Avoiding Common Post Failures | Sprout Bites
Table of Contents
In this Sprout Bites video, you will learn about the most common reasons posts fail in Sprout Social and how to avoid them. You will see how to handle disconnected profiles, how to use the image preview and cropping tools to meet each network's media requirements, and how to customize posts per network — including LinkedIn targeting minimums — to prevent publishing errors.
View Video Transcript
Hi, I'm JL Kellian, Senior Onboarding Consultant at Sprout Social. In this Sprout Bites video, I'll walk you through common post failures and how to avoid them using Sprout's publishing tool. If your post fails, it's not usually a major issue — it's just a small step that needs attention. Let's start with one of the most common reasons a post fails: disconnected profiles. When that happens, the first place to check is your Failed Post folder. You'll see an error message explaining why the post failed — it's often a reauthorization issue. Sprout will also notify you when a profile disconnects or is about to disconnect. From the Failed Post folder, click the Profile Issues button and you'll be routed to Settings to reconnect your profile. The second reason a post might fail is skipping the preview and formatting options. In the Compose section, when you upload a photo or video, you'll always see a preview on the right side. Sprout Social offers formatting options — click the pencil icon to edit brightness and, most importantly, crop the image to the appropriate dimensions for each network. You can also lock the resolution by checking the box. If you're ever unsure about dimensions or file requirements by network, reference our Media Upload Types and Size Limits article in the Help Center, which always has the most up-to-date specs. The third common reason a post might fail is posting the same content across all networks. Each network has different formatting and audience expectations. Instead of duplicating the same caption everywhere, use the Customize Post Per Network button, which lets you toggle between networks and tailor content for each. For LinkedIn specifically, a post might fail if your targeting segments are too small. Each LinkedIn targeting segment must have at least 300 followers for your post to publish successfully. For example, if you're targeting followers with a VP title in a specific industry, at least 300 of your followers must fall into that group — otherwise the post won't go through. If you notice an unknown error in your Failed Post folder and aren't sure what caused it, reach out to our live chat support team. They can provide clarity and help troubleshoot quickly.
Was this article helpful?
