The importance of having an online presence for your business is paramount. I have always underscored the importance of having a website and social media accounts for your business. Those two platforms are powerful tools for conducting business in this 21st century. Websites are somewhat hassle-free i.e. they are not usually riddled with problematic issues such as hacking, cloning and the like. That is not the case though for social media accounts. Fraudulent activities have been executed through the cloning of social media accounts or impersonation. To guard against this one way you can use is to get your social media to account verified. After being verified you will get a verification badge appended to your profile. This will enable people to easily know which account is real and which one is bogus. Plus verified accounts carry a certain professional appeal that makes people trust your brand. In this article, I discuss how you can get your account verified on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
On Facebook, you can get two types of verification badges i.e. the blue one or the grey one. The grey one is relatively hassle-free to get and virtually anyone can go through the process of getting it. The most popular one is blue and this is the one I will discuss more on. Blue verification badges are usually earmarked for business brands, public figures and organizations. So to get your Facebook account that you are using for business verified you must aim for the blue badge.
Your account must adhere to Facebook’s terms and conditions. Your profile must also be properly, truthfully and fully completed. Do take note that the ‘Follow’ button must be present and active for your profile to be eligible. The verification process will require photo identification and justification for why you qualify for eligibility. There must also be proof that people take interest in and engage with your platform. The steps I will discuss work on the assumption that your Facebook page is a business page. It is recommended that when it is for business it should be a page as opposed to being the normal profile.
You go to ‘Settings’; go to ‘General’ then click ‘Page Verification’. Click on ‘Verify this Page’ then click on ‘Get Started’. From then on you enter the relevant details and follow the prompts on the screen. After you are through the Facebook team will review your request and all you will have to do is wait for them to communicate back. I cannot give a definite period on how long this will take because it can take from just a few days to some weeks.
You can verify your Instagram account whether it is a personal profile or a business profile. This is understandable because on Instagram you can run a business using a personal account or a business one. It does not matter because you can get verified regardless. However, it is not a stroll in the park to get verified on Instagram. According to Instagram, you can only get verified if your account is in the public’s interest. Their rationale is that it is only necessary to verify accounts that are liable to be cloned or impersonated. In simple terms, you must be a public figure or a big brand.
Your profile must adhere to Instagram terms and conditions. Your account must be public, authentic, and fully completed amongst other things. I will discuss the simple steps that you must go through to get verified. First off, you log in to your account and then you click on the menu icon (top right corner – those 3 parallel and horizontal lines). Go on to click on ‘Settings’ then click on ‘Account’. After doing that you click on ‘Request verification’ and proceed to fill in the relevant details e.g. name, category and so on. Photo identification will be needed by e.g. an ID card or a passport; an official business document (for instance, a utility bill) can also be used. Once you are done with everything you will click on ‘Send’. Just like Facebook, there is no fixed time after which you will get a response after submitting your request.
Twitter was the pioneer of verifications of social media accounts. However, you presently cannot apply for your account to be verified – at least in the meantime. On 26 February 2018 Twitter tweeted, ‘We are working on a new authentication and verification program. In the meantime, we are not accepting any public submissions for verification and have introduced new guidelines for the program’. So no official developments regarding the opening up of submissions again have been communicated since then.
So that is it about getting verified on social media. As a business with social media accounts, you must endeavour to get your accounts verified. This will boost the public’s perception of your business. You will come off as professional and genuine all of which will enhance people’s trust in your business brand.
