A wide variety of approval strategies can be created for the post creation in Orchestrate. These regulate who must obtain approval, who may approve or reject them and for which networks or profiles approvals are to be obtained. A distinction is made between single-stage processes based on the two-man rule and multi-stage, i.e. advanced, approval strategies.
Approvals are obtained in the last step of the post creation process. Current approval processes can be viewed in the approval overview.
👑 Approvals are only included in certain Facelift plans and add-ons. Find out about plans and prices→ here.
Four eyes principle
An approval strategy based on the two-man rule facilitates coordination between two individuals for content approval. You can create a new strategy via Settings > Orchestrate > Approval Strategies→.
Click on + Approval Strategy and select Four eye principle.
1) Title, networks and profiles
Some general configurations:
Titel: Give the approval strategy a descriptive title. It will be visible during the approval request.
Networks: Specify whether the approval strategy should only apply to certain networks. This applies to all profiles of the selected networks.
Profiles: Specify whether the approval strategy should only apply to certain profiles.
💡 If you do not make a selection for networks/profiles, the approval strategy applies to all networks/profiles. Network and profile selection can be combined.
Example:
You can also combine the network and profile selections. For instance, if you wish for the approval strategy to cover all Facebook profiles and two specific Instagram profiles, choose Facebook in the Networks section. Additionally, select the two Instagram profiles in the Profiles section.
After selecting the networks and profiles, you will be taken to the next step via Save & Continue.
2) Specify user handling
Who needs approval?
By clicking on the +, you can select entire teams and/or individual users for whom the approval strategy should apply.
💡 If you do not make a distinction, all users must obtain approvals.
Who can approve?
You also need to define who should be able to approve requests. Make sure that these users have the relevant permissions. Choose between the following options:
Team members: Any team member of the requesting user can give or reject an approval. Remember that this applies to all teams where the user making the request is a member.
Team members on all levels above: All members in teams that are superior to the requester's team can accept or reject approvals.
Dedicated approvers: Click on the + to select specific teams or individual users who are to be permitted to accept or reject approvals.
AND combination: approvals must be granted by several teams or users. To do this, you must add the teams/users individually (close and reopen the dropdown after adding).OR combination: approvals can be granted by several teams or users. To do this, you must add the teams in one step.
3) Advanced Options
Set Deadline
You can optionally set a deadline by which an approval request must be processed. This deadline is specified in days, hours and minutes and refers to the period before the planned publication. If the approval deadline has passed, the approval is automatically rejected by default. If you want the post to be approved automatically when the deadline expires, tick the box Auto approve steps on deadline expiration.
Use Dedicated Approvers
If you tick this option, the requesting user has to choose which user should process their request.
Make Approval Optional
Specify whether approval must be obtained in this approval strategy or whether it should serve as an optional feedback loop.
Click on Save to directly activate the approval strategy. In the Approval Strategies overview, you can duplicate, deactivate or delete strategies via the three-dot menu.
Advanced Approval Process
An Advanced Approval Process has several approval steps that follow one another. It can be designed very flexibly to reflect almost any approval scenario. Each strategy can be adapted so that no one, not even a Company Admin, can skip it. These mandatory approval strategies serve the security of critical posts or social media profiles.
You can create such a strategy in the Admin Settings in the Orchestrate section under Approval Strategies. Click on + Approval Strategy and select Advanced Approval Process.
1) Title, networks and profiles
Some general configurations:
Titel: Give the approval strategy a descriptive title. It will be visible during the approval request.
Networks: Specify whether the approval strategy should only apply to certain networks. This applies to all profiles of the selected networks.
Profiles: Specify whether the approval strategy should only apply to certain profiles.
💡 If you do not make a selection for networks/profiles, the approval strategy applies to all networks/profiles. Network and profile selection can be combined.
Example:
You can also combine the network and profile selections. For instance, if you wish for the approval strategy to cover all Facebook profiles and two specific Instagram profiles, choose Facebook in the Networks section. Additionally, select the two Instagram profiles in the Profiles section.
Click on Save & Continue to be taken to an overview. Here you can check or edit your network and profile settings under the item Networks & Profiles.
2) General settings
The settings made in the next step, as well as the selection of networks and profiles, apply to all approval steps in the multi-stage process.
Who needs approval?
In the next step, you specify who should be able to request approval. Click on the + to select entire teams and/or individual users for whom the approval strategy should apply.
💡 This applies to everyone by default unless you specify the settings.
Advanced Options in the multi-step process:
Disable Force Approval: Set a checkmark here if there should be no possibility to force approval. You thus deactivate this special permission for this approval strategy.
Make Approval Optional: Specify whether approval must be obtained in this approval strategy or whether it should serve as an optional feedback loop.
Auto approve steps on deadline expiration: If you have specified a deadline for any of the approval steps, you can decide what should happen after the deadline has expired. By default, the post is automatically rejected. If you tick this box, the post will automatically be approved instead.
3) Add Approval Steps
Start with the first approval step and indicate whose turn it is to accept approval for the post in this step. Make sure that the users have the appropriate permissions. Choose between the following options:
Team members: Any team member of the requesting user can give or reject an approval. Remember that this applies to all teams in which the user making the request is a member.
Team members on all levels above: All members in teams that are superior to the requester's team can accept or reject approvals.
Dedicated approvers: Click on the + to select specific teams or individual users who are to be permitted to accept or reject approvals.
AND combination: approvals must be granted by several teams or users. To do this, you must add the teams/users individually (close and reopen the dropdown after adding).OR combination: approvals can be granted by several teams or users. To do this, you must add the teams in one step.
You can also optionally set a deadline by which an approval request must be processed. This deadline is specified in days, hours and minutes and refers to the period before the planned publication. You can decide how to proceed after the deadline in the general settings under Advanced options.
Now add as many approval steps as you like via Add Approval Step. The steps are carried out in the order in which they were created. First, a person specified in step 1 must give approval, then a person from step 2, and so on.
Click on Save to directly activate the approval strategy. In the Approval Strategies overview, you can duplicate, deactivate or delete strategies via the three-dot menu.
Permissions
For the approval processes to work, you may have to assign certain permissions to the users involved. You can choose between five permissions, which you can adjust in the Permission sets section and then assign to the respective users.
💡Users with the permission set Default User with Full Access already have all the permissions presented here by default.
Accept Approval Requests: Allows approval requests to be accepted. If a user is to approve a post as part of an approval process, they need this permission.
Read Approval Requests: Allows you to see the approval overview with all approval requests and comments as well as to revoke your approval requests.
Force Accept Approval Requests: Allows to accept approval requests even if the user has not been directly requested. This permission can be used to force approval for a post even if the post has not yet been approved by the users who initially requested it. In the case of advanced approval processes, it is possible to deactivate this right for individual strategies.
💡 Users with this permission can publish posts immediately, even though the post is still in a release process.
Reject Approval Requests: Allows approval requests to be rejected. If a user is to reject a post as part of an approval process, they need this permission.
Force Reject Approval Requests: Allows approval requests to be rejected, even if the person was not directly requested. With this permission, it is possible to intervene in the approval process at any time and force a rejection for a post, even if the post has not yet been rejected by the users originally requested.