six sets of eyes on it — reserve multi-stakeholder approval for high-stakes campaigns.
Once you've established your approval chain, map out how long each step typically takes. For example, creative feedback usually takes one day, while legal review might take up to a week. With these timeframes in mind, you can work backwards from your publish date to set realistic deadlines for each stage.
If a post needs to go live on Wednesday, and you know you need 5 total business days for approvals, you'll need to start the process the previous Wednesday. Make these deadlines clear and track them systematically.
This is where social media management software becomes essential. With fine-tuned approval controls, Loomly turns this entire process into a smooth, automated workflow.
Stakeholders get notified automatically when it's their turn to review, they can approve or request changes directly in the platform, and everyone can see exactly where each piece of content stands in the approval process. No more hunting through email threads or Slack messages to figure out who still needs to sign off.
2. "Just a few small tweaks..."
The problem: death by a thousand revisions
Every social media manager has had a workday derailed by excessive revision requests. When a post needs multiple reviewers, each person adds their "small tweaks" until your snappy caption is reduced to word soup. Worse still, stakeholders often contradict each other, leaving you to referee competing visions of what the post should be.
The root cause is usually misaligned expectations from the start. Stakeholders have specific ideas in mind but haven't communicated them upfront. Or they change direction halfway through, forcing you to start from scratch after hours of work.
The fix: front-loaded alignment and clear boundaries
The key to preventing endless revisions is establishing ground rules that match the scope of the content. For everyday posts, this might be as simple as having clear brand guidelines and a one-round review limit. Save the heavy review processes for your major campaigns and sensitive announcements.
Create a simple hierarchy of who needs to review what. Maybe your brand team only reviews campaign posts, while product marketing only weighs in on feature announcements. This prevents unnecessary stakeholders from piling on feedback for routine content.
3. "But our designer is out until next week …"
The problem: creative resource bottlenecks
Even the most creatively skilled social media managers need to outsource specialized projects to internal or external team members. A YouTube video needs custom animations, or a paid ad set needs polished graphics, or a campaign hinges on influencer-created content. When these assets get delayed, they can derail your entire content calendar.
The challenge isn't just waiting for deliverables — it's about coordinating multiple creative professionals who each have their own workflows and timelines. Your graphic designer might turn things around in two days, but your video editor needs two weeks, and that influencer lives on their own timeline.
The fix: smart resource planning
Instead of treating creative assets as one-off requests, build a reliable creative pipeline. Map out your content needs at least a month in advance, identifying which posts will need special creative support. This gives you a realistic picture of resource demands and prevents last-minute scrambles.
Book your creative resources early and always build in buffer time for revisions and unexpected delays.
4. “I have no idea what to post tomorrow.”
The problem: creative block becomes a workflow crisis
You sit down to plan content, draw a blank, and put it off until tomorrow. But tomorrow brings the same block, now with added pressure. Before you know it, you're three days from the new month with an empty calendar and a completely dried-up creative well. Who hasn’t been here?
This pattern turns a natural creative ebb into a full-blown workflow crisis. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to start, and the more likely you are to fall back on safe, uninspired content just to fill the gaps.
The fix: breaking the planning paralysis
Some of us might excel at the big brainstorm approach, but if you regularly run into this issue, it’s time to think smaller. Instead of relying on marathon planning sessions, break content planning into more manageable tasks:
- Quick capture (ongoing): Make it effortless to save ideas whenever inspiration strikes. Save posts you love, use a web clipper for articles that spark ideas, and keep a notes app handy for random thoughts. The key is removing all friction from the capture process — if it takes more than two taps, you won't do it consistently.
- Content development (1 hour, twice weekly): Set aside two focused hours per week to develop your saved inspiration into actual post concepts. Don't worry about the calendar yet — just focus on turning rough ideas into solid content.
- Calendar planning (1 hour weekly): Now look at your bank of developed content alongside your content calendar. What events or campaigns need coverage? Where are the gaps? This is when you strategically place your strongest ideas.
Loomly's Post Ideas feature fits perfectly into this workflow, suggesting relevant content ideas during your quick capture and development sessions. Plus, you can save draft ideas as you go, building your content library gradually instead of all at once.
Loomly has post ideas for every day of the week, 365 days a year
5. “You have 57 new notifications.”
The problem: constant interruptions lead to context switching
Social media management inherently involves juggling multiple tasks - creating content, monitoring engagement, responding to comments, tracking analytics, and managing multiple platforms. This natural context-switching is challenging enough. But when you add a constant stream of notifications and interruptions, it becomes nearly impossible to stay focused and do deep work.
The fix: strategic batching and solid boundaries
Instead of letting notifications and requests control your day, take control of your workflow:
- Time-block your core activities: Dedicate specific hours to content creation, engagement monitoring, and analytics. During content creation blocks, close everything except your content tools.
- Set notification boundaries: Choose specific times to check messages and comments. Most social platforms let you set "away" messages for DMs—use them during your focused work periods.
- Batch similar tasks together: Handle all your community management at once, do all your analytics reporting in one session, schedule all your content in dedicated blocks.
Loomly helps by centralizing these workflows in one place. Instead of jumping between platforms, you can manage posts, track engagement, and monitor performance from a single dashboard. Plus, you get total control over notifications to help you stay on top of what's important without getting overwhelmed by every minor update
6. "Sorry, but I really need this posted today."
The problem: fire drill content requests
Some last-minute posts are genuinely necessary—breaking industry news, unexpected product launches, or viral trends you need to catch. But too often, "urgent" requests aren't truly urgent; they're just poorly planned.
Real emergencies will happen, and without a system for handling unexpected content needs, you’ll be left picking up the pieces.
The fix: build flexibility into your system
Create a clear hierarchy of what constitutes a genuine “emergency” post (like crisis communications or breaking news) versus what can wait for normal workflow (like general trends or regular promotional content).
You can also build buffer time into your content calendar specifically for unexpected content. This might mean keeping a few "flex” slots open each week or having evergreen content that can be bumped when needed.
Loomly's calendar management features make it easy to shift content around when emergencies arise. You can quickly reschedule posts, duplicate content for different channels, and maintain visibility of your overall content mix even when plans change.
7. "Wait, who let this post go out?"
The problem: permission chaos
Managing social media access is like walking a tightrope. Give too little access, and you create bottlenecks — your copywriter can't draft posts, your customer service team can't respond to DMs. Give too much access, and you risk security issues or accidental posts going live without approval.
The challenge multiplies with every social media platform and team member. Your designer needs access to post assets but shouldn't publish. Your PR team needs to monitor mentions but shouldn't respond. And when someone leaves the company, it's on you to remember all the accounts they had access to.
The fix: permission architecture
Start by mapping out your access needs based on roles, not individuals:
- Content creators: Need draft access but not publish rights
- Community managers: Need response capabilities but not calendar access
- Analysts: Need view-only access to metrics
- Approvers: Need review rights but not creation access
You’ll also want to create clear processes for onboarding new team members, offboarding departing team members, temporary access for freelancers, and emergency access (who has master passwords for crisis situations).
Loomly simplifies this entire process with role-based permissions that match real-world workflows. You can create custom access levels for different team members to ensure smooth and secure collaboration — all from one central dashboard.
Want to dive deeper into building an efficient social media workflow? There are seven essential steps that take content creation from idea to production to publishing. We cover them all in our guide to building a social media workflow.
Take control of your social media workflow
While there will always be some last-minute changes and more revision requests than we’d love, there are multiple solutions available for the most common social media workflow issues. Start by tackling your biggest workflow pain point, whether that's streamlining approvals, setting clear boundaries, or implementing better planning processes.
Ready to run social media the organized way? Loomly is built for seamless team collaboration, predictable workflows, and stress-free content management. Start your free trial and start seeing huge changes in your process in just 15 days.
