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Social Media Post Editing & Platform Limits

The Social Media Post Editing & Platform Limits guide details the exact operational boundaries, editable fields, and network-enforced media and text constraints when creating, updating, or modifying social media posts in WhiteStart.

1. Post Editing Rules: Scheduled vs. Published Posts

Section titled “1. Post Editing Rules: Scheduled vs. Published Posts”

When interacting with existing posts via the Edit (✏️) action trigger in the Social Media Management table, modification rules depend on whether the post is still in the queue or has already been dispatched:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│        SCHEDULED / QUEUED POSTS              │             PUBLISHED POSTS                  │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Full Caption & Text Editing                │ • In-Flight Status Locked                    │
│ • Add, Remove, or Replace Image / Video      │ • Published Media Assets Locked by APIs      │
│ • Modify Target Social Accounts              │ • Platform-Specific Live Edit Restrictions   │
│ • Reschedule Date & Time                     │ • Real-time Metrics Continually Synced       │
│ • Cancel or Switch to "Publish Post Now"     │ • Post Deletion Removes from Local Dashboard  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

A. Editing Scheduled Posts (Status: Queued / Scheduled)

Section titled “A. Editing Scheduled Posts (Status: Queued / Scheduled)”
  • What can be changed:
    • Text Content: Re-draft, correct typos, insert new hashtags, or update URLs.
    • Media Attachments: Delete existing media, upload replacement images, swap videos, or import from the Content Library.
    • Account Destinations: Add new accounts or deselect previously selected networks.
    • Schedule Time: Advance or delay the publishing window, or toggle off scheduling to trigger instant dispatch via Publish Post Now.
  • How to edit: Locate the scheduled post in the All Platforms or channel-specific table, click the Edit (✏️) icon under Actions, update the parameters, and click Update & Schedule.

B. Modifying Published Posts (Status: Posted)

Section titled “B. Modifying Published Posts (Status: Posted)”
  • Third-Party API Constraints: Major social network APIs (Instagram Graph API, LinkedIn API, X API v2, YouTube Data API) do not allow third-party automation tools to alter media assets or caption text once published live.
  • Editing Live Captions: To modify text on already published content, open the native mobile app or desktop platform directly (e.g., Facebook Page Manager or Instagram app) where supported.
  • Deleting Live Posts: Clicking the Delete (🗑️) icon in WhiteStart removes the record and analytics tracking from the local dashboard table.

2. Comprehensive Social Media Platform Limits & Constraints

Section titled “2. Comprehensive Social Media Platform Limits & Constraints”

To prevent publication failures and avoid API rejections, ensure all post elements adhere to the following platform-specific limits:

Platform Text / Character Limit Image Limits & Ratios Video Duration & Resolution Carousel / Multi-Media Strict API Restrictions
Instagram • Max: 2,200 chars
• Recommended: < 125 chars
• Max: 30 hashtags		 • 1:1 Square (1080×1080px)
• 4:5 Portrait (1080×1350px)
• 1.91:1 Landscape (1080×566px)
• Max size: 8MB (.jpg, .png)		 • Feed Video: 3s – 60 mins
• Reels: 3s – 90s
• Max file size: 4GB (.mp4, .mov)
• Aspect: 9:16 or 1:1		 Up to 10 images or videos in a single carousel No text-only posts allowed. Every post must contain at least one valid image or video. Requires an Instagram Business/Creator account.
Facebook • Max: 63,206 chars
• Recommended: 40–80 chars		 • 1:1 Square (1200×1200px)
• 16:9 Landscape (1200×630px)
• 9:16 Vertical
• Max size: 30MB (.jpg, .png, .gif)		 • Duration: Up to 240 mins
• Max file size: 10GB
• Recommended: 1080p, .mp4 or .mov		 Up to 10 images per standard album post Text-only posts supported. Requires Admin, Editor, or Content Creator permissions on the target Facebook Page.
LinkedIn • Personal: 3,000 chars
• Company: 3,000 chars		 • 1:1 Square (1200×1200px)
• 1.91:1 Landscape (1200×627px)
• 4:5 Mobile Feed
• Max size: 10MB		 • Min duration: 3 secs
• Max duration: 10 mins (Mobile), 15 mins (Desktop)
• Max file size: 5GB (.mp4)		 Up to 9 images per multi-image post Professional context recommended. Links inside captions automatically generate native Open Graph preview cards.
X (Twitter) • Free Tier: Strictly 280 chars
• Premium Tier: Up to 25,000 chars		 • 16:9 Landscape (1200×675px)
• 1:1 Square (1200×1200px)
• Max size: 5MB (Photos), 15MB (GIF)		 • Free Tier: Max 2 mins 20 secs (140s)
• Premium Tier: Max 2 hours (1080p, max 8GB)
• Free Max File Size: 512MB		 Up to 4 images or 1 GIF or 1 video per tweet Exceeding 280 characters on a free connected handle will trigger immediate API validation failure.
Threads • Strictly 500 chars max per post • 1:1 Square (1080×1080px)
• 4:5 Portrait (1080×1350px)
• 9:16 Vertical
• Max size: 8MB		 • Max duration: 5 minutes
• Max file size: 1GB (.mp4, .mov)		 Up to 10 media items (mixed photos and videos) Text-only posts supported. Captions exceeding 500 characters cannot be submitted.
YouTube • Title: 100 chars
• Description: 5,000 chars
• Tags: 500 chars		 • Video Thumbnail: 16:9 (1280×720px, max 2MB)
• Community Image: 1:1 (max 16MB)		 • Shorts: Up to 60 secs (9:16 vertical)
• Standard Video: Up to 15 mins (unverified accounts) or up to 12 hours / 256GB (verified)		 Single video per publication task Video file mandatory for standard channel uploads. Text-only posts are rejected unless targeting verified Community tabs.

3. Resolving Publishing & Validation Errors

Section titled “3. Resolving Publishing & Validation Errors”

When a post encounters an issue during scheduled execution, the dashboard table updates its status badge to Error. Follow these steps to resolve common validation failures:

Common Error Triggers & Solutions

Section titled “Common Error Triggers & Solutions”
  • Character Count Exceeded (X / Threads):
    • Issue: The drafted text exceeds 280 characters for a free X profile or 500 characters for Threads.
    • Solution: Click Edit (✏️), trim the body text to satisfy the lower limit, or deselect the constrained network to publish long-form text only to Facebook and LinkedIn.
  • Missing Video File (YouTube):
    • Issue: Post submitted to a YouTube channel without an attached .mp4 or .mov file.
    • Solution: Upload a valid video file under Post Content ➔ Video or remove YouTube from the Selected Accounts list.
  • Media Aspect Ratio Mismatch (Instagram):
    • Issue: Image exceeds the supported aspect ratio limits (narrower than 4:5 or wider than 1.91:1).
    • Solution: Crop the image to standard square (1:1) or vertical feed ratio (4:5) before uploading.
  • Expired Token / Authorization Revoked:
    • Issue: Social platform API session expired due to a password reset, permission update, or periodic OAuth rotation.
    • Solution: Navigate to Settings ➔ Social Media Accounts, locate the affected platform, and click Reconnect to refresh credentials without losing performance analytics.