Invite your team, assign roles, set up an approval workflow so drafts go live only after a review, and manage a shared content calendar everyone can see and contribute to.
When one person manages social media, a single queue works fine. When a team is involved — a copywriter drafting captions, a designer uploading media, a manager approving before anything goes live — you need structure. UniLink Social Planner's team collaboration features give everyone a defined role, route drafts through an approval step before publishing, and keep the entire team working in a single shared calendar rather than separate tools or email chains.
What Team Collaboration Does
Team collaboration in Social Planner covers three connected features. First, role-based access: each team member is assigned a role that defines what they can see and do. Editors can create drafts, add media, write captions, and submit posts for review — but they cannot schedule or publish directly. Admins can do everything Editors can, plus approve submitted drafts, schedule posts, and publish immediately.
Second, the approval workflow: when an Editor submits a post for review, it enters a Pending Approval state visible to all Admins. Admins can approve, request changes (with a comment), or reject the draft. Approved posts move to the scheduled queue. Change-requested posts return to the Editor with the comment attached. This loop continues until a post is approved or discarded.
Third, the shared content calendar: every team member with access to the workspace sees the same calendar. Scheduled posts, pending approvals, drafts, and published posts are all visible in the shared view. Admins see everything; Editors see their own drafts plus the shared calendar. This eliminates the "what are we posting next week?" question — everyone can check the calendar at any time.
How to Get Started With Team Collaboration
- Open Social Planner settings — click Social Planner in the Dashboard sidebar, then click the Settings icon (gear) in the top-right corner of the planner.
- Go to Team Settings — in the settings menu, select Team or Team Members.
- Click Invite Member — enter the email address of the person you want to add. They will receive an invitation email with a link to join the workspace.
- Assign a role — select either Editor or Admin from the role dropdown. Choose Editor for anyone who creates content but should not publish independently. Choose Admin for anyone who has approval authority.
- Send the invitation — click Send Invite. The invited person must accept the invitation and log in or create a UniLink account to access the planner.
- Confirm the member is active — once they accept, their name and role appear in the Team Members list. You can change their role or remove them from this list at any time.
- Communicate the workflow — let Editors know to use Submit for Review when a draft is ready rather than saving it as a draft only. Let Admins know to check the Pending Approval filter regularly.
How to Use the Approval Workflow
- Editor creates a draft — the Editor clicks New Post, writes the caption, uploads media, selects platforms, and sets a proposed publish time.
- Editor submits for review — instead of clicking Schedule or Publish, the Editor clicks Submit for Review. The post status changes to Pending Approval.
- Admin reviews the draft — the Admin opens Social Planner, filters by Pending Approval in the Posts tab, and clicks the draft to open it. The full post is visible including caption, media, platforms, and proposed time.
- Admin approves or requests changes — if the draft is ready, the Admin clicks Approve. The post moves to Scheduled at the proposed time. If changes are needed, the Admin clicks Request Changes, types a comment explaining what needs updating, and submits. The post returns to the Editor with Draft — Changes Requested status.
- Editor revises and resubmits — the Editor opens the returned draft, reads the Admin's comment in the comments panel, makes the edits, and clicks Submit for Review again.
- Post is approved and scheduled — once approved, the post appears on the shared calendar at the scheduled time. Neither Editors nor Admins need to do anything further for it to publish.
- Leave comments at any stage — any team member can leave a comment on any draft or scheduled post. Comments appear in a thread in the post detail panel and all members with access to the post are notified.
Key Settings Explained
| Setting | What it controls | Best practice |
|---|---|---|
| Editor role | Can create drafts, upload media, write captions, and submit for review — cannot schedule or publish | Use for copywriters, freelancers, or junior social media team members who should not post independently |
| Admin role | Can do everything Editors can, plus approve, reject, schedule, and publish posts | Limit Admin access to team leads or account managers responsible for brand voice and publishing decisions |
| Pending Approval filter | Filters the post list to show only drafts awaiting Admin review | Admins should check this filter daily — unapproved posts sitting in queue block the editorial calendar |
| Comments on drafts | Allows any team member to leave notes, questions, or feedback on a post before it publishes | Use comments for brief, specific feedback rather than long discussions — keep copy revision in the caption field |
| Shared calendar view | Displays all scheduled, pending, draft, and published posts to all team members | Ask all team members to check the calendar at the start of the week to stay aligned on upcoming content |
How to Get the Most Out of Team Collaboration
The approval workflow only saves time if Admins review submissions quickly. If drafts sit in Pending Approval for days, Editors lose momentum and the calendar falls behind. Set a team norm that Admins review and respond to all pending approvals within one business day. If the Admin is unavailable, a backup Admin should cover the queue.
Use the comments panel for brief, actionable feedback. "Shorten the caption by 20 words — we're over the LinkedIn limit" is useful. Long back-and-forth discussions in comments slow the process down. If a draft needs major rethinking, decline it and discuss the direction offline, then have the Editor start a fresh draft.
Keep the Editor role for anyone outside the core approval chain — freelancers, contractors, agencies. This way, even if their access to the workspace is shared more broadly than ideal, they cannot publish anything without Admin sign-off. The approval step acts as a content quality gate regardless of who is creating the drafts.
Use the shared calendar view for weekly planning. At the start of each week, all team members should spend five minutes reviewing what's scheduled for the week ahead. This surfaces any gaps (days with no content), conflicts (two posts going out to the same platform in the same hour), or posts that may need updating due to news or events. Catching these in the calendar is faster than fixing them after a post goes live.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Invited team member cannot see the Social Planner after accepting | The invitation was sent but the role was not saved before sending, leaving the member with no role assigned | Go to Team Settings, find the member, and assign their role (Editor or Admin) manually |
| Editor can see the Publish button and publish directly | The member was added as Admin instead of Editor | Go to Team Settings, click the member's name, and change their role from Admin to Editor |
| Pending Approval posts are not visible to the Admin | The Admin is using a personal workspace view rather than the shared team workspace | Confirm the Admin is logged in to the correct workspace — check the workspace selector at the top of the Dashboard |
| Comments on a draft are not sending notifications to the Editor | Notification settings for in-app or email notifications are turned off for the workspace | Go to Account Settings > Notifications and ensure Social Planner comment notifications are enabled for all roles |
Pros
- Approval workflow prevents unapproved content from going live without a review step
- Shared calendar eliminates scheduling conflicts and keeps all team members aligned
- Comments on drafts centralise feedback in the same tool as the content — no email chains
- Role-based access scales from a two-person team to a full agency structure
Cons
- Approval bottleneck if the Admin is slow to review — requires team discipline to keep the queue moving
- Only two roles (Editor and Admin) — no intermediate role with partial publishing rights
- External stakeholders (e.g., clients reviewing content) must be given a UniLink account to access the approval workflow
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an Editor see posts created by other team members?
Editors can see the shared calendar, which includes all scheduled and published posts. They cannot edit or approve posts created by other Editors. Drafts not yet submitted for review are only visible to the Editor who created them.
Can I have multiple Admins in one workspace?
Yes. You can assign Admin role to multiple team members. Any Admin can approve pending submissions. This is useful for teams with more than one person responsible for final approval.
What happens if an Admin rejects a draft instead of requesting changes?
Rejecting a draft removes it from the Pending Approval queue and marks it as Rejected. The Editor can still view it in their draft history but cannot resubmit it. If the content can be salvaged, the Editor should create a new draft rather than trying to resubmit the rejected one.
Can I remove a team member from the workspace without deleting their drafts?
Yes. Removing a team member from Team Settings revokes their access to the workspace. Their existing drafts and submitted posts remain in the system. An Admin can reassign or delete them from the post list.
Is there a limit to how many team members I can invite to Social Planner?
Team member limits depend on your UniLink plan. Check your current plan's team seat allocation in Account Settings > Plan Details. Upgrading your plan increases the number of seats available.
Key Takeaways
- Invite team members via Social Planner > Settings > Team — assign Editor (draft only) or Admin (approve and publish) roles
- Editors submit drafts for review; Admins approve or request changes before any post is scheduled
- The shared calendar gives all team members visibility into what is scheduled, pending, and live
- Use comments on drafts to centralise feedback — avoid email or chat for content review
- Admins should review pending approvals daily to prevent the content calendar from stalling
Ready to get your whole team publishing smarter?
Invite your team to UniLink Social Planner and set up an approval workflow that keeps your brand voice consistent and your content calendar full.
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