# Composing & Publishing Posts Write posts once, publish to multiple platforms, schedule for later, or send immediately. The composer lets you write one post and publish it to multiple platforms at once; opening an existing post on the Calendar uses the same composer to edit it. Different platforms get different rules (Instagram needs an image, X has a character limit, etc.) — the composer handles all of it. ## How to compose 1. **Open the composer** From Social Hub, click "Create Post" (top right). Or click "New Post" on the Content Calendar. 2. **Write your caption** Type once. Use #hashtags and @mentions naturally — they work on every platform that supports them. 3. **Add media (optional, but Instagram needs a photo and TikTok a photo or video)** Click "Choose a photo or video" (or drop a file into the media area) to add a file from your Mac — the Open window reaches any drive your Mac can see, including iCloud Drive, or Google Drive if its Mac app is installed. Once something is attached, the button reads "Add more files". Or click "Pick from Media Hub" to reuse something already in the app. "Take a Photo" and "Take a Video" use your camera; any camera your Mac offers works, including an iPhone through Continuity Camera. Take a Video opens Studio inside the post: record with sound (or click "Import video" to bring in a clip you already have), edit if you like, then click "Use This" and the clip is added to your post. Video already on your iPhone? AirDrop it to this Mac, then choose it. Images are auto-resized and optimized for Instagram and Facebook. Only one attachment is used per platform per post — the first video for YouTube and TikTok, the first photo everywhere else. 4. **Pick the platforms** Check the boxes for which platforms to post to. Connected platforms (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Bluesky, and TikTok, whose uploads arrive in TikTok's Inbox) are listed once connected in Social Hub → Connect Accounts. Copy & Open platforms (X, Threads, Mastodon, LinkedIn, Tumblr, SoundCloud, Bandcamp) are always offered — no account needed. With TikTok checked, a line under the platforms says where the post goes, and the preview shows the photo or video TikTok gets on a 9:16 phone screen. A file that isn't 9:16 shows with black bars, the way TikTok shows it. 5. **Post Now or Schedule** "Post Now" sends the post right away (TikTok uploads arrive as a notification in TikTok's Inbox, YouTube videos arrive as Unlisted, and Copy & Open platforms open in your browser for you to paste). "Schedule" lets you pick a date and time; the post then goes out by itself while MusicLaunch is running on your Mac (the menu bar counts). If MusicLaunch is quit or the Mac is asleep or off, it goes out when MusicLaunch next runs, unless that is more than 24 hours late — then it is marked Failed. "Save as draft" keeps it on the Calendar without sending anything. ## Platform-specific behavior - A video: MusicLaunch uploads it to YouTube, and to TikTok's Inbox, and nowhere else. Facebook, Bluesky and Threads post your text without it (or a photo, if you attached one too); Instagram, X and the other Copy & Open platforms open for you to post it yourself. With a video attached, a note under the media area lists this before you post, and afterwards the video is selected in Finder so you can drag it into those posts. On the Calendar, a post that went out as text only doesn't list the video. - Instagram: photo posts only — an image is required, and videos or Reels aren't published directly. The image is placed at a temporary public link (deleted automatically within about two days) so Instagram can fetch it. Instagram takes photos from 4:5 (tall) to 1.91:1 (wide), so a photo outside that, such as a 9:16 Story graphic, gets plain white bars at the sides (or above and below) to fit; nothing is cropped. - Facebook: text-only or text + image, posted to your selected Page (an image uses the same temporary link) - TikTok: videos and photos arrive as a notification in TikTok's Inbox, not in your Drafts folder. Tap the notification to finish and post it. A photo post keeps your caption; a video's caption doesn't carry over, so paste it in TikTok. On the Calendar the post then reads "Sent to TikTok", not Published. - YouTube: uploads your video with the title and description you enter. The video arrives on your channel as Unlisted — open YouTube Studio to make it Public (and add tags or a thumbnail) when you're ready. - Bluesky: text + optional image, posts to your handle - Copy & Open platforms (X, Threads, Mastodon, LinkedIn, Tumblr, SoundCloud, Bandcamp): always offered in Create Post and on the Content Calendar, no account needed. When you post (or click Publish now on the Calendar), the app copies your text to the clipboard and opens that platform's website — paste and post there. Scheduling X, Threads or Bandcamp sets a reminder, not an automatic post: at that time MusicLaunch notifies you, and you open the post and use Copy & Open. Mastodon, LinkedIn, Tumblr and SoundCloud can't be scheduled or saved as drafts; use Post now for those. - Scheduling: an Instagram post can't be scheduled without a photo, a TikTok post without a photo or video, or a YouTube post without a video — save it as a draft until the file is attached. > **Tip: Dry run mode** > > Settings → Dry Run Mode lets you simulate posts without actually publishing. Useful for testing schedules and platform behavior before going live. ## When something fails If a post fails on one platform but succeeds on others (e.g., Instagram's image upload errors but Facebook posts fine), the composer shows per-platform results — green checkmark for posted, red X for failed, with the specific error from that platform. "Text posted" means the text went out without your video. A scheduled post that fails later, while you are not looking, shows a macOS notification and appears under "Needs attention" on the Content Calendar. ## Related articles - [Content Calendar](https://www.musiclaunchapp.com/help/content-calendar.md): Plan and schedule social media posts across all your platforms. - [Social Hub & Connecting Accounts](https://www.musiclaunchapp.com/help/social-hub.md): Connect Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Bluesky, see what each connection can do, use copy-and-open for the rest, and reuse past posts with the Content Recycler. - [Performance Dashboard](https://www.musiclaunchapp.com/help/performance.md): Track streaming, social growth, and engagement across platforms. --- - From the MusicLaunch Help Center (Social & Posting). The same guide is built into the app under Help. - Web page: https://www.musiclaunchapp.com/help/compose-post/ - All guides: https://www.musiclaunchapp.com/llms.txt - Support: hello@musiclaunchapp.com