A client can check your work before it goes out. You choose what needs their approval, client by client. Everything they need to check is in one place in their portal: the Approvals tab.
Turn it on
Open the client, go to Client → Settings and find Client approvals. There are four switches, each on its own:
- Google Business Profile: Business Profile posts (in Local → Business Profile and in Content → Social), review replies, Zeus's profile changes and photos.
- Blog posts: before a post is published, scheduled or republished.
- Social posts: Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn posts, before they're marked as posted.
- Press releases: before a release is distributed.
All four are off for every client until you turn them on. The Social posts and Press releases switches are the same ones those tabs always had; their settings now link here.
While a switch is off, the places that kind of work lives (Content → Social, Content → Press Releases, Local → Business Profile, and a blog post's Post Status) show a small note: Want to turn on client approvals? Its link opens this card. Click the × to stop seeing it; it stays hidden for you on every client and every device.
Send something for approval
While a switch is on, every item of that kind shows where it stands: Needs the client's approval, Waiting for the client, Approved, Client declined or Client asked for edits. Use Send for approval on the item:
- Business Profile posts: in Local → Business Profile → Posts, the post editor has Send for approval. Zeus's post drafts have it too.
- Review replies: under the reply you wrote, or Zeus's draft reply.
- Profile changes: in Apply to Google on Zeus's profile check, and on the client's Zeus tab.
- Photos: in Add a photo, instead of Post to Google.
- Blog posts: in the editor, Blog → the post → Post Status.
- Social posts and press releases: on the post or release card.
While an item is waiting, or hasn't been approved, it can't go out: it can't be posted to Google, published, scheduled, marked as posted or distributed. If you need to go ahead, use Approve for the client. You can take a request back with Take back while it's waiting.
An approval covers exactly what the client saw. If you change the item afterwards, it needs approving again (send it again, or approve it for the client).
What the client sees
The client's portal gets an Approvals tab while at least one switch is on and the person has the matching permission. It lists everything waiting for them, newest first, with a clear preview: the post's text and picture, the blog post as it will read, the review and your reply, the profile change before and after, or the photo and where it will show. For each item they can:
- Approve.
- Decline, with an optional note.
- Ask for edits. They have to say what to change.
Below the list they see what they decided before. Items show in their tab as soon as you send them. Clients never see Zeus or credits there; it's only your work to check.
The approval email
Clients get one email a day at most, around 5 pm in your agency's billing time zone (Billing & credits; New York time if you haven't set one), when something is waiting that wasn't in an email yet. It comes from your agency, with your branding, and its Review now button opens the Approvals tab on your client domain if you have one. If items are still waiting 3 days and 7 days after they were first emailed, that day's email reminds them. There are no reminders after 7 days. Each person only gets the items they can approve.
While it's on
Nothing of that kind can go out until it's approved. That's on purpose: it stops anything being published by accident. The Edit profile fields on a Business Profile (name, phone, hours you type in yourself) are never held, since those are your own corrections.
When the client answers
You get a notification in the bell. It opens the item, so you can change it, send it again or publish it. The item itself shows the decision and the note, for example "Declined by Jane: not this week".
For Business Profile work, Local → Business Profile → Client approvals lists everything you sent and the answers. Once a post, photo or reply is approved, use Post to Google, Add to Google or Post the reply there. An approved profile change is applied from Zeus's profile check with Apply to Google.
Publishing or posting an approved item adds its work done item as usual.
Who can approve
Four client permissions: Approve Google Business Profile changes, Approve blog posts, Approve social posts and Approve press releases. All four are on for every client person unless you untick them for someone in Client → Settings. See Client permissions.
Previewing as the client
With View as Client, you see the Approvals tab as that person does, but the buttons don't act. The answer is the client's.