A finished video goes through up to three steps: someone watches it, someone approves it, and someone schedules the post. Neither Auto-create nor turning approval off posts anything. A video only goes out when someone chooses Schedule post on its slot or asks an agent to post it.
Know when something is ready
If the campaign has Require approval before posting on, a finished video moves its slot to Awaiting Approval. You’ll get an Approval needed notification, and a Still waiting for approval reminder after 24 hours by default. It stays open until someone decides.
If approval is off, the slot goes straight to Completed and you get a Campaign content is ready notification. Skip ahead to scheduling the post.
Watch the video
Open the campaign and expand the slot with the arrow on its right. The Video Generated panel has a Review button. It plays the video in a window, and watching it doesn’t approve anything.
If you see This video can’t be played right now., close it and try again in a moment.
Approve or request changes
While a slot is Awaiting Approval, you can decide in three places:
- in the Review window, under the video;
- on the expanded slot;
- on the notification in Inbox. The buttons there only show on unread notifications, so if you’ve marked one as read, use the campaign page.
Approve moves the slot to Completed, and you’ll see Slot approved.
Request Changes sends the slot back to Planned, and a message confirms it. It doesn’t ask what to change, so make the change yourself before making the video again:
- Choose Production plan on the slot.
- Change the brief, clip ideas, caption or style, and choose Save.
- Choose Auto-create, or Pick from Media to use another video.
Watch out on a campaign with Auto-create on: a slot that’s back at Planned and dated today or earlier is due again. SongPilot checks every 30 minutes, so it can be remade almost at once. Choose Turn off before you start editing. Editing the plan changes the clips, and new clips are charged. See Auto-create and credit limits.
Deciding needs a role that can publish campaigns. If yours doesn’t, the buttons on the slot do nothing, so ask someone whose role can. You can still watch the video.
Schedule the post
A Completed slot that hasn’t been posted shows Schedule post, if your role can schedule posts. Approve and Request Changes likewise show only for roles that can publish. Check its platform in Production plan, and check the account is connected: open Social Media and look under Accounts.
Choose Schedule post. The dialog shows the post’s caption, which you can change. If the slot has no caption, write one: neither Schedule post nor Post now works without it. Then pick the date and time. The time is in your timezone, shown beside the box, and the box starts at noon on the slot’s date, or at the next hour if that date has gone. Choose Schedule post in the dialog. You’ll see Post scheduled, the button goes away, and the slot shows the time it will post.
A time that’s already gone can’t be scheduled. To send it straight away, choose Post now in the same dialog. It goes out publicly at once, and you’ll see Posted.
Scheduling and posting need a role allowed to schedule social posts.
Which account it posts to
SongPilot uses an active connected account on the slot’s platform, and prefers the artist’s accounts over a member’s personal ones.
If there’s no connected account on that platform, you’ll see a message saying so and nothing is posted or marked. A post never goes to an account on another platform. Connect the account, or change the slot’s platform in Production plan, then try again.
Agents ask for a caption too when a slot has none.
If the post can’t be created for any other reason, you’ll see an error and the slot stays as it was, so you can try again.
Check it went out
The timeline’s badge keeps saying Completed after scheduling, so it can’t tell you whether the post was published. Open Social Media, then Recent Posts, where each post shows Scheduled, Posting, Posted or Failed along with its account and time. This tab is unavailable until an account is connected.
You’ll get Post published when it goes out, and Post could not be published if it fails. A failed post shows the reason and a Try again button. Activity has more detail, including attempts and rights checks.
If you see Reconnect your account, the connection has expired. Reconnect it under Accounts, then try the post again.
Watch it again later
The Video Generated panel stays on the slot, so you can open Review again at any time.
