Launch checklist: 12 checks before you post a video
9 min read
In this post
- Why a launch checklist saves the launch
- The film: checks 1 to 3
- The frame: checks 4 to 6
- The worked example: the safe box at 1440 × 2560
- The sound and rights: checks 7 to 9
- The file and the post: checks 10 to 12
- Common mistakes and how to fix them
- The checklist to copy
- Questions about checking a video before you post it
- Make the next film pass the checklist
Before you post a video, run twelve checks in four groups. The film: the point in frame one, one message, correct facts. The frame: the safe zone, the right size for each feed, a film that reads on mute. The sound and rights: a clean mix, cleared music, a visible disclosure. The file and the post: the spec, a phone test, and the copy, link and cover.
Why a launch checklist saves the launch
Most video mistakes are not creative mistakes. The idea is fine, but a headline sits under the like button, the music is not licensed for an ad, or the file is too large for the upload form. Each of these costs a day: a rejected ad, a takedown, or a launch post that people scroll past because the first line was cut off.
A checklist moves these mistakes to the one moment when they are cheap to fix: before the post goes out. It is useful to anyone who publishes their own marketing video, whether that is a founder with a launch film, a marketer with a paid campaign, or a small team that posts an explainer to three feeds at once. The checks are the same for an ad and for an organic post. Only the stakes are different: an ad has budget behind it, so a mistake costs money as well as attention.
The checks come from two sources. Some come from the platforms' own specs and help pages, which this post links to. The others come from the habits of editors: things that go wrong often enough that you look for them every time.
The film: checks 1 to 3
1. The point is on screen in the first frame
Pause the video on its first frame. Can a person who sees only that frame tell what the film is about? If the first frame is a logo on a plain background or the start of a slow fade, the answer is no. Put the main line, the product or the result on screen from frame one. Our post on openings that stop the scroll takes two openings apart frame by frame.
2. One message and one action
Write down, in one sentence, what the viewer should know at the end, and in one verb, what they should do next. If you need two sentences, the film has two messages, and the viewer will keep neither. Check that the last shot shows the action you wrote down: the button, the address or the offer, not only the logo.
3. Every fact, name and price is right
Read every word on screen and listen to every word of the voice-over against your source: the product name and its spelling, the price, the dates, the claims. A wrong price in a launch film is worse than no price. Check the claims that a platform or a regulator can ask you to support, such as "fastest" or "number one", and remove the ones you cannot support.
The frame: checks 4 to 6
4. Text and faces are inside the safe zone
In a vertical feed, the app draws its own buttons, captions and account name on top of your video. Meta's Instagram Reels ad spec asks you to leave at least 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% on each side free of text, logos and other key elements. TikTok publishes safe zone files for its In-Feed ads and says that the safe zone depends on the size, the caption length and any extra formats you use. Lay the platform's overlay on your frames and look at every shot with text. Our Reels safe zone guide shows where text goes in 9:16.
5. The right size for each feed
Make one master for each shape you post, not one master that the platform crops. TikTok accepts 9:16, 16:9 and 1:1 for its In-Feed ads and recommends vertical. YouTube's upload settings page says that 16:9 is the standard aspect ratio on a computer. A film that is composed for 16:9 and then cut down to 9:16 often loses its headline at the sides. The Ritual Coffee Showcase shows one launch ad made in four formats, each laid out for its own shape.
6. The film reads on mute
Turn the sound off and watch the film to the end. Does it still make sense? Meta's Reels spec lists captions as optional, but recommended. Burn the important lines into the picture, keep them short, and keep them inside the safe zone from check 4. Our post on captions that work on mute has six rules for this.
The worked example: the safe box at 1440 × 2560
Meta's Reels spec gives the safe zone as percentages, and it gives 1440 × 2560 pixels as the resolution for a 9:16 Reels ad. To check a frame, turn the percentages into pixels for your own export size.
- Top margin: 2560 × 0.14 = 358.4, so about 358 px.
- Bottom margin: 2560 × 0.35 = 896 px.
- Each side: 1440 × 0.06 = 86.4, so about 86 px.
- Safe width: 1440 − 86.4 − 86.4 = 1267.2, so about 1267 px.
- Safe height: 2560 − 358.4 − 896 = 1305.6, so about 1306 px.
The safe box starts at y 358 and ends at y 1664 (2560 − 896). Any headline, price or button that you need the viewer to read must sit inside that box. If you export at 1080 × 1920 instead, do the same sums with those numbers: the percentages stay the same, and the pixels change.
The sound and rights: checks 7 to 9
7. The voice is clear and the mix is even
Listen on a phone speaker and on headphones. The voice must stay above the music in every line, and no word may be cut off at the start or the end of a shot. Check that the film does not start with a loud hit and does not end in the middle of a word. Meta's Reels spec calls sound optional, but strongly recommended, and asks for stereo AAC audio at 128 kbps or higher. YouTube recommends AAC-LC audio at a 48 kHz sample rate.
8. The music is cleared for this use
A track that is free to use in an organic post is not always free to use in an ad. TikTok says that businesses should not use its general music library for commercial purposes. Its Commercial Music Library is a pre-cleared library of 1 million songs for video ads, branded content and business posts. If you bought a track from a stock library, keep the licence with the project and check that it covers paid ads on every platform where you post.
9. The disclosure is in the video
If the film is paid, sponsored or made with a partner, say so in the film. The US Federal Trade Commission's guide for creators says that the disclosure should be in the video and not just in the description. It also says that viewers are more likely to notice a disclosure made in both audio and video, and that a disclosure at the end of a video is likely to be missed. Put the disclosure early, on screen and in the voice.
The file and the post: checks 10 to 12
10. The file meets the platform's spec
Check the file before the upload form does. TikTok's In-Feed ads take .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp or .avi files up to 500 MB, with a bitrate of at least 516 kbps and, for vertical video, at least 540 × 960 pixels. Meta's Reels ads take MP4 or MOV files up to 4 GB. YouTube recommends an MP4 container with H.264 video, uploaded at the same frame rate as the recording. Check the length too: YouTube says that Shorts can be up to 3 minutes long.
11. You watched it on a phone, in the app
Send the final file to a phone and watch it full screen, the way a viewer will. Then use the platform's preview. TikTok warns that its preview can differ slightly from the live ad, because the preview is not specific to one device, so leave a margin around the safe zone. Look for text that is too small to read, a frame that freezes, and a cut that lands in the middle of a word.
12. The copy, the link and the cover are ready
The video is only part of the post. Check the text that goes with it, the link and its tracking, and the cover frame that the feed shows before the film plays. On TikTok, the captions of Non-Spark ads do not support clickable links, @ symbols or hashtags, and the account name shows on one line of up to 20 characters in most languages. Click the link on a phone and check that the page it opens shows the same offer as the film.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| The headline sits under the caption and buttons | Move all text inside the safe box from check 4 and look at every shot with the overlay on |
| One 16:9 master cropped to every feed | Make a separate layout for each shape you post |
| The film needs sound to make sense | Burn the key lines into the picture and watch the film on mute |
| A track from the general music library in an ad | Use a library cleared for commercial use and keep the licence |
| The sponsor is named only in the description | Put the disclosure in the film, on screen and in the voice |
| The link opens a page with a different offer | Click the link on a phone before you post and match the page to the film |
The checklist to copy
- The point is on screen in the first frame.
- The film has one message and one action, and the last shot shows the action.
- Every name, price, date and claim is correct.
- Text, faces and the logo are inside the platform's safe zone.
- Each feed gets its own layout in its own shape.
- The film makes sense with the sound off.
- The voice is clear over the music on a phone speaker.
- The music licence covers this use on this platform.
- A paid or sponsored film says so in the video, early.
- The file type, size, bitrate and length meet the platform's spec.
- You watched the final file on a phone and in the platform's preview.
- The copy, the link and the cover frame are ready and tested.
Questions about checking a video before you post it
How long does this checklist take?
Most of the checks take a minute each, because you are looking for one thing at a time. The longest checks are 3 and 11: reading every fact against its source, and watching the film on a phone and in the preview. Run the list once for each version of the film that you post.
Is the checklist only for ads?
No. A launch film, a product demo, an explainer and an organic social post have the same frame, sound and file checks. Checks 8 and 9 matter most for ads and paid partnerships, because music licences and disclosure rules apply to commercial use.
Which safe zone should I use when I post to several apps?
Use the strictest margins of the apps you post to, so that one layout works in all of them. Then check each version with that app's own overlay or preview, because the buttons sit in different places.
What if the platform's preview looks different from the live post?
TikTok says that its preview can differ slightly from the live version. Leave a margin inside the safe zone, and after the post goes live, open it on a phone and check it once more.
Make the next film pass the checklist
FoxyLab makes launch films, explainers, social video and ads from a chat: paste a link or write a line, and the studio writes, voices, animates and renders the film in 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9, then changes it from your notes. Take the twelve checks above, run them on the first cut, and send what fails back as notes. Start your next film in the studio.
