Shape Social Media Manager

Learn how to use Shape Social Media Manager to connect your social accounts, create content, schedule posts, collaborate with your team, and manage your social media presence from a single platform.

Shape Social Media Manager

Shape Social Media Manager allows your organization to create, schedule, publish, and manage social media content across multiple social networks from a single platform.
Rather than logging into each social network individually, Shape Social provides one centralized workspace for planning content, collaborating with your team, engaging with your audience, and measuring performance.
Whether you’re managing one brand or multiple locations, Shape Social helps streamline your social media workflow while keeping your marketing efforts organized.

Key Features

Shape Social includes everything you need to manage your organization’s social media presence.
Features include:

• Connect multiple social media accounts
• Create and publish posts
• Schedule content in advance
• Maintain a shared content calendar
• Save drafts
• Upload images and videos
• Access a built-in royalty-free media library
• Respond to messages and comments
• Monitor engagement
• Generate performance reports
• Collaborate with your team through approval workflows
• Manage multiple brands and locations

Supported Social Networks

Shape Social supports publishing and managing content across a wide variety of social media platforms.
Supported networks include:

• Facebook Pages
• Instagram Business
• LinkedIn Profiles
• LinkedIn Company Pages
• X (Twitter)
• Google Business Profile
• YouTube
• Pinterest
• TikTok
• Additional supported social platforms as they become available

Accessing Shape Social

If your subscription includes Shape Social Media Manager, you can access it directly from the top navigation bar within Shape.
To open Shape Social:

From there, you’ll have access to your connected social accounts, publishing calendar, content library, inbox, reports, and collaboration tools.

Getting Started

Before publishing content, you’ll first connect your organization’s social media accounts.
Once connected, you’ll be able to:

• Publish immediately
• Schedule future posts
• Save drafts
• Manage multiple social profiles
• Review scheduled content
• Respond to customer engagement
• Analyze social media performance

Most organizations complete this one-time setup during onboarding before creating their first campaign.

Why Use Shape Social?

Managing multiple social media platforms separately can quickly become time-consuming.
Shape Social centralizes your publishing workflow by allowing you to manage all of your social channels from one location.
Benefits include:

• Publish to multiple networks at once.
• Schedule content weeks or months in advance.
• Collaborate with your marketing team.
• Maintain a consistent publishing schedule.
• Monitor customer engagement from one inbox.
• Measure the performance of your social media efforts.
• Keep your marketing tools alongside the rest of your CRM and communication platform.

Connecting Social Media Accounts

Before you can publish content, schedule posts, or manage conversations, you’ll need to connect your organization’s social media accounts.
Connecting an account authorizes Shape Social to publish content and retrieve engagement data on your behalf.
Most social platforms only need to be connected once unless the authorization expires or is manually revoked

Connecting an Account

To connect a social media account:

Once connected, the account becomes available when creating and scheduling content.

Managing Connected Accounts

From the Social Accounts page, administrators can manage all connected social profiles.
Common actions include:

• View connected accounts
• Reconnect expired accounts
• Disconnect accounts
• Rename accounts for easier identification
• Manage multiple brands or business locations

Organizations managing multiple offices, franchises, or brands can connect numerous social profiles from a single Shape Social workspace.

Account Permissions

Some social networks require administrator or business-level permissions before an account can be connected.
If you’re unable to connect a profile or page:

• Verify that you have administrator access.
• Confirm that the account is eligible for third-party publishing.
• Ensure any required business accounts have already been configured on the social platform.

If access is removed on the social network, Shape Social may require the account to be reauthorized before publishing can resume.

Reconnecting Accounts

Occasionally, social networks require connected accounts to be reauthorized.
This can happen if:

• Your password changes.
• Security settings are updated.
• The social network expires your authorization.
• Permissions are revoked.
• The connected account is removed or modified.

If an account becomes disconnected, Shape Social will notify you so it can be reconnected before future scheduled content is published.
Best Practice: Periodically review your connected accounts to ensure all authorizations remain active, especially before launching large marketing campaigns.

Best Practices

• Connect only the accounts your organization actively manages.
• Use business or administrator accounts when authorizing social profiles.
• Periodically review connected accounts for expired authorizations.
• Remove unused or inactive accounts to keep your workspace organized.
• Verify new connections before scheduling important campaigns.

Creating Social Posts

Creating content in Shape Social is designed to be simple and flexible, allowing you to publish to one or multiple social media platforms from a single composer.
Whether you’re announcing a new product, sharing company updates, promoting an event, or posting educational content, Shape Social allows you to create your content once and distribute it across your connected social accounts.

Creating a New Post

To create a new post:
Benefits include:

Once your content is complete, Shape Social automatically prepares the post for each selected social network.

Publishing to Multiple Networks

One of the biggest advantages of Shape Social is the ability to publish content across multiple social networks simultaneously.
Rather than recreating the same post several times, you can create your content once and select every connected social profile you’d like to publish it to.
This helps maintain consistent messaging while significantly reducing the time spent managing multiple social platforms.

Adding Media

Visual content is one of the most effective ways to increase engagement on social media, and Shape Social provides multiple ways to create, upload, and manage your media.
Depending on the selected social platform, you can add:

• Images
• Videos
• Multiple media files (where supported)
• Graphics created in CMS Design Studio
• Designs created in Canva
• GIFs and other supported media types
• Uploaded files from your computer

You can also browse Shape’s built-in royalty-free stock image and video library to quickly find high-quality content without leaving the platform.
In addition to uploading your own media, Shape Social integrates with several popular creative tools and cloud storage providers, making it easy to access your existing marketing assets while creating social media content.
Whether you’re designing a graphic in CMS Design Studio, creating artwork in Canva, or pulling assets from your cloud storage, Shape Social helps keep your creative workflow centralized.

Supported Media Integrations

Shape Social integrates with a variety of popular design, media, and cloud storage platforms, allowing you to access content without constantly switching between applications.
Examples include:

• CMS Design Studio
• Canva
• Google Drive
• Dropbox
• Google Photos
• OneDrive
• Adobe Express (where supported)
• Royalty-free stock image and video libraries

Organization Content Library

In addition to your own media, Shape Social allows organizations to maintain a shared library of approved marketing content.
Users with the appropriate permissions can upload and manage reusable templates, images, videos, and other creative assets that become available to the rest of the organization when creating social media posts.
A shared content library helps teams:

• Maintain consistent branding
• Reuse approved marketing materials
• Reduce duplicate work
• Speed up content creation
• Ensure users are working from the latest company-approved assets

For organizations with multiple branches or marketing contributors, this makes it easy to provide a curated collection of ready-to-use content while maintaining control over your brand.
Best Practice: Administrators should periodically review and update the shared content library with current promotions, seasonal campaigns, logos, brand assets, and approved social media templates so users always have access to fresh, compliant marketing materials.

Previewing Your Content

Before publishing, Shape Social provides previews so you can review how your content will appear across supported social networks.
Previewing your post allows you to:

• Verify formatting
• Review images
• Check spacing
• Confirm links
• Catch typos before publishing

Reviewing posts before publishing helps ensure a polished, professional appearance across every platform.

Publishing Options

Once your post is complete, you can choose how you’d like to publish it.
Available options include:
Publish Now
Immediately publishes the content to the selected social accounts.
Schedule for Later
Choose a future date and time for the post to automatically publish.
Scheduling content in advance helps maintain a consistent posting schedule and allows marketing teams to prepare campaigns ahead of time.
Save as Draft
Drafts are useful when collaborating with teammates or preparing content for future campaigns.

Best Practices

• Tailor your message for the audience you’re targeting.
• Include high-quality images or videos whenever possible.
• Preview your post before publishing.
• Schedule content ahead of time to maintain a consistent posting schedule.
• Use drafts when collaborating with other team members or waiting for approvals.
• Create branded graphics in CMS Design Studio and use them in your social posts for a consistent look across all marketing channels.

Content Calendar

The Content Calendar provides a centralized view of all scheduled, published, and draft social media content.
Rather than managing posts individually, the calendar allows you to visualize your publishing schedule across all connected social media accounts, making it easier to maintain a consistent posting cadence and coordinate upcoming campaigns.

Viewing Your Content Calendar

The calendar displays your social media content in an easy-to-read calendar layout, allowing you to quickly see what has already been published and what is scheduled for the future.
Depending on your workflow, you can switch between multiple calendar views to better organize your content.
Available views may include:

• Monthly Calendar
• Weekly Calendar
• List View

These views make it easy to plan campaigns, identify publishing gaps, and coordinate marketing initiatives across multiple channels.

Managing Scheduled Posts

Scheduled posts remain fully editable until they are published.
From the Content Calendar, you can:

• Open scheduled posts
• Edit post content
• Update images or videos
• Change the scheduled publish date and time
• Duplicate existing posts
• Delete scheduled posts
• Publish immediately instead of waiting for the scheduled date

This flexibility allows marketing teams to quickly adjust campaigns as priorities change.

Draft Content

Posts that are still being worked on can be saved as drafts.
Drafts remain available within Shape Social until they are ready for review, scheduling, or publication.
Using drafts is especially helpful when:

• Preparing future campaigns
• Waiting for approvals
• Collaborating with teammates
• Creating seasonal marketing content in advance

Planning Your Marketing Calendar

Using the Content Calendar makes it easier to build a consistent social media strategy.
Many organizations schedule content weeks or even months in advance to ensure a steady publishing schedule without needing to create content every day.
Planning ahead also allows teams to coordinate social media with:

• Marketing campaigns
• Email campaigns
• Landing pages
• Company announcements
• Holidays
• Product launches
• Events
• Promotions

Best Practices

• Schedule content in advance whenever possible.
• Review your calendar regularly to maintain a consistent posting schedule.
• Avoid publishing too many posts on the same day unless it’s part of a coordinated campaign.
• Save unfinished posts as drafts rather than rushing to publish.
• Review scheduled content before major holidays or company announcements to ensure it remains relevant.
• Coordinate social media campaigns with assets created in CMS Design Studio for a consistent brand experience.

Social Inbox

The Social Inbox centralizes your social media conversations, allowing you to monitor and respond to customer engagement without logging into each social network individually.
Instead of switching between multiple platforms, your team can manage messages, comments, and interactions from one workspace, helping you respond faster and maintain a consistent customer experience.

Managing Conversations

The Social Inbox brings together customer interactions from your connected social media accounts into a single location.
Depending on the connected social network, you can manage activities such as:

• Comments
• Direct Messages
• Mentions
• Replies
• Other supported social interactions

This allows your team to stay on top of customer engagement without constantly monitoring each individual platform.

Responding to Customers

From the Social Inbox, you can review conversations and respond directly to supported interactions.
This makes it easy to:

• Answer customer questions
• Respond to comments
• Continue conversations
• Monitor brand engagement
• Stay informed about new activity

Managing conversations from one centralized inbox helps reduce response times while improving collaboration across your team.

Managing Multiple Social Accounts

Organizations often manage multiple brands, locations, or departments across several social media platforms.
The Social Inbox allows you to monitor all connected accounts from a single interface while filtering conversations based on the accounts you want to review.
This makes it easier to stay organized without needing to switch between multiple social media logins.

Organizing Your Inbox

As customer engagement grows, filtering conversations helps your team focus on the interactions that matter most.
Depending on your workflow, you can organize conversations by:

• Connected social account
• Social network
• Conversation status
• Date
• Other available filters

Using filters helps teams quickly locate conversations requiring follow-up or review.

Best Practices

• Check the Social Inbox regularly to respond to customer engagement promptly.
• Monitor comments and direct messages across all connected accounts.
• Respond professionally and consistently to maintain your organization’s brand voice.
• Use filters to prioritize conversations that require immediate attention.
• Review notifications frequently during active marketing campaigns.

Analytics & Reporting

Understanding how your social media content performs is just as important as creating it.
Shape Social includes built-in analytics and reporting tools that help you measure engagement, monitor audience growth, and evaluate the effectiveness of your social media strategy across your connected accounts.
Rather than manually collecting data from multiple social networks, Shape Social centralizes your reporting into a single dashboard.

Measuring Performance

Analytics provide valuable insight into how your audience is interacting with your content.
Depending on the connected social network, available metrics may include:

• Post performance
• Audience engagement
• Likes and reactions
• Comments
• Shares
• Clicks
• Reach
• Impressions
• Follower growth
• Additional platform-specific metrics

Reviewing Your Content

Analytics make it easy to identify which posts are performing well and which may benefit from a different approach.
By reviewing historical performance, your team can better understand:

• Which topics generate the most engagement
• What types of media perform best
• The best times to publish content
• Which social networks produce the strongest results
• Overall audience trends

Using this information helps improve future campaigns and maintain a consistent content strategy.

Generating Reports

Shape Social allows you to review social media performance across your connected accounts from a centralized reporting experience.
Reports can be used to:

• Measure campaign success
• Share performance with leadership
• Track long-term growth
• Evaluate engagement across multiple social networks
• Compare content performance over time

Many organizations review their analytics on a weekly or monthly basis to identify opportunities for improvement and adjust future marketing efforts.

Best Practices

• Review analytics regularly to understand audience engagement.
• Compare post performance over time rather than focusing on a single campaign.
• Use high-performing content as inspiration for future posts.
• Experiment with different posting times and content types.
• Monitor engagement across all connected social accounts to identify trends.
• Combine insights from your social media analytics with your broader marketing strategy to continuously improve results.

Team Collaboration

Shape Social makes it easy for multiple users to work together while maintaining consistency across your organization’s social media presence.
Whether you’re managing one brand or multiple locations, your team can collaborate on content creation, scheduling, and publishing from a centralized workspace.

Shared Content Workspace

All authorized users can access your organization’s social media workspace, making it easy to collaborate on marketing campaigns and scheduled content.
Depending on your permissions, you can:

• Create new posts
• Edit existing content
• Save drafts
• Schedule posts
• Publish content
• Review upcoming campaigns

This allows marketing teams to work together without needing to share individual social media account credentials.

Approval Workflows

For organizations that require additional oversight, Shape Social supports content approval workflows before posts are published.
Approval workflows help ensure that content is reviewed for:

• Branding
• Accuracy
• Compliance
• Messaging consistency

This is especially useful for organizations with multiple contributors or regulated industries where marketing content requires review before publication.

Managing Multiple Brands and Locations

Organizations with multiple offices, branches, or brands can manage all of their connected social accounts from a single Shape Social workspace.
This makes it easy to:

• Keep content organized by brand or location.
• Maintain consistent branding.
• Schedule campaigns for multiple business pages.
• Coordinate marketing efforts across teams.

Working with CMS Design Studio

Shape Social works seamlessly with CMS Design Studio.
Create branded graphics, marketing materials, and visual content within the Design Studio, then use those assets when creating and scheduling your social media posts.
Using both tools together helps maintain a consistent brand experience across your organization’s emails, landing pages, websites, social media, and print materials.
Learn More: See the CMS Design Studio guide for information on creating and managing branded marketing assets.

Best Practices

• Create reusable branded templates within CMS Design Studio.
• Save unfinished content as drafts rather than publishing incomplete posts.
• Use approval workflows for organizations with multiple content contributors.
• Keep branding and messaging consistent across all social platforms.
• Review scheduled campaigns regularly before publication.
• Organize social accounts by brand or location to simplify content management.

Frequently Asked Questions