The blue tick on Instagram is a symbol of authenticity and originality. People trust the brands with blue ticks more.
If you are curious about how to get verified on Instagram and get a blue tick on your account, we are here to help!
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What is Meant by Instagram Verification Process?
Instagram verification is the process by Instagram to validate genuine Instagram accounts. The account displays the blue tick mark once the verification process is completed.
The verification tells other users that the particular approved account is owned by users and organizations that claim and represent it.
Since the inception of social media applications, you must have come across several blue badges. Let us look at one example. Have you seen celebrity accounts on social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook? If you checked, you may have noticed a lot of fan-made fake profiles. The original celebrity pages always come with a badge to indicate that the platform has confirmed their account.
These little badges set your account apart from the rest of the crowd. Therefore, it is easy and convenient to spot the right person or brand. It gives off an authoritative and responsible brand image. It reflects that as a brand, you are taking good care of your customers or audience by preventing them from landing on a fraudulent profile.
As the blue badge represents authority, authenticity, and control, it has become synonymous with status. It's rare and exclusive to have this badge. This offers an elevated level of prestige which may or may not directly impact engagement.
It may appear high and mighty to the human eye but Instagram algorithms treat both accounts equally. Accounts with blue badges will perform well only if the admins post good content that resonates well with their followers.
What Profiles Can Get Verified on Instagram?
Anybody can start an Instagram profile verification process on the platform. However, Instagram is not so good at approving profiles for the badge. Firstly, ensure to meet the criteria to verify your account.
Even if you have a badge on other social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook, it does not make your profile on Instagram to be a forerunner for a blue badge. The Instagram blue tick verification process is unique for Instagram.
Instagram is particular about blue tick allocation as they state that only accounts with high chances of impersonation receive blue ticks.
Let’s look at what we can do to become eligible for the blue badge.
First and foremost, thoroughly inspect the Terms of Service and other Community Guidelines and ensure your account does not violate any of them. Besides this, you must make sure that your account fits the following criteria:
Authenticity: If your account represents a brand, organization, registered business, or a human you can start the process. Ensure that your account is not a memes or fans page.
Uniqueness: Only one account representing the brand can get verified on Instagram. You cannot have multiple verifications except for the language-specific accounts.
Public Accounts: Personal or private Instagram accounts cannot get a blue badge by default. Only Instagram business accounts qualify.
Complete: You must have at least three things to have a complete profile - An Instagram bio, a profile picture, and a minimum of 1 post.
Notable: Your account name should be notable. It means that it should be highly searched for or well-known.
If you believe that your account perfectly meets the above criteria, you can rest assured that your account has a good chance of being approved.
6 Steps on How to Get Verified On Instagram
It is not rocket science to start the verification process on Instagram. The process is very simple and easy.
Let us begin:
First, scroll to your Instagram profile and click on the hamburger icon at the top right corner
- Click on Setting
- Go to Account
- Press Request Verification
- Fill out the application form
- Enter your legal name
- Choose your industry or category ( for example, Influencer, news/media, sports, blogger, business, or brand)
In the subsequent step, you need to add an official ID which is Government issued (Passport or Drier’s Licence). If you are running a business, you are required to submit an official business paper, tax documentation, and utility bill.
- Press send
The Instagram verification process is free. The Instagram team sends a notification on the application of your verified documents. Due to fraudulent activities reported in the past, Instagram makes it a point that they never revert via email or any other application.
The entire verification may take up to a few weeks. In some cases, you can observe that it has taken up to 30 days. They send you a notification directly mentioning Yes or No. The Instagram team does not give any explanation or feedback regarding their decision.
When the team denies the Instagram verification and gives a “No”, the message reads like this:
“Instagram account does not meet criteria for verification message”
And when Instagram accepts your application and gives a YES to your account, the message looks like this:
“The Instagram account meets the criteria for verification message”
10 Vital Tips For Getting Insta-Verified
It is easy for anyone to apply for the blue badge. However, it is difficult to get it approved by the Instagram team.
To make things easier, we have compiled a list of best practices to boost your chances of getting Insta-verified. Now, make your brand stand out on Instagram with these proven verification tips.
1. Never Invest Money to Purchase an Instagram Blue Check
You might receive a lot of DMs or comments under your post where an Instagram user claims to be someone who can provide you with a blue badge in exchange for some money. Once you spot a user like this, try to stay miles away from them.
Did you know? Companies and organizations try to sell their blue badge if they do not need it any further. Sometimes, you will find these users or organizations claiming to offer “full refunds” as well.
These organizations or Instagram accounts are usually scammers who only pretend to sell Instagram blue checks.
These scammers are adept at knowing how valuable it is for you to have a blue badge. A little mistake on your part can lead you to become a victim of fraudulent activity. You should always keep in mind that Instagram will never give you a call, or send you a direct message, email, or message from any other application. Neither will they ever request payment for the blue tick.
The only method to get verified is through the verification and application process that we described above. The rules are different for high-net-worth superstars like Angelina Jolie. In which case, feel free to skip straight to point number 7.
2. Keep an Eye Out for the Imposter Accounts
This point will end all your struggles if you face constant difficulties from unauthorized or fake accounts. If you own the brand name or the company is registered under you, you become the prime candidate to get verified on Instagram. The entire purpose of having a verification process is to separate genuine and authentic accounts from a pool of fake accounts.
Your social media audits should reflect evidence of fake business account issues. An effective thing you can do is monitor and document these fake accounts and keep an eye on their activity. Tools like Zerofox’s Hootsuite integration can work wonders in this process.
3. Increase Your Followers
There is no specified follower count to showcase your account's performance. In terms of followers, the more, the merrier. Also, to tell you the truth, there is no evidence to support that an account with a higher number of followers gets verified first but it does not hurt to have a large following.
You will notice how a genuine celebrity account naturally witnesses a spike in its follower list. Everything is related.
Getting more real followers on Instagram is not easy work. But one has to do it invariably. Some tips can help you through the journey of getting more followers. Let us look at a few Instagram verification badge tips:
- Do not buy followers
- Try to engage with your audience
- Post regularly during specific peak hours
- Try to have giveaways on your accounts to increase followers
- Adhere to community guidelines
- Comment on accounts meaningfully
- Try not to spam users
- Be active on Instagram
4. Eliminate Cross-Platform Links from your Instagram Bio
As per Instagram policies, you mustn't have any “add me” links referring to other social media channels or services. On your bio, it is best to link links directing audiences to your website, landing page, online store, etc.
Instagram encourages users to link verified Facebook and Instagram brand accounts to improve the authenticity experience.
5. Be a brand that People Highly Search For
Social media platforms or any platform for that matter work at the basic principle of usability and popularity. The content that is liked by the public receives good engagement. Your organic reach and follower count will swell in real time. Instagram Explore is a tool that supports such content.
Ideally, it matters to Instagram to learn that you add some value to other Instagram users’ accounts. The application puts a great emphasis on whether or not people care about you. They want to learn if people are going over the fence to manually type in your or your brand’s name to find you out. Even though there is no analytical data on this, it is common for Instagram to pull search histories to find how many users are actually looking you up.
6. Apply When You Are Making a Buzz
Check your brand out on Google. See if you are easy to find there. It might happen that recently you have had a few mentions in news articles or you have had press releases or white paper appearances. Here we are talking about genuine mentions and not paid promotions.
You have to improve your PR skills to prove to the platform that you are noteworthy and relevant. It is because there is no option for you to submit proof. The Instagram team will conduct their own research. Therefore you must take it upon yourself to keep your name present popularly everywhere and that it is impossible to miss.
In case you are receiving tons of attention, or you are thinking about coming up with a big announcement, you must strategize a way to capitalize on all the attention and coverage you get. Strike the iron when it is hot.
7. Hire a Publicist or an Agency
It is profitable to subscribe to agency services to handle Facebook Media Partner Support tools. This applies to brands with strong ambition and capital backup. The agency will adeptly cover a lot of tasks for you such as claiming usernames, merging accounts, and getting your profile verified following the correct path.
Through this process, the verification is not guaranteed. However, it always helps to have a request raised from a creative digital marketing agency professional through the relevant Media Partner Support panel.
8. Be Truthful
This should not even be a tip. Be honest in your application submission for a verified account on Instagram. Fake information can lead to unwanted consequences.
Don’t try to hide behind a fake name. Select the category that is apt for your business. And lastly, do not forge your government ids.
If you try to put false claims or manipulate the truth, your account might get permanently banned and deleted.
9. Write a Compelling Bio and Have a Complete Profile
As we went through the criteria earlier, we saw that Instagram has a minimum of three mandates - a profile picture, one published post, and an Instagram bio. That’s it!
When Instagram has highlighted these three requirements, you have to make it more than perfect.
Focusing on these requirements and creating an impactful bio, post, and profile will make a difference. It will reflect how serious you are about your account. Also, it will help you immensely with growing your followers and conversions.
10. If You Get Rejected Once, Try Again
If you have followed everything we said and yet your account gets rejected, there is nothing to feel low.
Get the world to talk about you in whichever way you can. Reapply and you may see results.
Bottom Line
Getting an Instagram-verified badge is something all brands want. Even meme pages and small-scale businesses seek to advance their names by having a blue badge.
Receiving a symbol of authenticity from a platform is reputable and every company’s wish.
At MyTasker, we maintain attractive Instagram accounts for clients to maximize communication, outreach, sales, or whatever your brand’s purpose. We will help your brand have a notable presence on Instagram and thus help you grow a real following.
