Troubleshooting Failed Posts
Find out why a post didn't publish, fix the most common causes and send it again.
Karl Fountain·
Occasionally a post doesn't go out. This guide shows you how to find out why, fix it, and publish it again.
Finding failed posts
There are three places to look:
- Create > Content > Failed tab: every post that failed to publish. The tab's counter turns red when there's something in it.
- Plan > Planner: after a post has gone out, the Socials column shows ✓ next to each account that published and ✕ next to each one that didn't. Hover over ✕ to see the reason.
- Email and in-app notifications: CoPost can tell you when a post fails. Choose who gets these in Settings > Team > Settings > Notifications.
Failed or Partial Failure?
- Failed: the post didn't publish to any of its accounts.
- Partial Failure: it published to some accounts but not others. Only the accounts marked ✕ need sending again.
Common reasons a post fails
| Reason | What to do |
|---|---|
| The account needs reconnecting. The error usually mentions an expired or invalid token. | Reconnect the account, then send the post again. See Reconnecting a social account. |
| The media isn't right for the platform. For example, there's no video on a YouTube or TikTok post, there are too many images, or images and videos are mixed. | Composer warns you about most of these before you schedule. Check the warnings and the platform requirements. |
| The file is too big or too long. | Each platform limits file size and video length. See the platform requirements. |
| The caption is too long. | Shorten the caption, or create a variant with shorter text for that platform in Composer. |
| A daily posting limit was reached. | Platforms limit how many posts an account can publish a day. See CoPost Daily Posting Limits. |
| The platform rejected the content. For example, duplicate content, or a link or wording that breaks the platform's rules. | Edit the post so it's different from earlier ones, or check the platform's own rules. |
| The platform was having problems. | CoPost retries temporary errors automatically, up to 3 times. If it still fails, wait a little while and try again. |
Sending a failed post again
- Open the post: click Edit on the Failed tab of the Content page, or Edit in Composer from the Planner.
- Read the error for each account. Fix whatever caused it, for example by reconnecting the account, swapping the media or shortening the caption.
- Use Publish Now to send it straight away, or pick a new time and schedule it again.
If you'd rather keep the failed post as a record and send a fresh copy, use Repurpose on the Failed tab. This creates a new draft copy of the post that you can edit and schedule.
Stopping posts from failing
- Watch for Composer's warnings. Before you schedule, Composer flags media that won't work on a platform, such as a missing video or mixed images and videos. Fix the warnings, and the post is far less likely to fail.
- Keep accounts connected. If you get an email saying an account needs attention, reconnect it straight away.
- Turn on failure notifications so you hear about problems as soon as they happen.
- Check the preview. Use Preview to see how the post will look on each platform before you schedule it.
If a post keeps failing and you can't see why, log a support ticket from Settings > Support. Include a link to the post, or its caption and scheduled time, so we can look it up.
We are always here to help, so please reach out to [email protected] with any questions!