Positioning, closeness, credibility and prestige are linked to the concept of verification in social networks . In addition, they help to guarantee the authenticity of the profile and avoid duplication, identity theft and fraud. A bit of a police and mysterious thing, right? It is as if it were a spy game… Well, nothing could be further from the truth. At The Social Media Family we provide you with more information about this simple process in which you will be able to differentiate your brand from those who want to imitate you and transmit confidence and security to your followers.
Discover how to verify your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram account and all the advantages of the verification process in social networks by reading this post from our digital marketing agency in Madrid . In this blog from our online marketing agency you will find extended information on concepts related to communication and digital marketing.
Why consider a profile verification strategy in RRSS?
The avalanche of false news -fake news-, of unverified information and the use of bots to send massive content have turned social networks into the ideal breeding ground for sharing the most insane news by impersonating identities and adopting false profiles with to call into question the reputation of a person or brand. Badges of colors such as blue or gray located next to the names of the accounts define and differentiate verified profiles from those that are not… even if they seem so! With this certification, users immediately recognize that they are the official RRSS accounts of a certain person/company.
Each social network has its own specific process when verifying. With this protocol, they combat false news in their own way, avoiding the impersonation of their users by third parties. Twitter has been the pioneer in this regard, creating its blue tick in 2009. Facebook followed it by creating the blue badge for public figures and the media and a second gray label for businesses and organizations. Most of the corporate or public interest accounts have welcomed this verification badge that combats alternate profiles or duplicate accounts that greatly damage the raison d’etre of the original accounts.
According to AIMC, the Association for Communication Media Research, and its study carried out with Q Panel, Spanish Internet users surf the Internet, mainly through smartphones, for an average of 257 minutes (about four and a half hours) for personal reasons. (check emails, find out, play online and consult their profiles on social media) . With these data, once again the need to build a personal/corporate brand with maximum credibility and guarantees is confirmed. At The Social Media Family we invite you to apply this simple mathematical proportion: the greater the number of followers on your social networks, the more important is the need to verify the accounts . Here we explain everything you need to know toverify the profiles of some social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .
Advantages of verifying your accounts on social networks
Verifying your accounts in RRSS is a simpler process than it may seem at first glance… don’t be scared! In addition, it is worth the effort because it has more benefits than you can imagine. Avoiding the impersonation of your identity and extending these guarantees to your followers and users are just some of them. Below we list many more advantages when it comes to verifying your profiles on social networks:
- The verification badge placed next to your brand name increases the credibility of the content you share and that increases your cache.
- Verified also benefits users, who are aware of brand reputation and post verification.
- Verified accounts get a better social media presence .
- Confirming the authenticity of the account is linked to the integrity of the profile and helps to combat fraud and plagiarism . In addition, it gives more credibility and generates more interest in your account.
- Having a blue, green or gray badge attached to the channel/account name is a sign that the account is the official one, no secondhand brands!
- The verification badge can also be counted in figures: the economic profitability of a support goes hand in hand with the reputation of the media and brands. This translates into a call effect of advertising content for the accounts.
- Having a verified account on Twitter gives you access to an exclusive function that facilitates the management of mentions since it allows you to filter the conversations and mentions of other verified accounts and helps to achieve a better positioning in Google search results .
- On Instagram , verifying includes security, authenticity, and trust in the images that are shared.
- YouTube can be verified by providing a phone number and includes added benefits such as uploading videos longer than 15 minutes or live broadcasts.
- Having a verified Facebook account has a double benefit: in addition to providing authenticity to your page, it makes your content appear in the top positions of the search results within the Facebook search engine itself. Zuckerberg ‘s social network loves verified accounts with a large number of followers and that also carry out advertising campaigns on a regular basis. What better verification system?
Verify the profile on Facebook, only for brands and companies
Having a verified Facebook account is a hallmark that differentiates a Facebook page from that of a competitor. In addition, it facilitates search engine positioning and connects with your target audience (through engagement) since direct interaction increases the possibilities of advertising investment in this social network.
The verification generates a call effect on Facebook since when its users see the verification check of a page, their curiosity about the recommended site increases and they relate it to the quality of the content that is published.
Surely you know that Facebook has two types of profiles: the personal account and the official page for celebrities, companies, business places, organizations, etc… The personal account , at the moment, cannot be verified but the official one can , with two types of identifiers: blue insignia for a brand, product, artist, musical group or public figure, and a gray label for a local place or business, company, organization or institution. Make sure beforehand that your Page has a profile and cover photo. And of course, you must be a Page admin to claim the badge.
Facebook recently created the “High Responsiveness to Messages” badge (green with a white lightning bolt) that identifies pages that respond most quickly and regularly to private messages to users. For this badge to appear, your Page must meet the following goals over the past seven days: a 90% response rate and an average response time of 15 minutes.
Before proceeding to the verification of a Facebook page , the social network itself informs that “selected people, sports, media, entertainment and government pages may be eligible for verification if they can prove their authenticity and meet the requirements from Facebook to have a verified badge.” This means that your page must be part of some of these options. In case you do not enter this organization, we advise you to use the page category of “Public figure” for verification.
Requesting verification is not very complicated. You enter the menu “Settings”-“General”-“Page verification”. Facebook includes two different verification options: by phone and with official company documents. In the first case, it is enough to enter the telephone number of the company, to which they send the four-digit verification code. Once the code has been entered, it is advisable to check that the logo appears in the name of the company. If you use the “verify this page with documents” option, the process takes a few weeks as the social network takes time to verify the file you have sent with your business documentation.
Verify your Twitter account, complete your profile and fill out a form
Verifying an account on Twitter is also very simple. Some of the previous recommendations are from the drawer, but we remind you so you don’t have to work double. Use an avatar for your account that is a real photo or the logo of your brand, that the account is public, that the biography clearly describes the company’s activity, add a link to the website and use a real or artistic name as names are some of them.
Before proceeding to the verification, keep in mind that Twitter only verifies the accounts that are located in the following categories: Politics, Religion, Cinema / Theater, Music, Fashion, Sports, Journalism or Media and Business / Companies. As for personal profiles, the microblogging social network only verifies with the blue badge the accounts that belong to celebrities or well-known famous people who can be impersonated by other profiles on social networks.
Verify the Instagram account, the privilege of celebrities
Instagram has implemented its verification system, the blue tick, in 2014, although it is limited to privileged people or recognized brands . This select hallmark differentiates celebrities from the rest and has become an identity status and symbol of popularity on the social network of images.
A few weeks ago, the social network for images launched a new process to request account verification with an option integrated into its app for iPhone and iPad . This new functionality is available to a select group of strategic Instagram partners for Asia-Pacific, so users in Australia will be the first to know about the new “Request Verification” entry that will take them to the desired page to complete the process. To do this, simply enter the username, real name and include a photograph of the official identification document.
With this initiative, the Instagram verification process will reach more people and, in theory, anyone will be able to request the blue mark as long as they have an “authentic, unique, complete and notable” account according to the social network itself.
The requirements to request verification of the Instagram account are similar to the rest of the social networks : official documentation (ID, passport or similar) and an optimized profile on the platform. In addition, we recommend that you have a Facebook Verified Business Page linked to your Instagram account and, if possible, have a minimum of 100,000 followers. Next, the social network of images is the one that decides if it finally grants the verification icon to the accounts that, for it, are the appropriate ones.
The verification process on Instagram begins at the following Verified Badges link, which offers different explanations and options in this regard. The best thing is to choose the option that interests you the most, indicating the user who is trying to impersonate your account and the reasons for verifying your own.
Verify your YouTube channel if you have a minimum of 100,000 subscribers
YouTube channels also have verification restrictions. These limitations refer fundamentally to the number of subscribers. Therefore, before considering starting the verification of your YouTube channel, you must have a minimum of 100,000 subscribers or, if you do not have them, be considered a reference personality by the social video network.
To verify your company channel on YouTube , click on the following link youtube.com/verify which offers you two options: through a 6-digit verification code or an automatic voice message call. The process is carried out quickly, in a couple of minutes, and the moment you enter the digits, you will be able to enjoy the benefits of YouTube for verified accounts. These privileged options include uploading videos longer than 15 minutes or larger than 20 GB, linking to external websites in annotations, streaming live, and including customizable thumbnails on videos.
Conclusions
Having the certification and verification badge of a profile on social networks is a fundamental requirement for company pages and organizations with a significant volume of followers. Thanks to this recognition, the accounts achieve the status of authenticity and reputation as well as the endorsement of the quality of the content. The process is simple in any of the aforementioned social networks, at The Social Media Family we invite you to delve into each of them and choose the option that best suits your personal circumstances.
Fraud, fake news , automation and duplication are avoided thanks to verification systems that contribute to improving the reputation of companies distinguished by their colored badges. In addition, thanks to them, positioning improves and the attraction is generated by the curiosity of new followers. In short, verifying the profile on social networks improves the image of a brand with doors abroad and its economic profitability thanks to the profits generated through digital advertising .
In any of the options, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube, a requirement is repeated: it is necessary to have a significant number of followers. To do this, on the blog of the online marketing agency you will find interesting and useful content on digital communication and online marketing that will help improve the performance of your social networks . We invite you to download our ebook , reports and tutorials on content marketing , social networks , SEO/SEM positioning and digital advertising campaigns.
