In a world of fake news and widespread media distrust, social media verification will be more important in 2020 than ever so getting verified on social media is one of the ways brands build trust with their customers.
Whether it’s your personal account, your business account getting that little “checkmark” next to the profile name is massively important. In fact, it provides instant social proof and credibility when anyone looks up you or your company online.
Verification can also help with networking or to push your company toward the forefront of your industry as a trusted option.
Getting verified can be pretty difficult to do, and it might take some time, but it is definitely possible. And it’s worth it.
But maybe you’ve already tried to become verified and you were rejected. Or perhaps you just don’t know where to start.
Unless you’ve got a huge following like Beyonce, becoming a verified account takes some commitment and trial and error.
It began as a way for the platform to identify which Twitter accounts belonged to celebrities.
But now, it’s evolved into a way to verify which accounts belong to brands, companies, and influencers as well.
Basically, it serves as an instant way to tell other users, “Hey, this account isn’t just your average Joe — pay attention to it!”
GENERAL SUGGESTION
To verify your personal account to become an influencer in your industry, begin by making sure that your Social Media is updated
Add a recent profile picture and make sure your profile information is all filled out.
If you haven’t been posting regularly you’ll need to wait until you’ve regularly posted for a consistent amount of time before trying to verify it.
Post original and interesting contents on a regular basis
Build your following and post engaging images.
Add as much identity-supporting information as possible to your profile to make it appear, official, even though there’s no checkmark.
Bes sure you have a verified phone number and a confirmed email address
Do not forget is also important to have a bio, a profile photo a header photo and website
Your Posts must be set to Public
Have your ID ready you will need to send a copy to them
TWITTER
Twitter was the first social network to start issuing verifications. Verified accounts show a small blue checkmark next to their name, and the process for becoming verified is pretty easy: just make sure your account is completely filled out and send over examples of your web properties.
But I have some disappointing news for you.
Twitter has paused all new account verifications 😢
Yeah, you read that right, the micro-blogging network decided to pause verifications for new accounts while it worked on a new verification program.
Since then, no further details have been released, so we'll have to sit tight and hope that 2020 brings the advent of a new Twitter verification program.
I'll keep you updated.
INSTAGRAM
It is extremely difficult to get verified on Instagram because the company focuses on verifying accounts that have a high probability of being impersonated and does not take requests. However, it is not impossible.
Because Instagram’s focus is on preventing impersonation, amassing a huge number of followers is not guaranteed to earn an account a blue checkmark.
Instagram suggests that those after verification prove their account is real in other ways, such as linking to an official website or a verified account on Facebook or Twitter. This is not a foolproof method but can help you position your brand as one that could be at risk of impersonation.
FACEBOOK
Facebook is the largest (and arguably most important) social networks for business. So naturally, it has a relatively straightforward verification process.
There are two types of Facebook verification: blue badges and grey badges.
Blue badges are only for the following categories of people:
If you have a compelling reason to be verified, high-quality content, and a large amount of press surrounding your brand, you can submit for verification.
Once you're verified, your brand will have a small blue checkbox next to its name. Unfortunately, however, this doesn't carry over to its sister social network, Instagram.
To get verified, just do this:
Make sure your cover photo, logo, and profile info are completely up-to-date
Fill out this form and wait for a response from Facebook
Gray badges are only for business pages and were introduced in 2015 as a way for businesses to confirm they’re authentic. The approval process is much shorter (about 48 hours) and the requirements are a lot less stringent.
Note: Facebook is phasing out grey badges “based on user feedback,” so you can no longer apply for it. Instead, Facebook encourages businesses to authenticate their profiles by linking to them on official websites, updating profile imagery, and making sure contact information is accurate.
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
Getting verified on Google My Business is super important.
Once verified, your users will see a blue shield with a checkmark in it on your listing in Search and Maps. This is important because users will have no doubts that your hours, address, and other important info is up-to-date.
This will make them more likely to swing by and check out your establishment.
To verify your account, do the following:
Sign in to Google My Business and choose the business you'd like to verify
Click Verify now and follow the on-screen prompts to request your verification postcard
Once the card arrives, log back in and punch in the verification code on the postcard, and you're verified!
