For agencies / Alternatives
How alternative grids work
Offer your client other versions of some posts as extra grids, and let them choose one.
Who can do this: All staff
An alternative is another version of a post: different media and captions for the same slot. Alternatives sit on extra grids, so a plan can offer up to five complete feeds. The client chooses one grid, then approves the posts on it.
What each grid shows
Once a plan has an alternative, a grid selector appears in the bar above the feed.
Each grid reads as a complete feed. A slot without an alternative on that grid shows the grid 1 post, dimmed.
| Grid 1 | Grid 2 to 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Posts | The plan's own posts | The alternatives on that grid, and grid 1's posts dimmed elsewhere |
| Reorder, add rows | Yes | No |
| Upload, drop and paste into empty posts, Add post to plan | Fills grid 1's empty posts | Fills that grid's free slots |
| … (above the feed) | Upload, Add post to plan, Rows and Show last 3 live posts | Upload, Add post to plan, Show last 3 live posts and Remove grid 2 |
| Comments (above the feed) | Grid 1's comments | That grid's comments |
On grid 2 and up, each uploaded file or added post goes into the first slot that is free on that grid: an empty alternative, or a slot whose grid 1 post is empty and has no alternative there yet. A slot that shows grid 1's post dimmed isn't free, so filling grid 2 never changes grid 1's posts. Files dropped on such a tile go into the grid's next free slot, as a drop on the grid does; files dropped on a post of that grid go into that post. When no slot is free, the app adds one slot at the end for each file or post. Its grid 1 post stays empty, and your client sees an empty tile there on grid 1.
Switching grid keeps the open post open, showing that grid's version of it. Under the post's title, every version shows with a thumbnail, labelled with its grid.
After the client chooses
- The chosen grid's pill reads, for example, Grid 2 · chosen, and you are notified of the choice.
- Everything that won't go out is greyed, so the chosen grid reads as the final feed.
- Once the client approves a post, its versions on other grids show a grey cross on the feed and on the version thumbnails. The Table lists them as Rejected.
- The Grid column in Approved plans shows the client's choice, or Not chosen yet while a plan with alternatives still needs one.
Alternatives are approved internally like any post.
Notes
- Until the client chooses, the plan header shows Waiting for the client to choose a grid.
- Deleting a grid's last alternative removes the grid too, unless the client has chosen it. Restoring the alternative from Recently deleted brings the grid back.
- A post that is already live can't have alternatives.