Pre-publish checklist for social images and links

Most social-post mistakes happen before scheduling.

Maybe the link was never checked. Maybe the image had no alt text. The post fit Instagram but not Bluesky, and the preview card used an old title. None of these are interesting bugs, but they are the mistakes people notice.

I use a short pre-publish checklist before queuing anything important in TheBlue.social.

Check the text first

Start with the copy.

Paste the draft into the multi-platform character counter. It checks Bluesky, X, Threads, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Mastodon.

TheBlue checks these platform limits:

  • Bluesky: 300 characters
  • X: 280 characters
  • Threads: 500 characters
  • Pinterest: 500 characters
  • Mastodon: 500 characters by default, though instances can differ
  • Instagram: 2,200 characters
  • LinkedIn: 3,000 characters

If the post is too long for the short-form platforms, decide whether it should be shorter or split into a thread. Do not keep trimming until the post says nothing.

Use the thread splitter when the shape is a thread.

Check the link card

Next, check the URL.

Paste it into the Open Graph preview tool. Look for:

  • Missing title
  • Missing description
  • Missing image
  • Wrong canonical URL
  • Old or stale preview image
  • A card that crops the image badly

If the preview is wrong, fix the page metadata. Do not try to hide it with clever social copy.

For article pages, remember that pre-rendered HTML can matter. If you changed article metadata, regenerate the article HTML before assuming the live link card is fixed.

Check the images

If the post has images, check three things:

  • Does the image make sense at feed size?
  • Does the crop still show the important part?
  • Does the image have useful alt text?

TheBlue has a few tools for this:

AI-generated alt text is a draft. Read it. If the image is a chart, screenshot, product UI, or meme, the tool may describe the visual but miss why it matters.

That part still needs a human.

Check platform fit

Now move the draft into TheBlue.social's scheduler.

The scheduler supports Bluesky, X, Threads, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Mastodon. Each platform can have its own text, which is the right way to cross-post.

I check:

  • Does Bluesky need the shortest version?
  • Does LinkedIn need more context?
  • Does Pinterest need a description-style version?
  • Does Instagram need a caption that still works without a link card?
  • Does Mastodon need a version that respects the selected instance's expectations?

TheBlue is useful because it keeps those variants in one workflow. It is not trying to turn every platform into the same thing.

Check the timing last

Only check timing after the post itself is ready.

Scheduling a broken post at the perfect time is still scheduling a broken post.

Use analytics to inform timing, especially for Bluesky. But keep the order simple:

  • Text fits.
  • Link card works.
  • Images are readable.
  • Alt text is useful.
  • Platform variants are ready.
  • Timing makes sense.

Then schedule it.

The small toolbench

TheBlue works best as a small toolbench around repeated publishing work.

Use the free tools before the scheduler:

  • Character counter
  • Post previewer
  • Thread splitter
  • OG preview
  • Alt text generator
  • OCR
  • Image size checker
  • Crop previewer

Then use the scheduler to queue the final platform-specific versions.

That is enough process. More than that usually becomes a ritual people stop following.

Last updated: June 9, 2026