How do I use Profile Collections and Profile Collection filters?

Rather than spending time searching for and selecting different profiles to post to in Compose, you can create Profile Collections to group similar profiles together and easily choose those collections in Compose to post to multiple profiles at once. You can create as many Profile Collections as you’d like and create Profile Collections that make the most sense for your team and your business. Once created, your team can then seamlessly schedule and post across Profile Collections without needing to know the specific name for each and every profile or spend time searching in Compose.

In this article:

• How do I create a new Profile Collection?
• How do I add profiles to the Profile Collection?
• How do I post to a Profile Collection?
• How do I use Profile Collection filters?
• Profile Collection FAQs

How do I create a new Profile Collection?

To create a new Profile Collection:

1. Navigate to your name > Settings.
2. Click Profile Collections under Global Features. The Profile Collection Management screen opens.
   
3. Click Add Collection. The Add profile collection popup opens.
4. Select an Icon from the Icon dropdown.
5. Enter a Profile collection name. Choose something descriptive so that your team can easily recognize the collection.
   
6. Click Create collection. The Profile Collection is created.

How do I add profiles to the Profile Collection?

To add profiles to the Collection:

1. Select the Collection from the Profile Collections list in Settings. The Profile Collection you choose appears in the right-hand panel.
2. Search for and select profiles from the right-hand panel that you want included in the Profile Collection. You can also sort the list of profiles alphabetically or by network to quickly locate relevant profiles.
   
   
   

As you add profiles, the count at the top of the right-hand list shows how many profiles are added to the collection out of the total available profiles.

Can I edit Profile Collections?

You can edit, deactivate or delete Profile Collections. To do this:

1. Navigate to the Profile Collection.
2. Select the Profile Collection you want to modify.
3. Click the overflow menu in the right-hand list to expand the available Actions.
4. Choose to Edit, Deactivate or Delete the collection.
   
   • Editing enables you to update the Icon or Profile collection name
   • Deactivating moves the Profile Collection to a list of Inactive collections where you can choose to restore it at a later time
     1. If a Profile Collection is inactive, it will not appear within the Compose Profile Picker for a user to choose from. Inactive Profile Collections can still be edited in an inactive state and made active again.
   • Deleting permanently removes the Profile Collection

How do I post to a Profile Collection?

To post to a Profile Collection in Compose:

1. Open Compose .
2. Select the Profile Collection you want to post to from the Profile Picker. The profiles included in the Collection appear in the Profile Picker.

3. Craft your post using text, media and additional options.
4. Add any additional fields or information like Publishing workflows, Sprout Tags and other network-specific options where applicable.
5. Choose a day and time to post, post immediately or submit for approval based on your settings.
6. Click Submit or Send.

Your post gets sent or scheduled to all the networks included in the Profile Collection you selected. 

How do I use Publishing Profile Collections within Publishing Profile Filters?

You can use the same Profile Collections to select from in Profile Filters on the following Publishing pages:

• Calendar
• Drafts
• Failed Posts
• Mobile Reminders
• Settings > Publishing > Custom Post Variables

When you navigate to any of these pages, select the Profiles filter from the top menu.

Profile Collections are at the top of the Profiles filter. If an emoji icon is associated with the Profile Collection name (that was selected from the Settings > Global > Profile Collection page), it'll be displayed. If an emoji isn't associated with a Profile Collection name, a folder icon will display within the Profile Collection name.

Choosing a Profile Collection in a Profile filter will automatically select all the profiles in that collection. If you unselect any single profile, the entire Profile Collection it belongs to will also be deselected.

If a Profile Collection is selected within a Profile filter and you select additional individual profiles, the Profile Collection will continue to show as selected along with the other individual profiles.

You can also input text within the Profile search bar to narrow down the results shown to display Profile Collections and individual Profile names with that text.

FAQs

Can a profile exist in multiple profile collections?

Yes, a profile can exist in multiple profile collections. When creating a post within Compose, for example, if you select Profile Collection A and Profile Collection B  where each collection contains Profile XYZ, Profile XYZ is only added once to the post you’re creating. If you deselect Profile Collection A, leaving Profile Collection B, Profile XYZ gets removed from the post you’re creating, because it was a part of one of the deselected collections. You can still individually select Profile XYZ to add to the post.

Are there any types of profiles that are excluded from adding in a Profile Collections?

Yes, Sprout currently excludes all ad accounts (Facebook Ad Account, Linkedin Ad Account, TikTok Ad Account and X/Twitter Ad Account). If you want to include Ad Accounts to a Profile Collection, contact Sprout by email at the end of this guide.

Why does the total number of Profiles within a Profile Collections differ from my coworker?

This may be due to profile permissions. You only see the profiles within a profile collection that you have access to. If you have No access associated with a profile that is within a Profile Collection, you can still see and select the Profile Collection, you won’t see the individual profiles you don’t have access to. 

Are Profile Collections replacing Groups?

No, Profile Collections are complementary to Groups. 

What happens if I edit a Profile Collection and that Profile Collection was already selected within the Profile filter?

The Profile Collection currently selected in a Profile Filter will remain with the original individual profiles selected. The individual profiles auto-selected within the Profile Collection won't be refreshed until the you de-select the Profile Collection name from the filter and select it again. 

Example: Say you have Profile Collection XYZ selected in the Profile filter on the Drafts page. There are 4 profiles within that Profile Collection. On the Profile Collection Settings page, you then remove 1 of the 4 profiles so there should only be 3 profiles now in that Profile Collection. When you refresh the Drafts page (where you have that Profile Collection already selected), it'll still show the 4 profiles selected until the you de-select the Profile Collection name and select it again to show only the 3 profiles.