The blue tick and blue badge on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to show a page is verified is definitely something you can work towards. It isn’t something reserved for celebrities and big, famous companies. Pretty much everyone is eligible for verification as long as you meet certain criteria.
What is the verification actually for?
Well I’m glad you asked! The main use of the verification is to simply prove credibility and to show you are who you say you are. For example pages for public figures that are likely to be duplicated. It’s worth noting that verified pages are placed higher in Facebook’s and Twitter’s search rankings too.
So how do you get verified? Well at the time of writing (04/05/21) neither Facebook or Twitter are verifying new accounts, mainly due to the COVID pandemic, but in the time it takes for them to begin the process again, you could be taking big steps in making sure you meet the criteria.
Facebook.
Facebook’s criteria comes down to 4 main points
- Authentic: Represent a real person, registered business or entity.
- Unique: Be the only presence of this person or business. Only one Page or profile per person or business may be verified, with exceptions for language-specific Pages and profiles. Facebook don’t verify general interest Pages and profiles (example: Puppy Memes).
- Complete: Have an about section, Page or profile photo and recent activity, including at least one post.
- Notable: Represent a well-known, often searched person, brand or entity. Facebook review Pages and profiles that are featured in multiple news sources, and don’t consider paid or promotional content as sources for review.
If you think you meet these criteria then you can request verification through the form on your Facebook business manager, through the security section. The form is simple and outlines which documents to submit but most importantly at the bottom there’s a box “Please share with us why this Facebook page or profile should be verified” This is where is is won and lost. Facebook need to see that you want to be verified for a genuine reason, not because it looks cool. Be specific as to why you want to be verified, include as many details as possible and include any publications about your profile/company as possible.
Nowhere is it said you need a certain number of page likes or followers but needless to say the more real likes you have, the bigger impact it will have for the process.
The process with Twitter is a little trickier, but no less achievable. The criteria is very similar to Facebook, Twitter just seem to have a stricter way of enforcing them. You need to have a Twitter account that is Authentic, Notable and Active.
Authentic and active speak for themselves really and are the same as Facebook, where things get a bit sticky are the Notable section. To be classed as notable Twitter require 3 or more published references within 6 months of applying, a follower count of .1% of the top active accounts in your region and to consistently abide by Twitter rules. With Twitter there is also a box to answer the question “Why should you be verified by Twitter“. Again, this is a crucial part of the process, so think as to why before applying.
If your application fails, don’t worry. You can apply again in 30 days.
Socially can help you and your business work toward your verification when applications reopen. Get in touch today.
