Oh, that coveted blue tick. Celebrities have them. Global brands have them. Even Kensington Palace has one! And now, so do we. Yes, we recently discovered that our Buro Malaysia Facebook and Instagram accounts have been verified and it means so much to us. Not because it’s a popularity status as you can get that blue tick even with less than a thousand followers on either platform. No, it’s because it’s a status of authenticity.
You can’t buy it.
There’s no hack to it.
So what exactly is it? Well, Instagram explained it best:
“A verified badge is a check that appears next to an Instagram account’s name in search and on the profile. It means Instagram has confirmed that an account is the authentic presence of the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents.”
It also acknowledges the person/brand’s work/achievements. It also validates the person/brand as one of the authorities in his/her/its field. It also helps the person/brand stand out from a billion other users on Facebook and Instagram.
And thus, it takes a lot to get verified on Facebook and Instagram. A government-issued photo identification or official business documents are required. And of course, a profile that first complies with all the terms of service or guidelines. On Facebook, that would include having a complete profile such as having a cover photo, a profile photo, a name that follows their guidelines, and content regularly posted.
How To Get Verified FB and IG
Similarly, on Instagram, the account need to be authentic, unique (“we don’t verify general interest accounts (example: @puppymemes)”), notable (“Your account must represent a well-known, highly searched for person, brand or entity. We review accounts that are featured in multiple news sources, and we don’t consider paid or promotional content as sources for review.”) and complete. Complete in the sense that it’s set to public, has a profile photo, at least one post and a bio that doesn’t contain “add me” links to other social media services.
So how does someone get the blue tick? Well, if you have all of the above, Facebook would require you to then fill out a form where you’ll have to include several reasons why the account should receive the blue verification badge as well as relevant links to further prove the public interest of the account. For Instagram, it’s all under Settings > Account > Request Verification.
Getting a verified badge might take some time but fret not as there are other ways to let people know you’re authentic such as linking your account to/from your official website, Facebook Page, YouTube or Twitter. Just remember that growing your brand is the first and most important tick you need.
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