FS-DOC-03Operations
Process Runbook / SOP
Social Media Scheduling
[YourCompany.com] · Marketing Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]
This runbook is the day-to-day operating guide for anyone responsible for running the Social Media Scheduling automation. It tells you exactly what the system does on its own, what your team still needs to do manually, and how to handle anything that goes wrong. FullSpec built and configured the automation end to end. Your team's job is to keep content flowing into the pipeline and to action the two steps that remain human: writing the original content and applying any revisions after a rejection.
01Process overview
The Social Media Scheduling automation runs continuously in the background, picking up content records as soon as they are marked ready in Airtable. From that point, the system handles asset retrieval, approval routing in Slack, Buffer scheduling, Airtable status updates, and a weekly summary message to the team. The coordinator does not need to log into Buffer, copy-paste captions, or chase approvals manually. The entire pipeline from a content record reaching 'Ready for Review' to a confirmed post in the Buffer queue runs without human input, unless a reviewer rejects the post and requests changes.
Process name
Social Media Scheduling
Trigger
An Airtable content record status is changed to 'Ready for Review'
Final output
Post scheduled in Buffer, Airtable record updated to 'Scheduled', and a weekly summary sent to Slack
Agents running
Content Intake Agent, Approval Routing Agent, Publishing and Reporting Agent
Tools involved
Airtable, Google Drive, Slack, Buffer, Canva (asset prep only, pre-pipeline)
Weekly volume
40 to 80 posts per month across 3 to 5 channels (~10 to 20 per week)
Human checkpoint
Reviewer approves or rejects the post via the Slack approval message; coordinator applies any requested revisions
Process owner
[Your name] — responsible for keeping Airtable records current and actioning revision requests promptly
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FS-DOC-03Operations
02Step-by-step: what happens and who acts
What you actually need to do: The only required human action in the live pipeline is the approval step. The designated reviewer must open the Slack approval message and press either 'Approve' or 'Reject' before the post moves forward. If a rejection is sent, the coordinator must then update the caption or asset in the Airtable record and reset the status to 'Ready for Review' to resubmit. Everything else runs automatically.
Step
What happens
Who acts
Type
1
The coordinator writes the post caption in Google Drive and uploads the correctly sized image to the linked Google Drive folder. The Airtable content record is then updated to 'Ready for Review' to start the pipeline.
Social Media Coordinator
Human
2
The Content Intake Agent detects the status change in Airtable, retrieves the caption text and image URL from Google Drive, and assembles a complete content package including target channels and scheduled publish time.
Content Intake Agent
Automated
3
The Approval Routing Agent sends a structured approval request to the designated Slack channel. The message displays the caption, image preview, target channels, and scheduled publish time, along with interactive Approve and Reject buttons.
Approval Routing Agent
Automated
4
The designated reviewer reads the Slack approval request and presses either Approve or Reject. If rejecting, the reviewer types feedback directly into the Slack thread before confirming the rejection.
Reviewer (Marketing Manager or delegated approver)
Human
5a (Approved)
The Approval Routing Agent captures the approval decision and routes the content package to the Publishing and Reporting Agent for scheduling. No coordinator action is needed.
Approval Routing Agent
Automated
5b (Rejected)
The Approval Routing Agent logs the reviewer's feedback as a note on the Airtable record and sets the record status back to 'In Revision' so the coordinator can see it clearly in the calendar view.
Approval Routing Agent
Automated
6 (Revision only)
The coordinator reads the feedback note in Airtable, updates the caption in Google Drive or replaces the image file in the Drive folder, and then resets the Airtable record status to 'Ready for Review' to resubmit through the pipeline from step 1.
Social Media Coordinator
Human
7
The Publishing and Reporting Agent submits the approved caption and image to Buffer via its API, targeting the correct social channels and setting the exact publish time specified in the Airtable record.
Publishing and Reporting Agent
Automated
8
The Publishing and Reporting Agent updates the Airtable content record to 'Scheduled' status and logs the confirmed Buffer post URL against the record, creating a permanent audit trail.
Publishing and Reporting Agent
Automated
9
Once per week, the Publishing and Reporting Agent sends a summary message to the designated Slack marketing channel listing every post scheduled for the week, including platform, publish time, and a link to the Buffer queue for final review.
Publishing and Reporting Agent
Automated
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FS-DOC-03Operations
03Handling exceptions
Situation
What the system does
What you do
Missing caption or image link in the Airtable record
The Content Intake Agent detects the incomplete package and does not pass it to the approval step. It updates the Airtable record status to 'Incomplete' and sends a Slack alert to the coordinator naming the missing field.
Open the flagged Airtable record, add the missing caption or correct the Google Drive image link, then reset the status to 'Ready for Review' to restart the pipeline.
Duplicate content record submitted (same caption and channel)
The Content Intake Agent checks for an existing 'Scheduled' or 'Approved' record with matching content before passing the package forward. If a duplicate is found, the record is flagged with a 'Duplicate Detected' status and the coordinator is notified in Slack.
Review the flagged record in Airtable. If it is genuinely a duplicate, archive it. If it is a separate intended post, add a distinguishing note in the record and resubmit.
No response from the reviewer within the approval window
The Approval Routing Agent waits for the configured approval window (default: 24 hours). If no response is received, the post status is set to 'Pending Review' in Airtable and a reminder message is sent to the reviewer in Slack. The post is held and not published.
If the reminder is not acted on within a further 24 hours, contact the reviewer directly. If the reviewer is unavailable, a delegated approver listed in the contacts table in Section 04 can approve directly in the Slack thread.
Reviewer rejects a post a second time
The system follows the same rejection flow as the first time: feedback is logged to the Airtable record and the status is set back to 'In Revision'. There is no automatic escalation after a second rejection.
Apply the updated feedback, revise the caption or asset, and resubmit as normal. If the feedback is unclear or contradictory, contact the reviewer directly before resubmitting to avoid a third revision cycle.
Buffer API is unavailable or returns an error at scheduling time
The Publishing and Reporting Agent catches the failed API call and retries automatically up to three times at five-minute intervals. If all retries fail, the Airtable record status is set to 'Scheduling Failed' and an alert is sent to the coordinator in Slack with the error details.
Check Buffer's status page (status.buffer.com) to confirm whether there is a platform outage. If Buffer is down, wait for the outage to resolve and then manually trigger a re-run by resetting the Airtable record status to 'Approved'. If the issue persists beyond two hours, contact FullSpec support at support@gofullspec.com.
Image file in Google Drive has been moved or deleted after the record was submitted
The Content Intake Agent attempts to retrieve the image URL stored in the Airtable record. If the file is not found at that URL, the agent sets the record to 'Incomplete', logs an error note on the record, and sends a Slack alert to the coordinator.
Locate the correct image file, upload it to the expected Google Drive folder, update the image URL field in the Airtable record to point to the new file location, and reset the status to 'Ready for Review'.
04Who to contact and when
Fill in the rows marked with placeholders once your team is confirmed. Keep this table updated whenever a team member changes role or leaves the business. For any automation faults, error alerts, or requests to change the workflow logic, FullSpec is your first point of contact.
Role
Name
How to reach them
Process owner (Social Media Coordinator)
[Your name]
[Your email or Slack handle]
Content reviewer (Marketing Manager)
[Rep email]
[Slack channel or direct message]
Delegated approver (when primary reviewer is unavailable)
[Your name]
[Your email or Slack handle]
FullSpec builder
FullSpec team
support@gofullspec.com
FullSpec support
FullSpec support
support@gofullspec.com
Contact FullSpec support at support@gofullspec.com for any of the following: the automation stops triggering entirely, the Slack approval buttons stop working, Buffer posts are scheduled to the wrong channel or with the wrong publish time, or you need to change the approval window, the reviewer, or the Slack channel used for approvals.
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05Ongoing maintenance
Any time the Airtable content calendar schema changes (new fields, renamed statuses)
Notify FullSpec before making structural changes to the Airtable base. Adding or renaming status options that the automation relies on (such as 'Ready for Review', 'Approved', 'Scheduled', 'In Revision') will break the pipeline if the automation platform is not updated at the same time.
Process owner notifies FullSpec; FullSpec updates the automation
Any time the Slack approval message template needs updating (new caption fields, different channel, changed approver)
Contact FullSpec with the required changes. Do not attempt to edit the Slack app configuration directly, as this can invalidate the interactive component tokens.
Process owner requests change via support@gofullspec.com; FullSpec applies the update
Monthly spot-check (first working day of each month)
Review the previous month's Airtable records. Confirm that all records in 'Scheduled' status have a Buffer post URL logged. Flag any records still sitting in 'Pending Review' or 'Scheduling Failed' and resolve them.
Social Media Coordinator
Weekly error-log review (every Monday morning)
Check the designated Slack alerts channel for any error messages posted by the automation over the previous week. Address any 'Scheduling Failed' or 'Incomplete' flagged records before new content enters the pipeline that week.
Social Media Coordinator
Any time a team member changes role or leaves (reviewer or coordinator changes)
Update the contacts table in Section 04 of this runbook. Notify FullSpec so the Slack approval routing can be pointed at the new reviewer. If the outgoing team member had a Slack app admin role, confirm with your IT contact that the Slack app permissions are still intact.
Process owner notifies FullSpec; FullSpec updates routing
Quarterly volume review (every three months)
Check whether post volumes have grown beyond 80 posts per month or whether the number of active channels has increased. If volume has grown significantly, review the automation platform's monthly run allowance against the current subscription tier to confirm it is not approaching its limit.
Process owner; contact FullSpec if a tier change is needed
The most common maintenance issue for this process is a broken Airtable status trigger caused by a team member renaming or adding a status option in the content calendar without updating the automation. If the pipeline stops triggering, the first thing to check is whether the 'Ready for Review' status label in Airtable still matches exactly what was configured at build time. Contact FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com if you are unsure.
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