Create and manage approval workflows

Goal

Define multi-step approval workflows so drafts move through the right reviewers before publishing. You create named workflows, assign approvers to each step, set a default for new drafts, and control when a workflow is active.

When to use this

Use approval workflow management when:

• More than one person must sign off in a fixed order
• Different brands or content types need different reviewer chains
• You want new drafts to pick up a default chain automatically
• You need to pause a workflow without deleting its history

Single-step review may be enough for small teams. Multi-step approval workflows require a Team plan or higher.

Before you begin

You need admin access to the brand you are configuring.

Confirm your organization is on the Team plan or higher. Multi-step approvals are included on Team and Scale plans and are not available on Free or Starter.

Decide who approves at each step before you open the editor. You can adjust steps later, but a clear sequence reduces rework.

Steps

Open the workflow list

1. Run /social and switch to the Workflow work center.
2. Choose Manage workflows to open the Approval Workflows list modal.
3. Optional: Open Settings, go to Automation, and choose Workflow Rules when you are checking routing alongside workflows.

Create a workflow

1. In the Approval Workflows modal, choose Create workflow.
2. Name the workflow and save it.
3. Open the workflow detail view.
4. Add steps and assign the approvers who must sign off at each step.
5. Reorder or remove steps until the sequence matches how your team reviews content.
6. Activate the workflow when it is ready to use.

Set a default and manage lifecycle

1. When you run more than one workflow, choose Set default so new drafts pick up the right chain automatically. If several workflows are active, Slack may ask you to confirm the default in a selection modal.
2. Deactivate a workflow when you want to stop new items from entering it without deleting history.
3. Delete a workflow only when you no longer need it. Confirm deletion in the prompt.

Edit steps after go-live

Open an existing workflow from the list to add, edit, reorder, or remove steps. Changes apply to new items entering the workflow. Items already in review continue on the path they started unless your team uses skip actions from the approval thread for an in-flight item.

Review from the approval thread

When a draft enters your workflow, approvers can act from the approval thread in channel as well as from App Home review surfaces. The thread shows the workflow name and current step so each reviewer knows when it is their turn. After the final step completes, the item can move toward publish or client approval depending on your brand configuration.

Success criteria

You know the configuration worked when:

• New drafts that require multi-step review enter pending approval and follow the steps you configured
• Approvers see the workflow name on review views and in the approval thread
• Each step advances to the next approver until the workflow finishes as approved, changes requested, rejected, or published
• The default workflow is applied to new drafts when you set one and multiple workflows are active

Troubleshooting

You cannot open Manage workflows

Confirm admin access to the brand and that your plan includes multi-step approvals. Upgrade to Team or Scale if the option is missing.

Drafts skip your new workflow

Check that the workflow is activated and set as default when you run more than one. Confirm the draft was created after activation. Review Workflow Rules under Settings > Automation if routing sends items elsewhere.

Reviewers are blocked on a step

See Resolve approval workflow blockers. Confirm the assigned approver still has access to the brand.

You need the governance model

Read Approvals and review governance for how multi-step review fits your org policy.

You need status definitions

Your support team can look up lifecycle labels in the status reference. Customer-facing review states you will see most often include pending approval.