Social media verification

Social Media Verification: How to Get That Coveted Blue Check Mark

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How to Get Verified in Social Media?
To get verified on social media, your account should be set to Public. Make sure that your profile is authentic, complete, unique, and newsworthy. Each social media platform has different requirements for verification. Facebook focuses on accurate information and location. Instagram, being the home to famous artists and influencers, emphasizes impersonation factors. If you fail on your first application, there are tips and tricks to help you get verified.

Ever wondered what does the blue checkmark on social media mean? You may have seen them beside the names of your favorite celebrities or influencers on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Getting a blue tick on social networks means that an account is authentic and verified.

If you’re a public figure or an industry leader, social media verification will make you stand out, show your followers you’re influential in your niche, and help you build a strong online presence. How do you get a blue checkmark on social media? Learn in this guide.

What Does it Mean to be Verified on Social Media?

Social media verification
Social media should be used to impact, not impress people.

Before we get into how to verify social media accounts, you’ll want to know what it means to get a badge and why it’s important. A verification checkmark provides credibility and prevents confusion from fake accounts. However, in some cases, it’s not always about imitation or impersonation. Some users create a Page to build a fan-based community and support their favorite artists and influencers. In this setting, having a checkmark beside your name puts a clear distinction between your real account and the pages run by your fans.

In addition, social media platforms prioritize verified pages and profiles in their search results. They ensure that your account shows up at the top of relevant searches, thus enhancing your online visibility and reach. Overall, social media verification is crucial because it helps gain customer loyalty, enhances audience engagement, and improves your influencer marketing network.

Social Media Verification Guidelines

Getting your account verified on social media platforms is not an easy process. It takes time, and each network has different requirements. Certain factors may affect social media verification, such as your legal business identification, engagement metrics, and the number of followers you have. Whether you want to get verified on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, one thing’s for sure: you must meet the criteria for getting a verification badge. To do this, you must be patient and knowledgeable about the entire process.

How to Get Verified on Facebook

smartphone and laptop computer
If you want to become influential on Facebook, try to make your account more natural and fun.

Facebook offers a blue and gray verification badge. The blue checkmark shows the authenticity of a page, public figure, or brand. On the other hand, the gray checkmark indicates a confirmed location for a small or local business.

The gray badge is easier to obtain. You just need to go to Page Verification under General Settings and click Verify This Page. Once you get started, Facebook will call you through your listed business phone number and give you a 4-digit verification code. You can also get verified by sending a business document, such as a phone bill. However, Facebook removed the gray badge in October 2019, which means small or local businesses would need to dive into extra steps to verify their Page.

To get verified on Facebook, your account should be:

  • Authentic. You should use a real business or personal name.
  • Unique. Your profile should be interesting and specific. Avoid using generic names like “dog memes,” “healthy foods,” or “inspirational quotes.”
  • Complete. You need to upload a profile photo, have at least one post, and put necessary details on the About section—website, contact information, long-form description, and other details.
  • Notable. You need to prove that real people search for your account. It would be helpful if you get featured on news sources and publications.

Obtaining the Facebook Verification Badge

  • To request a verification badge, you need to fill out Facebook’s contact form first.
  • In the form, choose the verification type: Page or Profile.
  • If you have multiple pages, select the one that you want to verify. In the case of profile verification, you’ll need to attach your profile URL.
  • Just like creating a business or influencer account, you need to specify the category for the page or profile that you want to verify. If your category is not listed on Facebook’s options, select Other.
  • Don’t forget to add your company or personal profile’s country of origin.
  • After completing all the steps above, you’ll need to provide your identification information. For personal accounts, Facebook requires one government-issued ID like a passport, driver’s license, or national identification card.
  • Business accounts will need to provide either a phone bill, utility bill, certificate of formation, articles of incorporation, or tax exemption documents.
  • The last step would be to explain why your account needs a verification badge. Make sure your explanation is clear and specific. You may include links to prove that your account is worthy of a badge. When you’re all done, hit Send at the bottom of the page.

As soon as you submit your request, you could get a response within 48 hours or wait up to 45 days. Business accounts may take longer to verify, as Facebook will have to review your documents manually.

If your verification request is denied, you’ll have the option to reapply after 30 days. Try reaching out to Facebook and ask for further information or instructions, so you’ll know what went wrong and hopefully won’t fail the next time.

How to Get Verified on Instagram

smartphone and laptop computer
If your account is inauthentic—bio, followers, engagement—you’ll find it hard to get verified on Instagram.

Whether your profile is set to Personal or Business, you can get verified on Instagram. But it can’t be that easy.

Facebook and Instagram have similar methods for account verification. However, Instagram focuses on preventing impersonation. In this case, you may think that having a massive number of followers will get you verified quickly, but it doesn’t work that way. Like Facebook, you need to prove that your account is authentic, unique, complete, and notable.

Follow these steps to verify your Instagram profile:

  • Log in to the account that you want to verify.
  • Click the menu icon at the rightmost corner of your profile screen.
  • Go to Settings, then select Account. You’ll see an option for Verification Request there.
  • In the request form, you’ll need to fill out your full name, screen or business name (known as), and the category. Again, you can select Other if your personal or business category is not in the options.
  • Then, you’ll need to upload a copy of your official business document or government-issued ID.
  • After complying with the requirements, click the Send button.

Instagram will review your verification request and notify you if it’s approved or denied. You can check it directly in your Instagram notifications—the platform doesn’t send an email for verification requests. There’s no specific timeline for the process, but it usually takes a couple of days. If your request was denied, you can reapply after 30 days.

Two of the most common concerns when requesting for an Instagram blue badge are: how to get verified on Instagram for free and how to buy Instagram verification. Take note that the platform will never ask you to pay for a blue checkmark. If you get a request to pay, you’re being scammed.

Tips & Tricks to Get Verified on Instagram

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One good indication that your social profile is authentic: your follower count is proportional to your engagement rate.

Build your followers and engagement

You might be asking “how many followers you need to get a blue checkmark?” With Instagram, you’ll need at least 10,000 followers. It’s also the same requirement to access features, such as adding a website link to your stories. However, it’s irrelevant to have followers who are not engaged with your content. You must achieve a balance between your follower count and engagement rate. Paying for followers mostly give you bot accounts, so it’s not helpful. Take time to build your followers and engagement and strive to be authentic.

Have a great bio

Like Facebook, a complete profile is one thing that Instagram looks for when reviewing your application for verification. Make sure that your bio reveals relevant and accurate information about you and your business.

Cross-promote your social media accounts

One of the most effective ways to be notable online is to stay active on multiple social media platforms. Promote your other social accounts on Instagram or the other way around. That way, you can encourage your Instagram fans to follow and engage with you on Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok. If you have a website or blog pages, ensure that they’re optimized, so when Instagram looks for you on Google, you’ll appear on the top results.

While cross-promoting is a good tactic, it’s not advisable to do it through your bio. Instagram will reject your verification request if you put words on your bio like “follow me on + social link.” Keep it subtle and go creative through stories, reels, or IGTV.

Post regularly

Another way to be active is to post regularly—curate a theme like #MotivationMonday, #ChicWednesday, #FitnessFriday, and so on. Create original and engaging content. Post during peak times—when your audience is most active. You can review your audience’s activity on Insights.

Avoid bad social practices

The golden rule is never to buy followers—it’s better to have few engaged fans than a huge number of fake followers. Next is to avoid making spammy comments. Whether you’re replying to your post’s comments or posting a comment to another account, it should be personal and intentional. To do this, compliment someone based on what the picture shows you or respond to something relatable to their caption.

Lastly, make sure that your content adheres to Instagram’s community guidelines. Your request won’t be approved if you’re posting nudes, drugs, and other explicit content. Remember that you’re building a reputation and wanting to be verified as an influencer or industry leader—not some random person who’s up for malicious social activities.

How to Get Verified on Twitter

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Twitter started it all and it’s easy to get a verification badge on this platform.

Twitter was the social network that started the blue verification badge. Compared to Facebook and Instagram, getting a blue tick on Twitter is much easier. You simply need to update your profile and make sure your information is updated. Next, verify your email address and phone number, then fill out a form requesting for account verification. Ensure that your Tweets are not set to Private as it’ll contradict your claim of being a public figure or business entity.

Yes, Twitter has the most convenient verification process among the three social media platforms mentioned in this guide. However, its verification program was paused in November 2017. The network was having controversies about its verification policies, and getting a blue checkmark on Twitter remains on hold for now.

Are you ready to get that coveted verification tick?

graph on engagement rate of verified social media accounts
Accounts with verification get a higher engagement rate than those that are not verified ║ Source: hypeauditor.com

Earning a blue badge on social media is truly a wonderful feeling. It boosts your self-confidence and helps you build an online reputation and improves customers’ loyalty. Influencers also appear more reliable when they have a blue tick beside their names and help brands achieve big gains.

The best thing, however, about a coveted verification tick is that it’s completely free. But getting your social accounts verified isn’t as easy as 1,2,3. You’ll need to go through a lot of steps and trial-and-errors. The key is to be patient and persistent. Read about the different guidelines of each social network provided in this article and make sure that your personal or business profile meets the requirements.

If all else fails, you can always try again. Consider reaching out to a social media verification agency to help you get a verification badge. Although there’s no full guarantee that you’ll get the coveted tick through their assistance, they can at least guide you on your profile set-up and account optimization.

Now, if you’re looking to boost your influence by obtaining that blue tick, you can learn more about influencers and businesses in our article, “How Influencers Can Work For Your Small Business.”

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