Troubleshooting Guide for Sprout Social Publishing Workflows

This comprehensive guide provides solutions for common issues encountered when using Sprout Social's enhanced publishing features. Whether you're a seasoned pro or new to the platform, this article will help you navigate potential roadblocks and ensure your content gets published smoothly.

Using Enhanced Publishing Options (Save/Publish/Schedule + Duplicate)

These powerful features streamline your content creation process. If you encounter issues, it's typically due to one of the following:

• Network specific limitations: Duplicating a post is not the same as creating a fresh one in the eyes of some social networks. X (formerly Twitter), for instance, has strict rules against posting duplicate content within a short timeframe. Make sure to also take into account that @mentions may work differently across social networks and media requirements may vary.
• Permissions: Ensure you have the necessary publishing permissions for all the profiles you're trying to post to. If you're part of a team, your user role might restrict you from publishing to certain profiles.
• Browser issues: Occasionally, browser extensions or a full cache can interfere with Sprout's functionality. Try clearing your browser's cache and cookies or using an incognito window to see if the issue persists.

Bulk Publishing

Bulk publishing is a time-saver, but a small error in your CSV file can halt the entire process. Here's what to look out for:

• Incorrect formatting: the date and time formats in your CSV file must match the format specified in Sprout Social exactly. Use the MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY format for dates and a 24-hour format for time (HH:MM).
• File type: Ensure your file is saved as a .csv. Other formats like .xls or .numbers are not supported.
• Image URLs: If you're including images, the URL must be a direct link to the image file itself, not a link to a webpage where the image is displayed. The URL should end in .jpg, .png, or .gif and must be publicly accessible.
• Character limits: Each social network has its own character limit. Make sure the text for each post in your CSV file adheres to the limits of the network it's being published to.
• Link shortening: Shortening is available only for the “link_url” field and not any links in the “message_text” field.
• Network specific nuances: The “link_url” parameter is currently not compatible with X (formerly Twitter). To include a link in a X (formerly Twitter) post, add the URL to the “message_text” column. Also keep in mind that Instagram does not support clickable links in posts.

You can read more about publishing in bulk via our article How do I use bulk scheduling?

Publishing to multiple networks

When publishing the same post to multiple networks, keep these points in mind:

• Media limitations: The type and number of media files you can attach are determined by the network with the most restrictive limitations. For example, if you're posting to both X (which allows up to 4 images) and Facebook (which allows up to 10), you can only upload a maximum of 4 images
• API differences: Each social network has a unique API, which means a post might look slightly different on each platform. It's always a good practice to use the "Preview Post" feature to see how your content will appear on each network before publishing.
• Network specific nuances: Features like tagging users or adding location tags work differently across networks. You may need to customize the post for each network to ensure these features work correctly.

If you’re looking for an easy way to customize text, captions, and media, without needing to duplicate the post and slow down your scheduling workflow, check out the recommendations listed in the article How do I use Customize Post per Network in Compose?.

Text limits

Exceeding a network's character limit is a common reason for publishing failures. Here's a quick reference for the most common networks:

• Facebook: 63,206 characters
• X (formerly Twitter): 280 characters
• Instagram: 2,200 characters for captions
• LinkedIn: 3,000 characters for company updates and articles
• TikTok: 2,200 characters

When publishing to multiple networks, the lowest character count limit applies to the Compose text box. Always check the character counter in the Compose window to ensure your post is within the limits for all selected networks.

Instagram line breaks

Instagram's API can be particular about line breaks. If you're finding that your carefully formatted captions are appearing as a single block of text, try these tips:

• Avoid spaces after the last character of a line: Don't add any spaces after the last word or punctuation mark on a line where you want a break.
• Use a symbol: Some users find that adding a period or another subtle symbol on an otherwise empty line can help force a line break.
• Compose in a plain text editor: Write your caption in a plain text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit) and then copy and paste it into Sprout. This can help remove any hidden formatting that might be causing issues.
• Utilize a special character that acts like a line break: You can use Unicode characters like the Invisible Separator (U+2063) or a combination of symbols and spaces. Paste these characters between lines where you want a line break. This character won't be visible but will create a line break in the Instagram post.

Emoji rendering

While Sprout Social fully supports the use of emojis, how they appear can sometimes vary:

• Operating System and Browser Differences: The appearance of emojis is determined by the operating system and browser of the person viewing the post. An emoji might look slightly different on an iPhone versus an Android device, or in Chrome versus Firefox.
• Bulk Publishing with Excel: If you're using bulk publishing and creating your CSV file in Microsoft Excel, emojis or special characters can sometimes be encoded incorrectly. It's recommended to use Google Sheets to create your CSV file to avoid this issue.
• Network specific nuances: Social networks tend to update and treat emoji rendering differently. This means that one emoji may look as expected on one social network, but then look different on another. 

Special characters

Similar to emojis, the rendering of special characters (e.g., ™, ©, ®) can be inconsistent across social networks and devices. For the most part, standard special characters display correctly. However, if you're using more obscure characters, it's always best to preview the post to ensure it appears as intended.

Editing “Needs Approval” Post

If a post has been submitted for approval, you can still edit it as long as it hasn't been approved and scheduled yet. Simply navigate to the Publishing Calendar, locate the post and click on it to open the Compose window and make your changes. The approver will then see the updated version.

Using “Needs Approval” with Schedule or Draft

If submitting your post through an approval workflow, keep in mind that you can submit the post for approval either as a “draft” or a “scheduled post”, but not both.

• Needs Approval + Schedule: When you schedule a post that requires approval, it will sit in the Publishing Calendar with a "Needs Approval" status. The post will not be published until it has been approved by a designated team member. Once approved, the post will be published at the intended scheduled time.
• Needs Approval + Draft: If you save a post that needs approval as a draft, it appears in your Drafts folder with a "Needs Approval" status. Once approved, the draft needs to be either scheduled or published immediately in order to appear on the social profile intended to be published to.

FAQs

Why did my duplicated post fail to publish on one social network but was published on another?

Keep in mind that social networks may have different rules against duplicate content. At the same time, it may be that media requirements are met for one social network, but not for the other. We recommend inspecting the error message associated with the failed post and check out the article Troubleshooting a post failure for next steps.  

My bulk upload failed. What's the most common reason?

The most common reason for a bulk upload failure is incorrect formatting in the CSV file, especially the date and time columns. Double-check that your formats match Sprout's requirements (MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY and HH:MM). Alternatively, open the CSV file returned in the email confirmation to inspect for errors and recommendations.

I'm trying to post to multiple networks, but it's limiting my image uploads. Why?

When posting to multiple networks, the number of images you can upload is limited by the network with the lowest maximum. For instance, since X (formerly Twitter) allows a maximum of 4 images, you can only upload 4 images even if you're also posting to other social networks which allow more images in a single post.

My Instagram caption is all one block of text, but I added line breaks in Sprout. How do I fix this?

This is a common issue with Instagram's API. Try removing any spaces at the end of your lines, use special Unicode characters or compose your caption in a plain text editor before pasting it into Sprout Compose.

Why do my emojis look different after the post is published?

Emoji appearance is dependent on the viewer's device, operating system and browser. They can render differently across various devices and social platforms.

Can I edit a post after I've sent it for approval?

Yes, as long as the post has not yet been approved and scheduled, you can edit it from the Publishing Calendar.

I'm trying to tag / mention a user in a post I'm publishing to Facebook and Instagram. Why isn't it working on both?

User tagging (mentioning) is network-specific. A profiler's handle on Instagram is often different from their page name or profile on Facebook. To tag users correctly when posting to multiple networks, you must use the network-specific customization options in the Compose window to search for and select the correct user on each platform. Check out the article How do I use Customize Post per Network in Compose? for more information.

In my bulk scheduling CSV, one of my rows has an error. Will the entire upload fail?

No, Sprout will process all the correctly formatted rows in your CSV file. If a specific row contains an error (e.g., a bad date format or an image URL that can't be accessed), only that individual post will fail to import. You will receive a notification detailing which posts, if any, could not be scheduled.

Can I edit a post after it has already been published?

No, once a post is published to a social network, you cannot edit it directly within Sprout Social. This is a limitation of the social networks' APIs. To correct a mistake, you must delete the original post either natively or from Sprout (which also removes it from the native network) and then create and publish a new, corrected post.